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Johnny Lowebow AKA John Lowe was born in Texarkana Arkansas in 1955. His early years were spent Listening To Shreveport Radio Stations and Picking Cotton on his Grandfather�s farm. His Uncle exposed him to Acoustic guitar and Boogie Woogie Piano at the age of two or three .His Fathers Political bent brought him to Washington DC in 1960 where Swampy Radio of the South was replaced 60�s top 40 AM. In 1969 his parents bought him a Silvertone acoustic. He was back and forth between the DC area and Arkansas setting in Fayetteville in 1970. In Fayetteville he was exposed to Bands such as The Cates Gang, and Memphis Touring Bands such as Molach. On a visit to Washington in 71 he attended a Smithsonian folk life fest and got a sheet with the Rudiments of the blues. Returning to Fayetteville he bought a 1959 Les Paul Jr. and a amp Made out of a TV set. Various attempts at bands in the seventies including a short stint in Austin, did not amount to much until the early Eighties when he was a part of the Ice House Punk scene, opening for Tav Falco. A move to California and relocation to Memphis sidelined his music until 1995 when he started playing with his current drummer Eric Carney in his rock combo The Helltones. They mostly jammed at his house and ended up making a Album a couple Live shows Opening for IggyPop. Working in his store Xanadu Music and Books, a Customer Jay Kirgis ,Requested a single string Pickup. Jay installed it on one of His Diddly Bows and left one on consignment. During the yearly Parking lot Jam John Did a Feedback solo with the one string on His Orange amps. Impressed with the tone he made a Feedback stick out of a 1� dowel his pickup and a Hose Clamp. Soon he added another string for a Chord and joined Lane Wilkins at the Clarksdale Blues fest of 1999.He sold his first instrument at that show. Richard Johnston came to his shop and asked him to come to his Gig at the Poplar Lounge. Richard would play his show and let John play a short set on his stick. Richard said he would play the Lowebow if John could make him a Three String on a Box. John made the three string, and Richard took it everywhere. Just before the Blues first World Blues contest, Richard saw the Double neck that John Had made, and asked him to move the necks together on one like his three string. Richard then added Feet Drums and the first Lowebow One Man Band was formed. Richard�s show stunned the judges and Richard won First Place and the Albert King award. That spring John joined Richard on Beale Street playing along on a One string at first and then playing break sets as a one man band. John continued with Richard playing at Othar Turners Goat Roast and Busking on Cherry Street at the King Bisquit Blues fest. John has played them every year since. Richard would tour and John kept the Show going on Beale having Robert Belfour join him. Playing Feet Drums Behind Robert and Richard and playing his one man band. In 2002 John traveled to the Kalamazoo Blues fest and the Uno A Go Go One Man Band Fest in Chicago. The Lowebow instrument is all over the World. Bands including Lyle Lovett, Microwave Dave, The North Mississippi Allstars, Jim Dickinson, Thundercrack form France, Jug Fusion, and many others have depended on the Lowebow for their sound. John Continues to expand music with innovations from his Workshop. He hopes to have a easy to install Pickup on the market soon. |
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