85: The Wayback #85 | Philip Bowen

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Wayback with Ryan Sickler – Episode 85: Philip Bowen

Release Date: August 14, 2025

In Episode 85 of The Wayback with Ryan Sickler, host Ryan Sickler welcomes musician Philip Bowen for an engaging and nostalgic conversation. The episode journeyed through Philip's early life, musical upbringing, memorable sports moments, and personal anecdotes, culminating in a delightful live musical performance. Here's a detailed breakdown of the key discussions and insights shared during the episode.

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1. Introduction and Promotion [00:07 - 00:55]

Ryan begins by expressing gratitude to the listeners and introduces Philip Bowen, highlighting his upcoming music projects:

Ryan Sickler [00:07]: "I'm very grateful that you guys are digging this show. This is such a fun show to do, and I'm very excited to have this guest with me today here."

Philip takes the opportunity to promote his music:

Philip Bowen [00:33]: "Philip Bowen, you can find me however you listen to music. Spotify, Apple, Amazon. However you do your thing, come find my music. New album coming out later this year."

2. Family and Early Life [00:55 - 02:03]

Philip shares stories about his father, a passionate salesman who frequently bought and sold cars, providing a vibrant backdrop to his childhood:

Philip Bowen [01:05]: "My papa Bowen, my grandpa Bowen was like, he would buy and sell everything. Salesman for his whole thing."

A humorous anecdote reveals his father's knack for finding questionable deals:

Philip Bowen [01:54]: "He got on shoes one time, and he shows up at church with these dress shoes...he starts walking around barefoot."

3. Musical Beginnings and Education [02:03 - 05:15]

Ryan delves into Philip's early musical journey, noting he began fiddling at four years old:

Ryan Sickler [02:03]: "Before we get into some. Right there, brother. Promote it all."

Philip recounts his weekly music classes at WVUIT in Montgomery, West Virginia, under Dr. Meyer:

Philip Bowen [02:28]: "Music class is once a week on Wednesdays... Dr. Meyer was the main music teacher there."

4. Synesthesia and Music Perception [03:47 - 04:50]

Philip discusses his unique way of experiencing music, likening it to colors and visual imagery, which enhanced his musical creativity:

Philip Bowen [04:17]: "I could see it almost like you would draw one like. Like a poster like that and color it in."

5. Sports Memories: Randy Moss and Jason Williams [08:09 - 11:39]

The conversation shifts to Philip's vivid memories of watching renowned athletes Randy Moss and Jason Williams play high school sports. He reminisces about their exceptional skills and the community's enthusiasm:

Philip Bowen [09:02]: "Randy Moss is dunking on everybody. And we watched him that year go play in like the state tournament."

Ryan highlights a Nike commercial featuring these stars, reinforcing Philip's impactful memories:

Ryan Sickler [09:53]: "Nobody could guard Randy. Nobody."

6. Growing Up in West Virginia: Small Town Life [06:07 - 07:55]

Philip paints a picture of his upbringing in Boomer and Montgomery, WV, emphasizing the tight-knit community, local eateries, and the significance of basketball:

Philip Bowen [06:47]: "Basketball is king, bro. People love basketball. It's like a cult there."

He fondly describes local favorites like Tudor's Biscuit World and the iconic Burger Cart:

Philip Bowen [07:19]: "That's our tutors, right? That's the tutors. And see the burger carts next door with the red awning?"

7. Musical Competitions and Fiddle Contests [13:07 - 14:11]

Philip shares his participation in fiddle contests at events like the Vandalia Gathering, highlighting his early achievements and passion for music:

Philip Bowen [13:48]: "I won the fiddle contest when I was 5, like in my little, you know, age group."

8. Personal Anecdotes and Pranks [18:02 - 20:29]

Philip recounts playful sibling pranks with his younger brother Patrick, illustrating their mischievous yet affectionate relationship:

Philip Bowen [19:02]: "I covered his whole face in this cheeky gel blush...we get this big fight."

He humorously describes retaliatory pranks that led to early morning chaos:

Philip Bowen [19:56]: "We get in trouble. And so that night, I'm gonna get up Monday to try to, like, jog a little bit."

9. Awkward Date Story: Mortuary Showroom [22:07 - 27:41]

One of the episode's standout moments is Philip's vivid and humorous recounting of an awkward attempt to woo a girl with his musical talents. The date takes an unexpected turn when he's invited to her family's mortuary showroom:

Philip Bowen [24:23]: "And we walk in and all of a sudden it just smells very medical in here... this is a mortuary funeral home place."

The situation escalates comically as Philip's girlfriend and her brother enthusiastically participate, leaving Philip bewildered:

Philip Bowen [26:08]: "And she jumps in a pink casket, the brother's in a casket... I was just standing there."

