Published: May 13, 2008 10:47 am            

Bowlin to play Wormy Dog

Oklahoma City — When Matt Bowlin was a teenager in the 90s, he listened to rock music popular to his generation. Country music was something to be loathed and avoided.

Had he been told back then he would someday be a country singer, he would have said “you’re crazy.”

But times have changed for 30-year-old Bowlin. While he still listens to a variety of music genres, for the past six years he has been on the road across the Midwest and Southwest performing covers of popular country, Southern rock and Western swing hits along with the 40-plus original country tunes he has written.

Still, expanding his musical tastes to include both Metallica and George Strait was not something Bowlin sought out willingly.

While still a teen in Kansas, Bowlin’s wrestling coach was someone he looked up to. In practice, they would listen to top 40 country music. Out of respect for his coach, not because he was eager to listen, Bowlin paid attention. Soon, he found himself not only enjoying what he was hearing but also seeking out lesser-known country tunes.

But music was not yet Bowlin’s passion.

Right out of school, he joined the Marines and was on his way down a different path as a career military man. But one morning about eight years ago, all that changed and he woke up one morning having had an epiphany.

That morning he found himself furiously writing down country lyrics he had dreamed. He didn’t know the guitar chords, but he could hear the melody in his head and got out a tape recorder to record his first song “This Crush I Have,” a beach song about hopeless love.

The next day, he wrote two more songs, using his lyrics to say those things he can’t say in person. Bowlin’s music is pure classic country mixed Southern rock, blues and swing. His sound is heavily influenced by legends such as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, George Strait and Jim Croce.

And he can’t imagine doing anything else, drawing from his own personal ups and downs to inspire his music.

“You can’t write it unless you’ve lived it,” he said. “I’ve been knocked down, but I’m too stubborn to quit.”

Determined to make it in the music business, Bowlin used his GI Bill to attend and complete a commercial music program at South Plains College in Texas. In school, he grew musically and was named the 2004-05 male vocalist of the year in country/western swing. Following his success in school and having made several contacts in the music business, Bowlin went out on the road. Just last year, he opened for legendary greats B.J. Thomas and Billy Joe Royal.

While not on the road, Bowlin would stay at his parents’ home in Edmond. He liked his time here, and has had a permanent residence in Edmond since 2004, where he continues to work at making music a full-time gig.

The music scene, he said, is right here in Oklahoma; and he is ready to start playing in “Red Dirt Music” country.

“You don’t have to go to L.A., Nashville or New York,” he said. “People here have more passion about the music and artistry and writing, not just the glamour and glitz.”

And he is going to make it, Bowlin said. The key to success is having the right people — “God, family and friends,” — behind you.

“With the right people backing you up, if people see you are passionate, they get enthused about it, too,” he said.

Would there be anything else Bowlin would do other than music? The answer is a firm negative. If he was not making it in music, he would be learning how.

“I’m just a dreamer,” he said. “Always been one either dealing with dreams being broken or building new ones.”

Bowlin can be seen following his dream at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Wormy Dog Saloon at 311 E. Sheridan. For more information, call the Wormy Dog at 601-6276.

        

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