Colin contends with the loss of our annual Christmas Eve Eve show with a musical year-end wrap-up.
Read MoreColin & The Bowlers Return with Two Safe Shows for a Good Cause!
Colin & The Bowlers playing two benefit shows, September 17th and 18th. #saveourstages
Read MoreI'm Riding Shotgun on the CD1025 Morning Show This Friday - Colin Gawel
I'll be Brian Phillips' co-pilot for the CD1025 Morning Show Friday May 25th as we fly you into Memorial Day weekend. Tune in or stream the show from 7-11 am at www.cd1025.com. Brian was recently voted 3rd most popular radio voice in Columbus by 614 magazine, which is pretty amazing considering that includes every Clear Channel / Sports Radio / AM Rush Limbaugh type show in this huge, sprawling radio market.
A reminder, WWCD in Columbus Ohio is one of the last independent alternative rock n roll stations left on the planet. It plays amazing music and supports the community. Get on board and spread the word. - Colin
How cool is CD1025? They have been dropping in this little nugget on occasion.
Downsizing From My Rock n Roll McMansion to a Condo With a Small Yard - by Colin Gawel
I’ve ended some bands and started a new one. Well, it’s sorta new: Colin and the Bowlers will be playing Sunday, April 29th at Little Rock Bar from 2-5 pm. Yes, you read that right, it’s a day drinking gig for all you Sunday Funday folks. It’s a kinda new idea for a kinda new band. No cover, either.
In the past three years I've recorded or performed with the following bands:
Watershed
The Lonely Bones
Why Isn’t Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
The League Bowlers
The Willie Phoenix Tribute Machine
Dead Schembechlers
And I was still playing solo gigs and trying to pump out shite for Pencilstorm.
Don’t get me wrong, I did this to myself and it was all tons of fun, but after the release of League Bowlers - Some Balls Deluxe in December 2017, and the passing of our great guitarist Mike Parks in January 2018, I knew it was the end of an era. And besides, I’m getting older and all these early morning coffee shop hours make me sleepy. It was time to downsize from my rock n roll McMansion to a condo with a small yard.
Bowlers vs Bones. That was the question.
The League Bowlers were my original side band: a way to blow off steam between Watershed shows. Once Watershed went on hiatus, it’s didn’t make much sense to have a side band for no band, so I formed The Lonely Bones. I felt like I needed to make a real attempt to establish myself as a valid solo artist (pardon that pretentious term). I wasn’t gunning for the top of the charts or anything, I just had to challenge myself to exist outside the world of Watershed. Thanks to the help of many, I feel like The Lonely Bones accomplished all we set out to achieve. With the release of Superior - The Best of Colin Gawel in 2016, I was ready to close the chapter on that band, if not the songs.
Meanwhile, getting back together in 2016 with the classic League Bowlers line-up of Jim Johnson, Dan Cochran, Mike and myself was truly a blessing. We had a great two-year run and Some Balls is a record that will live forever. But with Mike's passing, and Dan now busy with three young kids and the Four String Brewery to run, it was time to call it a day. I know this sucks for Jim but I’m hoping a version of the League Bowlers with him and Dan can still make special appearances. For instance, we applied to this year’s Comfest. And the nice thing about the Bowlers is whoever has a shirt on that day can be part of the band. Once this thing gets going we can rotate some folks in and out depending on the schedule.
But if I am only going to have one band outside of Watershed, I can only have one drummer and Herb Schupp & myself started this journey together as lab partners in 7th grade and we are going to ride this thing to the finish line.
Rick Kinsinger does everything. He records the Bones, Bowlers and Watershed and plays in all three as well. None of this happens without Rick. He is playing guitar. No more keyboards. I threw them in the dumpster while moving out of the McMansion.
With Dan wanting to spend more time with his family and play with his original band Feversmile, we needed a new bass player. I’ve always preferred friendship over musicianship so it’s been a treat to spend time again with my old pal Andy Hindman. For those of you that don’t know, Andy grew up with me in Worthington, was the original Watershed roadie for hundreds of shows before getting a better gig with the Goo Goo Dolls. He still works with them to this day. He is also an accomplished musician and recording engineer himself.
I thought about changing the band name but since my merch table only has two CDs available: Colin Gawel - Superior, and The League Bowlers - Some Balls Deluxe I just wanted to keep it simple. ANOTHER new band would take all kinds of explaining and who has the time or energy for that when we could be drinking a beer and talking about Cheap Trick?
With the new lineup in place, we have been having a blast getting together in my basement playing Bowlers and Bones tunes along with all kind of covers just for kicks. Our goal is to be a bar band that we would like to see if we were in a bar. Wearing Bowling shirts of course.