10. Cultural Traditions in Sports and Music [28:00 - 28:50]

Ryan and Philip discuss the unique tradition at Camden Yards where "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" is played during the seventh-inning stretch instead of the classic "Take Me Out to the Ball Game":

Ryan Sickler [28:00]: "Tradition began in the mid-70s for a contemporary song to play instead of Take Me Out."

Philip enthusiastically shares his experience performing this tradition live:

Philip Bowen [28:34]: "I even did it there."

11. Musical Performance [28:54 - 30:09]

The episode culminates in a lively musical performance where Ryan and Philip collaborate. They perform a rendition of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," showcasing Philip's fiddle skills and adding a personal touch to the tradition:

Philip Bowen [30:01]: "Thank God I'm a country boy yeah. Yeah."

12. Closing Remarks and Promotion [30:10 - End]

Philip wraps up the episode by reiterating his music promotion:

Philip Bowen [30:12]: "Listen, anywhere you're on social media, I'm there. Philip Bowen Music."

Ryan thanks Philip for his participation and encourages listeners to follow both on social media:

Ryan Sickler [30:28]: "This is fun, dude. This is so much fun."

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Key Takeaways and Insights

• Early Musical Development: Philip's immersive early exposure to music and his synesthetic perception significantly shaped his musical talents and career.
• Community and Culture: Growing up in a small West Virginian town fostered a strong sense of community, particularly around basketball and local traditions.
• Memorable Anecdotes: Personal stories, such as the mortuary showroom date, highlight Philip's humorous and relatable side.
• Musical Passion: Philip's dedication to music is evident through his competitions, performances, and ongoing projects.

Notable Quotes

• Philip Bowen [04:17]: "I could see it almost like you would draw one like. Like a poster like that and color it in."
• Philip Bowen [09:02]: "Randy Moss is dunking on everybody. And we watched him that year go play in like the state tournament."
• Philip Bowen [24:23]: "And all of a sudden it just smells very medical in here... this is a mortuary funeral home place."
• Ryan Sickler [28:00]: "Tradition began in the mid-70s for a contemporary song to play instead of Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

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Conclusion

Episode 85 of The Wayback with Ryan Sickler offers a heartfelt and entertaining glimpse into Philip Bowen's life, blending personal stories with musical passion. From his early days in West Virginia to his unique experiences blending sports and music, Philip's narrative is both inspiring and relatable. The episode not only highlights his upcoming musical projects but also cements his role as a storyteller who connects deeply with his audience.

Listeners are encouraged to follow Philip Bowen's musical journey through his website philipbowenmusic.com and his various social media platforms.

Transcript

[Philip Bowen]

Hey, baby, we gonna be here all day. We're gonna be here all day, baby. I like that kind of party.

[Ryan Sickler]

Welcome back to the Way Back. Everybody. Ryan Sickler here. I want to say thank you for supporting this show. Thank you for supporting anything I do. I'm very grateful that you guys are digging this show. This is such a fun show to do, and I'm very excited to have this guest with me today here. Ladies and gentlemen, in the Way Back, Philip Bowen. Welcome, buddy.

[Philip Bowen]

Thank you.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you.

[Philip Bowen]

What's up? Everybody here? Yes. Happy to be here.

[Ryan Sickler]

Before we get into some. Right there, brother. Promote it all.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. All right. Philip Bowen, you can find me however you listen to music. Spotify, Apple, Amazon. However you do your thing, come find my music. New album coming out later this year. We got all kinds of songs out there. The first album is called Old Canala. But if you can't spell, just look for my name. Bowen is the last name. And then for merch and tour dates and all that kind of stuff, just go to my website, philipbum music.com.

[Ryan Sickler]

So I usually start these episodes by asking someone if they ever sat in this backseat and if they did, whose car? Like, where did you sit in this seat?

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. So my. My papa Bowen, my grandpa Bowen was like, he would buy and sell everything. Salesman for his whole thing. Like, almost every week he would have a different car.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, really? He was like that. He'd flip them.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, bro. One time my grandma came home from shopping and he had the house for sale. Like, yeah, he just put the house over. I don't want to see what I could get for it. You know, I just fish it. He's always looking for a deal, man. He went to. He told us. He told us about this deal. He got on shoes one time, and he shows up at church with these dress shoes, man. Look at these things. I got $50 a good will. $50. He starts walking around and they start falling apart. He bought a pair of, like, cardboard funeral shoes that you bury people in. He somehow thought he got the deal of century. So he's walking around barefoot up at.

[Ryan Sickler]

The church because he's a real gator, man.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. So that's who he had. He went. He had. He had one of these cars for a while and.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

Shout out to my ball, Bill.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, you gotta check out Phillips honeydew if you haven't seen that yet. So you know just a little bit about his family and stuff. But I want to talk to you about just growing up in a music family. So what is that like, like you said, I believe you're four years old, you start fiddling.

[Philip Bowen]

Four years old, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, so what are we doing? Like, what's music class for you? What are, you know, you have, who's, who's giving you lessons and stuff?

