Conversations with Dave Fowler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Fowler.

Hi Dave, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I came to Nashville in 1985 to pursue a career in the music industry. I literally had nothing. I’m basically a poor southern boy with a high school education, but I had goals in mind, and I wasn’t going to let anything deter me from being successful! I got through many difficult times through sheer determination and hard work.

When I first came to town as a musician, I begin to seek out the guys who were doing the things I wanted to do and I became friends with them. I watched closely what everyone did and made serious mental notes in order to follow that path to success.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s never a smooth road when you are pursuing your dreams.

During the process early on, I lost a wife I was evicted from my apartment and I had a car repossessed all within 60 days! So pursuing your dreams often comes at a very high price and not many people are built to withstand the reality of the costs! Don’t let anyone kid you it is not easy, but there is nothing more worthwhile!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a professional musician. My instrument is the electric bass guitar. I grew up, playing in church back in North Carolina, and it just grew from there as I began to get into other types of music. I grew as a player… after I got to Nashville, and really applied myself, I became known as a guy that could show up with no rehearsal and play with a major artist, simply by reading Nashville numbers, charts, and how that works is usually the artist will provide a live performance recording, and you have to sit down and either learn it or use the Nashville number chart system to write it out verbatim so that you can play right along with the artist’s band as mistake free as possible it’s not an easy task and something you really have to work at to be good at it.

I am sure what sets me, apart from other musicians is not so much, my playing ability as my ability to get along well with others and be easy to travel with that often carries more weight than being a tremendous player… there are many things that I’m very proud of throughout my career. I’ve been able to play with people that I had only heard about or seen on TV as a kid which include Billy Bob Thornton and Dolly Parton.. for a guy from a very small town in North Carolina I have accomplished a lot through sheer determination.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I guess that would be my mother’s story when she was 13 years old.

She was shot at close range by a little boy playing with a shotgun. It literally blew her in half in the mountains of western North Carolina. She died four times. The doctors told my grandparents if she lived through the night, it would be a miracle in itself, and if she did live she would never have children so I guess you could say I am literally a miracle so I’ve always felt due to this, that my life has a very high and special purpose. I am a Christ follower and I take this very seriously.

Pricing:

• $600 per day for playing on the road plus per diem and travel.
• $2500 per song for producing songwriter demos in very high quality. I work with artists on every budget concerning songwriter demos in the studio. So reach out for all options.
• $1000 per day plus expenses for public speaking I do this for kids who are considering pursuing a career in music or the arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.davefowler.com 

Image Credits
Rick Malkin and Mark Horan