About Me
I guess I've never quite figured out what I want to be when I grow up, which has led to my having lived what has seemed like nine lives...bohemian, teacher, traveling minstrel, student, father, writer, academic, musician, historian, researcher, museum junkie, community activist, board president, investigator, lost then found, husband and partner...and every one of them has been an incredible adventure...Several years ago Jessica Walden asked me to submit a biography for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame...so I guess that might at least describe the musical branch of my life, which is the way some folks might know me...Georgia Music Hall of Fame Biography:Rob Sumowski,Macon and Atlanta-based Percussionist, Songwriter-With roots in symphonic and jazz traditions, Rob expanded his playing during high school to include theater productions in Savannah, GA. He spent the 1980s playing with the Macon and Savannah Symphony Orchestras and on drum set with the 18-piece Mercer University Jazz Ensemble, where he toured North America and graduated with a B.A. in Music in 1989. Early performing credits in Macon included stints with Jaimoe (Allman Brothers Band), Tim Brooks, Chris Hicks (Marshall Tucker Band), and Catfish Row...Rob spent the 1990s as a percussionist touring with Gypsy Train, Shawn Mullins, Kevn Kinney (Drivin’n’Cryin’), Billy Pilgrim, Kristian Bush (Sugarland), Matthew Kahler, members of the John Mayer and Dave Matthews Bands, and Caroline Aiken while based on the Atlanta and Macon club scenes. He performed at clubs such as CBGB’s in New York City and has shared the stage with Wilco, the Allman Brothers Band, Van Halen, Marshall Tucker, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Indigo Girls, Jump Little Children, Memory Dean, Cake, the Steve Miller Band, Edwin McCain, Gov’t. Mule, Chet Atkins, and Cab Calloway. Album credits span over 30 CDs, four of which include Columbia Records releases with Shawn Mullins, where Rob appeared on CD with Elton John and Shawn Colvin. As a songwriter, Rob penned the 1996 Gypsy Train album On a Wing and a Prayer as well as songs on their 1995 album Hayloft Nightmare. On radio, he was known locally as the Voice of Liz Reed’s when the club was Macon’s premier touring venue for national acts...He returned to Macon in 1996, forming the bebop jazz quartet Three Blind Moose. Rob’s other passions lie in education, 20th Century history, and museum exhibit design. A former school teacher, assistant principal, and behavior specialist, Rob earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Georgia in 2002...He currently spends his days negotiating and problem-solving crises in the company of educational administrators, attorneys, and law enforcement as Bibb's Director of Student Safety and Management. His evenings are devoted to his 16-year old daughter Amara, two beautiful little guys named Finn and Hyland Gray, and life partner and best friend Liza Jones Sumowski.Aside from still gigging with Kevn Kinney whenever the two can hook up with each other, Rob's weekend gigs are divided between Theatre Macon’s orchestra pit, the new set of timpani in the St. Joseph’s choir loft, and the Mabel White Orchestra, where he can be seen manning the percussion rig every Sunday morning on WMAZ-TV.