[Philip Bowen]

Music class is once a week on Wednesdays. I'm going to go see Dr. Meyer at West Virginia Tech.

[Ryan Sickler]

As a five year old.

[Philip Bowen]

As a four year old. Four year old at community college in like our hometown of Montgomery, West Virginia.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let's look this up. What's it called?

[Philip Bowen]

WVUIT in Montgomery, West Virginia.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Philip Bowen]

And in kind of like the main Music Building. Dr. Meyer was the main music teacher there, so I would go there. That's it. Now it's. Now it's like in Beckley, but it used to be in Montgomery. That's the building? That's the building, yeah, right there. Boom, boom.

[Ryan Sickler]

So as a four year old, you're going here and I mean, are there any other little kids there? You a prodigy? Like, what are you considered?

[Philip Bowen]

I mean, I don't think I was a prodigy, but I think that we used to drive. This is an older man at the time too, you know, I think he's still with us, so he must be ancient now, you know. But we used to drive him crazy. He would wear these big thick glasses and I would use like the bow and, and knock his glasses off. Like, you know, I drive him crazy. But he, he definitely saw something in me with like playing by ear and stuff like that, like hearing music. Because he would like take the music away from me and be like, just play what you're hearing. And then he would like put on different songs on his cassette player, like pop songs or whatever, and be like, just play something with that.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you could play along at four.

[Philip Bowen]

So I was trying to figure things out.

[Ryan Sickler]

You know, we were talking outside. You said it's colors to you. What is it, synesthesia? Yeah, right. Yeah. So I remember I'm a huge Hendrix freak. And I was saying to you, like I remember reading about him saying, well, this sounds blue to me and this sounds green to me. And then Eddie Kramer, his producer, also had that. But able to, you know, figure out what he's talking about, like, oh, this sounds blue to me. Oh, I know exactly you're talking about. Boom. Yes.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you were playing over there. We were playing Rocky Top messing around and you were saying that sounded yellow to you.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, like, like the brightness of it.

[Ryan Sickler]

When you realize that stuff's hitting you.

[Philip Bowen]

Well, I never had words for it really. But, like, I would be able to. I used to play this game, like, I had this, like, little ipod shuffle, and I would just go through song after song after song after song, and I would just see how long it would take me to be playing whatever the song was doing. And I realized I could do it the best if my eyes were closed. I could see it the most clearly, like. And I would see it almost like you would draw one like. Like a poster like that and color it in. That's how my mom would store the song. And then no matter whenever I heard it, I would just call it up just like that.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you're going weekly at 4 years old to learn how to fiddle.

[Philip Bowen]

And our mom would have this little, like, little egg timer or like an hourglass timer, and we would practice, like, 20 minutes a day most days.

[Ryan Sickler]

Was that part of school as well? Did you guys have music class?

[Philip Bowen]

Not too. Later on, but, I mean, it was a. This school I went to was a tiny, tiny school.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's the name of the school?

[Philip Bowen]

It's. It was Boomer Christian Academy in Boomer, West Virginia.

[Ryan Sickler]

So, I mean, Christian Academy and Boomer West.

[Philip Bowen]

I didn't tell right now. They ain't got no website. I'm gonna tell you right now. I don't know. You know, I don't know if it's this. It's in the basement of our church.

[Ryan Sickler]

Boomer. Boomer Baptist Church.

[Philip Bowen]

Baptist Church, brother.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's it right there.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. So, like. So if you can see in the picture underneath the gym, like, the whole bottom floor of this. These two buildings. What? No, that's not it. Back by the tracks with a big cross on it. Yeah. So, like, the. The big. The biggest part of that building. This tells you about where we grew up. Basketball is king, bro. People love basketball. It's like a cult there. It's amazing. But the biggest piece of this building is the gym. It's like the prod of this building. A real amazing wood floor. You know, ball is everything. The whole bottom floor of this was like the Christian school. So we had, like, a small elementary school, a high school, you know, middle school, whatever. I graduated with four people. Four. Four people. Legit. Legit, Legit, Legit. Man. When. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you start with them in elementary schools at the same 4? The class was a little bigger, I.

[Philip Bowen]

Think I had, like, 10 people in kindergarten, and kids went to, like. We had, like, a couple. They're not bigger.

[Ryan Sickler]

Like your high school graduating class was four? Yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

Like, they barely made it through. It was like that's it. Yeah. Five notes, it was done.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, man, that is nobody here. We go inside.

[Philip Bowen]

Boomer Baptist, tiny little church. So my parents still go to that little country church in Boomer, West Virginia.

[Ryan Sickler]

And this one here.

[Philip Bowen]

And Boomer's like, this gets right on the river.

[Ryan Sickler]

So that river you see, is it the Shenandoah River?

