Rick Fowler
Back On My Good Foot
© 2008 Jammates Records (094922898654)
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British blues rock with a raw soul reminiscent of early Johnny Winter and an aural suspense akin to Robin Trower.
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"Athens, Georgia's Rick Fowler is a midnight stalker on guitar, steady when called for, but fearless when he rips into the moment. As a vocalist he's spooky-smooth. Randall Bramblett, along with a few others, mixes up tasty blues/rock cocktails behind Fowler on Back On My Good Foot. There's a distinct Brit-invasion vibe to several of the songs, but the production and the deft, exciting performances root the album firmly in the here and now. “You've got skeletons in your closet; well mine's out walkin' 'round; and when that jawbone starts to rattle; it spreads the news all over town.” That line alone, on top of a stomping beat, distinguishes Fowler as one hell of a writer. The timely political outrage in “Running from the Truth” and the chic blues in “Walk Softly” are two more cases in point. As a perfect conclusion to the album, the band all but one-ups Savoy Brown in ten agile minutes of sheer “Hellbound Train.” - Hittin' the Note magazine, June, 2008
"Fowler sings with an understated intensity and his playing isn't showy, but brims over with a dark soulful power. Fowler's also a superior songwriter, and while his scenarios are unremittingly bleak they're also imbued with a self-effacing humor that keeps things from getting too grim. The opener, "Infected With the Blues", likens the blues to a fatal disease. Fowler's observations on his condition here mirror the lives of many as he sings "I'm worried 'bout the future, I'm haunted by the past, ain't crazy 'bout the present, I pray that it can't last" His solo is full of fire and brimstone that belies his protestation of helplessness."
- j.poet – Billboard.com, All Music Guide
"As a writer, Rick Fowler pens songs that reach out and literally grab the listener by the lapels. Add to that his stinging guitar attack and a red-hot backing band, and Back On My Good Foot makes for a highly-recommended listen!!!" - Don Crow - The Music City Blues Society
"With so many blues guitarists aping the Vaughns, it's refreshing to hear somebody wear his British blues influences on his sleeve...Fowler achieving a fat sound that would do Kim Simmonds proud...Road to Nowhere and the Strat-y Walk Softly are good, old-fashioned, unadorned blues." - Dan Forte - Vintage Guitar Magazine
"Classic white boy blues guitarist that's happy to be a well regarded journeyman in search of the ultimate riff. The kind of cat that knows his stuff, doesn't make a big deal out of it and lets the good times roll. Fun stuff for blues guitar fans ready to let it rock." - Chris Spector - Midwest Record
BIO:
"When I play a note on my guitar and it sustains just right -- for a few seconds, I have everything I need in this world." - Rick Fowler
This quote sums up the attitude behind the music of blues-rock guitarist-vocalist Rick Fowler. His musical honesty creates an unsurpassed morphic resonance between him and his listeners. With Rick, it’s never about notes-per-second, phony emotion, or conjured-up glory; it is a true elation shared by both musician and audience.
With a raw soul reminiscent of early Johnny Winter and an aural suspense akin to Robin Trower, Fowler and band deliver the energy, joy, anger, and often deep torment found in the very best of blues-rock.
Superb musicians and a record label that puts the music first helped Rick capture this magic on tape with his new CD Back on My Good Foot. The disc embodies both raw blues at its core and British-style blues-rock at its most powerful.
Audiences immediately lock into the depth of Fowler’s live performances and absorb the veracious delivery that can only come from a soul truly destined to play the blues.
Rick has been playing guitar and singing in bands since the age of twelve. He learned to play primarily by listening to early British blues/rock guitarists and American blues players. He has performed with some of the world’s top musicians and toured much of Europe and The Mediterranean. Although he has played a number of musical styles with various artists, his deep blues roots can always be clearly heard.
Fowler’s earlier bands included Ziggurat, Deacon Little, and Fortnox. Fowler also recorded with pop singer Bertie Higgins, whose hit single Key Largo reached platinum sales in several countries. In 1982, the Fortnox song "Storm Inside My Head" went to number 44 in US Airplay and the band’s video reached the top 20 on MTV. The band toured non-stop for a year in support of the record, headlining medium venues and performing in stadiums as the supporting act for top rock acts such as Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, George Thorogood, Joan Jett, The Ramones, The Outlaws, Johnny Van Zant, April Wine, Pat Benetar, and dozens of others. In 1984, Rick’s band Bombay recorded an album with legendary British producer Eddie Offord (of John Lennon, Yes, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fame) supported by the MTV video "Rumble Tonight".
Rick moved to Athens, Georgia in 1991 after months of touring overseas with the band Bad Fun. He began performing with a number of Athens-based artists, including Ralph Roddenberry, Redneck Greece, and The Lonely White Boys (a band he formed with Drivin’ N’ Cryin guitarist Buren Fowler, Dreams So Real drummer Drew Worsham, and Normaltown Flyers bassist Greg Veale). He also regularly played guitar in side band projects with Bill Berry (R.E.M.), Dave Schools (Widespread Panic, Government Mule), Randall Bramblett (Traffic), and a number of other top musicians from the area.
With a desire to create a musical endeavor to help support a good cause, Rick put together a band of well-known musicians to perform the first rock concert benefit for Tourette syndrome awareness. Bill Berry, who was at the time retiring from the mega-star band R.E.M., made the show his farewell performance, allowing his drums to be auctioned off for charity at the end of the night. The event received international coverage including MTV, CNN, VH-1, AOL, Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, and a number of other music news outlets. Welcome Companions, a CD recorded by the benefit concert band, was released by Polyglot Records under the band name Rick Fowler and Friends.
In recent years, Rick played guitar on dozens of CD projects, performed hundreds of shows spanning three countries, and produced and performed the music track for the Sundance Film Festival award-winning movie Dirty Work. In 2006, he got a chance to record with one of his earliest influences; Roland Janes (guitarist for Jerry Lee Lewis and other 50’s hitmakers) in Memphis, TN at Sam Phillips Recording.
Rick signed with Jammates Records in 2007 and recorded the CD Back On My Good Foot. With the CD’s release in early 2008, Fowler is performing in support of the record.