So, Day Drinking with Colin and The Bowlers will be happening Sunday, April 29th 2-5 pm at Little Rock Bar. I can’t guarantee we will be great, but I can guarantee it will be fun. I hope you can join us for the ride. - Colin
The League Bowlers on CD102.5 and Now Available Everywhere
If you have been tuning in or streaming CD1025 lately, you might have noticed a little tune by The League Bowlers slipping into the rotation. That's right, the song "She's My Inspiration" is on the charts with a bullet. You can help by texting: Request League Bowlers to 68683; or tweet @cd1025fm; or go old-school and call 614-221-1025. Our pal Maggie at WCBE has been mixing in some tracks too, so check that out.
Along those lines, another way you can help is listening to the League Bowlers on Spotify, Youtube, I-Tunes or wherever you get your music. Put us on your playlist. Share it with a friend. Post on facebook. Request us on Outlaw Country and Underground Garage. Every little bit helps. Thanking you in advance - Colin
Lonely Bones Final Show @ FMMF - by Colin Gawel
Standing behind the counter at Colin's Coffee at 10:50 am on Friday August 18th, it just struck me that the Lonely Bones show tomorrow at Fashion Meets Music Festival is probably going to be our last. I guess we could do something else but I can't imagine why. There is no drama behind the decision. The Bones were created when Watershed went on indefinite hiatus so Joe Oestreich could begin his successful writing career. It's been a good run.
Having played within the Watershed structure since before puberty, I needed to challenge myself and see if I could sink or swim as a solo act. I feel like the Lonely Bones accomplished more than I ever could have hoped for. With the release of Superior - The Best of Colin Gawel in 2016, a compilation of all notable music from this Lonely Bones era, it feels like that chapter is closed and it's time to turn the page.
Thanks to Rick, Dan and Herb for joining me on this journey. And following along into Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? And Ricki C. of course.
Besides the recorded work we left behind (HUGE thanks to talented Mike Landolt) the band was fortunate enough to play many cool gigs. Some memories off the top of my head, in between serving customers coffee......
- Our first gig as The Lonely Bones was playing the Bruce Springsteen weekend at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in June, 2009. They were looking for a semi-credible band to perform and not some cheesy "Bruce in the USA" cover/tribute act. Watershed's name came up and when I got the call I thought is was a prank. Eventually we settled on the Lonely Bones playing instead of Watershed. There is a bootleg of this show kicking around. Ask Ricki C. where to find one if you are interested. Dave Masica was still drumming in the Bones at this point.
- Early on I vowed to never play a late rock and roll show again. And we didn't. The Lonely Bones NEVER played a local show that started later than 9pm and usually much earlier. Big thanks to Todd at the Rumba Cafe and Paul at Woodland's for buying into this vision for the band. We had many great shows at both clubs.
- We got to perform numerous times at Comfest and the Independent's Day festival, both of which we were honored to a part of. And the first Goodale Park music series now that I think of it.
-Though we didn't travel much, David Bash invited the band to perform at his International Pop Overthrow Festival twice in Chicago and once in Cleveland. Once again, we were flattered to be a part of such a cool event.
- When the song "Superior" was in heavy rotation on CD1025, then PD Andyman Davis invited us to play a sold out CD101 Day show at the LC in Columbus. It was a thrill to be on that big stage with the new band. Sadly, Andy passed away soon after, but I'll always cherish the time we spent together that night.
- Brian Phillips and Wal Ozello deserve major kudos for being the brains behind the videos "Superior" and "Dad Can't Help You Now" (in that order). Those videos will survive long after we are all gone.
Also big thanks to Will Kenworthy who served as manager, webmaster and social media director for the Lonely Bones. Without his help I'd still probably be on Myspace. He also co-founded pencilstorm.com along with myself.
I'm so lucky to be surrounded by so many talented people.
Also of note was having a front row seat watching Bones bassist Dan Cochran conceive and create the Four String Brewing Company right in front of my eyes. Rick Kinsinger actually helped him design and build his first brewer thingy or whatever those things are called. To walk into a store and see a six-pack of Hilltop Lager staring me in the face makes glad all over.
What's next? We have been working hard to get the League Bowlers Some Balls Deluxe released this September and Watershed should have something new out in 2018. In the meantime I suspect at my advancing age it's time to downsize. Being in five bands is about three too many. Not sure exactly where this is headed but rough thoughts include:
- Rick K. is done dragging keyboards out to shows
- It will involve Bowling shirts
- We will still keep playing Superior
In closing, there is a bunch of footage floating around youtube but the clip below is my favorite. It's just The Lonely Bones playing on the radio, but boy, we really nailed it. This is how I will remember this band. Nothing fancy, just friends playing some rock n roll. Thanks to all who came out to the gigs and dug the music. - Colin Gawel