[Philip Bowen]

That's the Canal River. That's the one I sing about. So we grew up right in the Canal River. So down the river, seven minutes from Boomer is Montgomery, West Virginia, which is where I grew up.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Philip Bowen]

So. And Montgomery is. I mean, it's the big city compared to Boomer. Boomers like, you know, a couple hundred people. And so, you know, there's a few little, like, local places to eat along the way. The burger Cart, Tudor's Biscuit World, and that's.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wait, hold on. Look up. Tudor's Biscuit World.

[Philip Bowen]

That's it, bro. There's. I think there's. There's a couple in Kentucky. But all they do, man, they do like some cracker barrel style entrees. But the big thing they're known for is these biscuit sandwiches. Look at these things, boy.

[Ryan Sickler]

Man, they look good.

[Philip Bowen]

That's our tutors, right? That's the tutors. And see the burger carts next door with the red awning?

[Ryan Sickler]

So this is Tutors.

[Philip Bowen]

That's Tudors. This is.

[Ryan Sickler]

What is it?

[Philip Bowen]

The burger Cart.

[Ryan Sickler]

Burger cart.

[Philip Bowen]

And they sell hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream.

[Ryan Sickler]

And this is where you're going?

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, they got this hamburger there they call the Big Gene, bro. It's like a Big Mac, but it's way better.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is it?

[Philip Bowen]

It's got the big.

[Ryan Sickler]

Big Gene Big Gene sauce.

[Philip Bowen]

The Big Gene. Yeah. And they got a hamstad's called the Cartwheel. It's like it, bro. It's so good.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, hell.

[Philip Bowen]

You felt. Oh, my gosh.

[Ryan Sickler]

There's a Big Gene right there. What's on the beach?

[Philip Bowen]

That's got a fried green tomato on there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, is that what it is?

[Philip Bowen]

Well, that's not the big Gene. It's got as. We don't. We don't do guacamole on it.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, I thought that was a. No chicken breast, Anna.

[Philip Bowen]

See, it's like. Oh, a lot of this kind of stuff. You see people getting like fried bologna and like, stuff like that. Real health food, you know?

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Looks healthy.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, bro.

[Ryan Sickler]

Tell me about. Because we talked about before you came in, Randy Moss and Jason Williams. So you. You actually saw them. Yeah, as. Really? Tell me about that.

[Philip Bowen]

I remember them. I remember very distinctly a day my dad came home from work and bust in the door and say, boys, we're going. We got to go watch these two boys play ball. We gotta go.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you're going to see him in high school.

[Philip Bowen]

High school.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's the high school again?

[Philip Bowen]

Dupont. And so Randy Moss and Jason Williams played. I think it's just the middle school now, but like they play ball together in high school.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is this it? Yeah, this is where Randy and Jason played together here?

[Philip Bowen]

Yep.

[Ryan Sickler]

And your dad comes home and he's like, you guys, we gotta go watch. Not just one, you got two.

[Philip Bowen]

The boys play ball.

[Ryan Sickler]

Two.

[Philip Bowen]

And these like, you know, J Dub, man, he's doing like, he's doing all the white chocolate stuff in high school, like behind the back, full court, bounce passes, bro, like just crazy stuff. And Randy Moss is dunking on everybody. And we watched him that year go play in like the state tournament. And then, then in football season we went. We were. We'd be like, the whole town would come out for these football games and they just. The quarterback would take three, four steps back, just throw the ball as far.

[Ryan Sickler]

As he could like Tom Brady did in the NFL.

[Philip Bowen]

You could not out throw Randy Moss. I remember we went and saw him play at Marshall once. I think it was against army. And he caught a 96 yard touchdown pass. It was just like, you know, gone. Nobody could guard Randy. Nobody.

[Ryan Sickler]

My favorite pass. Look up Jason Williams behind the back elbow. Oh yeah, I know this, this pass.

[Philip Bowen]

Patient missed the layup. I know.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, he sure did.

[Philip Bowen]

I know this path. What a guy do. This guy was so great off the elbow.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, to this day, nobody, nobody.

[Philip Bowen]

Do you remember that commercial at Nike Commercial.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was just going to ask. Just bring it up, Kirsten. I was going to ask you if you did because every time I bring it up, people don't know what it is. This is Nike commercial. Randy Moss, Jason Williams and it's a Dukes of Ha Hazard. And yeah, let's watch this thing. It's so good.

[Philip Bowen]

Just some good old Bo Never.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, we got him right there.

[Philip Bowen]

Be in trouble with the law since the day they was born.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, there it is right there it is.

[Philip Bowen]

Tournament. I was there for that.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, that's just a little bit more. Yep. It's so well done. Get it, princess. Get it, girl.

[Philip Bowen]

Man, like the joy we would find these communities. Like you don't have much to root for.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you see Bell like that in a Nike commercial. You gotta be like, fuck, yeah, it's us.

[Philip Bowen]

I think I was telling you outside, but, like, you couldn't walk around Fayette county and Kanawha County, West Virginia, without seeing. There's Kings jerseys everywhere and Vikings jerseys everywhere. It was just like, look what. Look what we did.

[Ryan Sickler]

And now you're seeing games on TV that you would never see before. I was saying, a friend of mine lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and because of Lamar, they're all Ravens fans, and they now air Ravens games in Louisville instead of. I think it was Falcons or. Or might have even been Bengals. I'm not sure who that. But, yeah, now it's Ravens.

[Philip Bowen]

It's hard to imagine, like, you know, like, this little town we grew up in, like, my dad being like, oh, they're showing the Kings game on tnt, the Sacramento Kings. Just a regular season home game in Montgomery on the East Coast. It's just, like, so wild, you know? And it was just really cool, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. To get to see them in high school together. That's crazy, dude. That's so good. Were you an athlete? Did you play any sports?

[Philip Bowen]

I played. I was all conference, my senior, high school in basketball.

[Ryan Sickler]

Were you really?

[Philip Bowen]

But like I said, basketball is.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do we have any pictures of you in basketball?

[Philip Bowen]

Oh, man, I don't know. Our team was the Boomer Broncos. How.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wait, how are you playing basketball if your team's your graduating class?

[Philip Bowen]

We literally don't even have enough. Like, we had. We had no JV team. No JV team. So we had, like.

[Ryan Sickler]

We gotta have five to play, man.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, we have. The most we'd ever have would be eight or nine people.

[Ryan Sickler]

For real. That's all the subs you had?

[Philip Bowen]

We. We have one year.

[Ryan Sickler]

You gotta be in shape.

[Philip Bowen]

We have. We have one year. We're a sixth grader. Was on the varsity team. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's my younger brother. And, like. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And, like, is that even allowed? They let it happen.

[Philip Bowen]

They don't care. Y' all want to play ball? You can suit up or not. I remember. I remember the ref being like, well, y' all gonna shoot up. You gotta have two steps. I'm like, well, so we pull a sixth grader up that.

[Ryan Sickler]

It didn't even go to school.

[Philip Bowen]

Jersey's falling off his. You know.

[Ryan Sickler]

That is hilarious, bro.

[Philip Bowen]

And we used to. We just. Like. Our only hope was our coach would have us run the fast break every. Just. No matter. Just run. Just run, run, running with. He'd have. He'd have the starting five. The whole practice would just be running with medicine balls around the gym. Well, are we going to shoot? No, Y' all gotta be in the best shape. We don't have. That's all we had to do, so it was hilarious. It's wild times, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

Tell me about some music. Like it was competitions or like, what are you doing?

[Philip Bowen]

I would always go play. Like I said, we talked about on the Honey dude podcast, you know, we talked about the Vandalia gathering. And I mean, I was. I remember my. My mom still got these framed in our house. Like, I was in the paper a few times for doing this fiddle contest. So just like everybody's sitting around playing and stuff like this. So these little kids playing and like these. There's like these big open stages and you get this big. Same stickers. You have these big stickers on you and you're just waiting your turn to play. And it's a great way to just learn music young and old. You're learning from the old folks, like how to play and how they pick and play and all that stuff. And so I won the fiddle contest when I was 5, like in my little, you know, age group.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you?

[Philip Bowen]

And it was just. Yeah, so I'll do some of that kind of stuff, you know.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you ever beat any, like, older kids? You know what I mean, when they get pissed and stuff, like five year old?

[Philip Bowen]

Well, there'd be. There'd be some, like, people that were like. Like the. Like all this kid's coming from. There's a kid from Pinch, West Virginia. Pinch, you know, like P I N. Cinch it.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Philip Bowen]

You know?

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

Oh, yeah. A boy from Pinch can play, man. You know, And I remember. I remember like one year when I was. That's me. Like, that's you first year ever played.

[Ryan Sickler]

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[Philip Bowen]

Yes. That's the first year I ever played. And I remember my mom bought me that cowboy hat to go do this competition.

[Ryan Sickler]

And. Are you singing too there or.

[Philip Bowen]

No, I was talking to people while I was playing.

[Ryan Sickler]

You were?

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, I was like, come on, man. I want to hear y', all, you know, like, just trying to perform, you know, because I've seen some of the older people doing that. So I just want people to have a good time, you know, And I.

[Ryan Sickler]

Get your legs wrapped around that store. Yeah, that's a bull right there.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah, dude. And I'm. I'm, like, trying to, like, this is.

[Ryan Sickler]

The one you won. Hell, yeah, dude.

[Philip Bowen]

It's just so fun, man. And I, like. I said that. That's when it really. The bug really bit me. I was like, this is the coolest feeling I've ever had, you know?

[Ryan Sickler]

Here we go.

[Philip Bowen]

That's my younger brother Patrick. I was a little older.

[Ryan Sickler]

He's on the right.

[Philip Bowen]

That's my. That's my brother Patrick over here on the right. I don't know who that guy is.

[Ryan Sickler]

Saying, who's this guy?

[Philip Bowen]

He's. He's. He.

[Ryan Sickler]

It's. It's one of those. One thing does not like. What is it? One thing does not like the other.

[Philip Bowen]

He's got, like, the aviators on.

[Ryan Sickler]

Who is this guy? He looks bad as. He's got black look. His violin looks black and shit.

[Philip Bowen]

And then you got the one dude in a kilt behind me. I didn't notice that till just now.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, yeah, he's got bagpipes that old boys. You don't know these people. He's our family.

[Philip Bowen]

I know who they are.

[Ryan Sickler]

You don't even know who this guy is in the other cowboy hat.

[Philip Bowen]

But I don't know from Adam. No, no, no. Oh.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was going to say, I thought.

[Philip Bowen]

He met the other people around me. Like. Yeah, that's the. The little boy in the house. My younger brother Patrick.

[Ryan Sickler]

So these two are you guys?

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You have no idea who the other four.

[Philip Bowen]

The people from the paper part. Just like, y' all take a Picture together. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's like, obviously the state capitol behind us there in Charleston.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

And. Yeah, man, it was. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

What about. You have any old addresses where you used to live, where no one still currently lives that you remember? Any old houses we can look?

[Philip Bowen]

Not where nobody.

[Ryan Sickler]

No, no, people still live there.

[Philip Bowen]

We had one big move. You did, and it was in the same town, two blocks away from, like, a. A small house to, like, a not so small house. So we moved right where we live now, like, right on the river. And it's just beautiful, man. Like, we're just literally the backyard. It's like the Canal river. And it's just. It's. We live in the upper Canal Valley. So, like, our Montgomery sits in this little valley. There's mountains on either side and this big, wide river. So still to this day, in the summertime, my parents still live there.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was gonna say, tell me what you're doing in the summers there.

[Philip Bowen]

Do rope swing? We're just. We're on the river. We're in the river every single day. So we're just like.

[Ryan Sickler]

If somebody been boats. Are you floating. Floater skiing. Like, anything.

[Philip Bowen]

Somebody's got a jet skis. Even better. Jet skis. And the best thing to do is, like, when these big old coal barges are coming through, they sink 10, 15ft down the water when they're full, so they have these massive wakes behind them like this, so that. And the drivers hate this. So you. You got all these little jet skis and John boats, whatever you got, and you'd follow them in the wakes, and you try to jump the waves like ramps, you know, and you follow the cold barges down the river. Then you'd meet up at the rope swings and, you know, just be on the river all day.

[Ryan Sickler]

That sounds so the best, bro.

[Philip Bowen]

Absolutely.

[Ryan Sickler]

You share a bedroom?

[Philip Bowen]

We shared a bedroom.

[Ryan Sickler]

Who's we?

[Philip Bowen]

Me and my younger brother Patrick.

[Ryan Sickler]

Just the two of you?

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. We have bunk beds, and we. Until we were like. Until we were like, maybe in high school, we have bunk beds, and we shared a room, and we used to just, like, prank each other all the time.

[Ryan Sickler]

How. What are you doing?

[Philip Bowen]

Like, one time I. You know, once my sister had this stuff called Cheeky Gel Blush, and the whole thing is, like, you know, you put this gel on somebody's face. Yeah, yeah. So he annoyed me one day about something. As your younger brother. Right. So it was a Saturday night, and I knew we had to go to church the next day. So when he fell asleep, I had it, like, tucked under my Pillow. And I went down and I covered his whole face in this cheeky gel blush. So we woke up to go to church the next morning.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, no.

[Philip Bowen]

He's just. And it's like, semi permanent. And my mom is like, oh, what are we. They can't get it off. Can't get it off. So he obviously is, like, furious with me. We get this big fight. Like, I'm swinging music stands at him. All this stuff. We're trying to. We're getting into it. And so that night, I'm gonna get up Monday to try to, like, jog a little bit. It's almost basketball season, so I would set my alarm and get up. He covered my ladder in Vaseline.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh.

[Philip Bowen]

And it's like 5:30 in the morning. I'm getting up to go jog.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh.

[Philip Bowen]

First step onto a wooden floor. We start. I ripped him out of bed. We start getting into my mom. Kiss us. God almighty. What are y' all doing in here? My dad. You know, my dad's coming in with whitey tighties, like, yelling at everybody, just like. Yeah. She's like, our poor mother, man. Yeah, like, just Vaseline on the ladder.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. Dude, you ever get grounded?

[Philip Bowen]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's the. What are you doing that's getting you in trouble?

[Philip Bowen]

We would just, you know, basically, like. Like, our mom would work during the day in the summers, and so she'd be like, you know, y' all, don't be on the game all day or whatever. We have, like, an N64, so we, like, weren't supposed to play GoldenEye because it was a shooter, but we had a friend that had GoldenEye, so we would just. We'd just run the hell out of this game, you know? So one day we were playing goldeneye. We were so into the game, we didn't hear my mom was coming home for lunch. The hospital. Montgomery General Hospital, was, like, less than a block from our house, so she worked at Montgomery General her whole career. And we just. Too late. We hear, like, the door open and the stomping and they coming down the stairs. And, like, it's so loud, you know, we hear coming down the stairs. And then she rips the game out thing. Our friend's over. She doesn't care. I'm taking this game. It's Michael's game. I don't care. So she takes the game away. We get grounded, you know, all that kind of stuff. We just get in trouble.

[Ryan Sickler]

And so now when you guys get grounded, are you in the same room? Or does she separate?

[Philip Bowen]

Mostly separate.

[Ryan Sickler]

Golden eye.

[Philip Bowen]

And so our, so our friend now is without his game. Okay? And my mom calls. His mom tells what happened. Oh, yeah, you're right. He's not playing. I'm taking away his N64. So his mom's in on this action. It's a very small town, you know, Everybody knows. Takes his computer away too. So a couple days goes by. I was just thinking about this on the way here today. A couple days goes by, and this kid Michael calls us. He's like, bro, I got a new game. You got to come play it. I got to teach you guys this game. And you know that game, like SimCity.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right.

[Philip Bowen]

It's big, big at this time. But I'm like, he doesn't have a computer, doesn't have his N64, nothing. This is how. This is how bored we were. We go over to his house, you know, old printer paper that has, like, the holes on either side.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

So he found a box of it. Then his dad's office takes his whole living room is covered, floor to ceiling. He's like, Yo, I made SimCity on paper. I promise you, on paper. He's like, you got to play, bro. This is so sick. And we're like, man, he's like, look, you start on the couch, and it's good. You got to make it to the coffee table. Like, dude, you know a problem, bro. You got a problem. He missed his golden ass so bad, so. Oh, but you know, we were a subwoo too, so. All right, just tell us the rules, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

You ever use your guitar or your fiddle for a lady?

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I, I, I woo. I was trying to woo this one girl, and we ended up dating for a little while, and it was the first girl I ever like, went to go visit, you know, out of town. So I'd written this song for her and, and I was gonna play it for her like on New Year's Eve. So I went to her family's house. They lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia. So this is maybe my freshman year, the sophomore year of college. And I was gonna go visit them and play this song for her, you know, and she'd already kinda told me I had a weird voice one time. So I was very nervous about doing this, and so I brought my guitar and everything. And she never, like, really talked to her family ever. I talked about her family ever. So I drove to, like, kind of rural Virginia outside D.C. and I get this big old house at night. I got there later in the evening and her, but, like, there's not many people in the house that I can see. And I was like, cool, I'll play this for you. She's like, wait, I want. You need to meet my. My dad wants to meet you. So I hear this, like, thumping coming up the stairs. And there's a guy, like, kind of like this big, sturdy guy, like, in, like, Dwight, dressed like Dwight Schrute. You know, the white short sleeve shirt, you know, he's like, well, before we do anything else, you got to come see the family business. I'm like, okay, all right. And then we'll get dinner. I bet you're hungry. Like, okay. So we drive out, and we're driving for a little while, and it's me, my girlfriend, her younger brother, and the dad. And we approach the back of this very large building.

[Ryan Sickler]

And no one in the car has told you what this is.

[Philip Bowen]

I have no idea who her family, what they do. Nothing. Okay. And they're, like, giddy with excitement. They're on the edge of their seats with excitement. So we pull up to the back of this building, and there's like a little, like, smoke coming out of the top, but I can't see anything. No signage or nothing. And we walk in the back door, and her dad's like, oh, it's good, good. Don's working and he's like, doing this because there's a smoke coming out of the thing. And they're all like. They, like, think this is hilarious. They, like, laugh. So they walk in and all of a sudden it just smells very medical in here. And it smells like I'm visiting my mom at work. My mom was. Did anesthesia. And they turn on the lights, the main lights, and there's just like these metal slab examining tables everywhere. And this guy, this old guy in overalls, walks out of this room with, like, a box of stuff. And I was like, oh, this is a. Like, this is like a mortuary funeral home place, you know? And her dad's like, this is it. Wait till you see the showroom. So, yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're in a mortuary.

[Philip Bowen]

I'm in a mortuary.

[Ryan Sickler]

At what time of night? Like, 10 o'.

[Philip Bowen]

Clock. 10 o' clock at night. Rural Virginia before dinner. I'm so hungry. I drew it all this way. I just wanted to try to play this song. Get out of here, you know? So he's like, well, you got to see the showroom, Philip. You got to see the showroom.

[Ryan Sickler]

That calls it a showroom.

[Philip Bowen]

And the. The. My girlfriend, her little brother, they Are just, like, bouncing off the walls. So we walk through, like, the visitation room, this big room up front. They flip on the lights, and there's all these caskets, wall, just caskets everywhere. And they're like. My girlfriend's like, yes. And her little brother's like, yes. And they run across the room and they jump in the caskets.

[Ryan Sickler]

Nah, I'm getting. No, dude.

[Philip Bowen]

She gets in a pink casket, the brother's in a casket. The dad walks over, gets in a casket, and I'm like. I'm just standing there. And they're like, come on, come on, pick a casket. Pick a casket.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you get in a casket?

[Philip Bowen]

No. I was like, what? No, I'm sure. I was like, no, I'm straight. I'm straight. I'm really good.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'm going in once.

[Philip Bowen]

I'm good, man. I'm really good. This is so weird. And they're like, come on, come on, come on, come on. Pick a casket. And the dad's like, yeah, come on. It's really, really comfortable. Like, honestly, like, I'm really.

[Ryan Sickler]

They're stoked to go.

[Philip Bowen]

They think it's the most fun thing. Yes. They said this is a bat family business.

[Ryan Sickler]

You know, it's like, if it was cars. They're jumping in all these cars.

[Philip Bowen]

I'm like, who are you? Like, what is this going on? And then the dad, like, pops out. Like, you know the old Dracula movies. Like, he's arises out. He's like, okay, all right, fine. Just pissed.

[Ryan Sickler]

And man.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. Walked out, shut off the lights like you party pooped. We're on the whole thing, man. And then killed.

[Ryan Sickler]

You killed the vibe.

[Philip Bowen]

He's like, we'll just get some. We'll just go do a drive.

[Ryan Sickler]

The vibe in the mortuary.

[Philip Bowen]

And my girlfriend was like, what's wrong with you? I was like, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, my dad's upset now. Yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

So that was my one experience, though.

[Ryan Sickler]

What a fucking. That's a weird. I'll also say this. If there's a dad out there that wants to make sure no dude's gonna. His daughter taking him to show him. Let's go see the showroom.

[Philip Bowen]

You wanna see the showroom? Come on. Pick a casket. Pick one. Pick a casket.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, so going back to. I told you, I'm from Maryland. And in baseball, all the seventh inning stretches, as far as I know, everywhere. Play Take me out to the ball game. Yeah, play it. Seventh inning. Every stadium, except for Camden Yards in Baltimore, where they play thank God I'm a country boy.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And I don't know the history. Kirsten, actually, will you look up? What is the history of thank God I'm a country boy. Boy in Baltimore.

[Philip Bowen]

Shout out to John Denver.

[Ryan Sickler]

Shout out to Johnny Denver. And because of that, in elementary school, in your music class, they're teaching you John Denver. We're learning, thank God. Country boy.

[Philip Bowen]

I love that.

[Ryan Sickler]

So you can go to the stadium and sing along. Let's see what it says. Tradition began in the mid-70s for a contemporary song to play instead of Take Me Out. It's been played consistently ever since.

[Philip Bowen]

I even did it there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, that's bad. The World Series 83 came and did it live on the dugout. Yeah, dude, that's cool. So, yeah, you end up, you know, it's one of those cultural things. Like, we wouldn't have learned that if that wasn't going on, but that they're making us learn that in music class.

[Philip Bowen]

That's super cool.

[Ryan Sickler]

So why don't you take us out on a little.

[Philip Bowen]

Give me the fiddle, Pat.

[Ryan Sickler]

You both want to get in here? Pat, you want to get in here? It.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You want me to play? You want me to. Rising up my bow, bro.

[Philip Bowen]

It's harder than it is try I.

[Ryan Sickler]

Don'T think I can hit one. N. Get over here. Get the guitar. Let's go.

[Philip Bowen]

1, 2, 3, 4.

[Ryan Sickler]

When the farmer's got a laid back Ain't much an old country boy like.

[Philip Bowen]

Me can't have early to rise and early in the sack thank God I'm.

[Ryan Sickler]

A country boy well, simple kind of life never did me no harm to raising me a family and working it on the farm My days are all.

[Philip Bowen]

Filled with the easy country charm thank God I'm a cut well, I got.

[Ryan Sickler]

Me a fine wife I got the old fiddle when the sun's coming up Got cakes on the griddle Life ain't.

[Philip Bowen]

Nothing but a funny, funny riddle thank.

[Ryan Sickler]

God I'm a country boy yeah. Yeah. Thank you for doing this, Philip Bowen. Hell yeah.

[Philip Bowen]

Happy to be here. Plug one more time, bro.

[Ryan Sickler]

Give him to him.

[Philip Bowen]

Yeah. Listen, anywhere you're on social media, I'm there. Philip Bowen Music. And then find my music on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, whatever. New music, new album coming soon and tour dates, merch, all that good stuff. Philip bowenmusic.com Hell yeah, brother.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you very much.

[Philip Bowen]

Thank you for having me.

[Ryan Sickler]

You got it. This is fun, dude. This is so much fun. As always, thank you guys as well. Ryan Sickler on all your social media, we'll talk to y' all next week, Ram.