Bio

HI, My name is Leonard Wayne Bowers Jr. and I hail from the west side of Columbus OH. I took the name Leo B. Skoolin because in certain circles I was labeled with the title of "SKOOL" which is actually spelled "school", but what the heck! I hope you like what you hear, I do my best just to be myself although sometimes I really would like to be someone else, but no such luck! My career as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist is geared to prove that being about your business means much more than being in a group with a record contract. In our society the big corporations are finally starting to notice the independent artist. I’ve joined the ranks of other “indie” musicians and producers in a sincere effort to produce music on my own terms and get it to listeners by using all avenues at my disposal. My Immediate aim is to prep my potential public for live performances well in advance of making an appearance. I feel that independent movement of this kind by independent artist helps to pave the way for other upcoming talent seeking alternatives to production minus the corporate control factor. I,m just another one of the thousands of US! WHAT I'M DOING: I have a music website in the works that anyone and everyone is welcome to visit to sample my music, or read up on who I am and where I came from. By taking the time to read between the lines it can become clear to the discerning mind where I’m working towards going! I also employ www.myspace.com/leobskoolin, among various other sites in this campaign to build a rock solid foundation from which to reach friends and well wishers to my movement. NO NITPICKERS PLEASE: I was asked during a brief encounter with a colleague, how I expect to get my music off the ground without the aid of the industry “big wigs”. My response as near I can remember went something like this: “The thing is I’m relatively new to most of how to achieve a working advertising and marketing campaign, but I look forward to every minute of learning how to do it on my own simply because it’s something I’m truly interested in learning for myself’! My musician friend reasoned that putting so much time into endeavors of self promotion may impede the quality of my performance due to lack of rehearsals and cutting into the time needed for the artistic efforts required to produce a quality musical product. My reply to his hypothesis on this subject is simple and abc so to speak! “Nothing new comes into being without putting forth the effort”! I must admit I became a little defensive at his suggesting that I would probably fail, and that proves one thing for sure! At age 52 I’m still working on growing up! But indulge my ego momentarily if you will, and let me tell you a little success story. A SHORT STORY: I once knew a building contractor that told a friend of mine who was aspiring to build his own house on a budget of 80K that his ideas from excavating to the finishing touches were O.K. but that each one of his efforts would more than likely not pass inspection. He went on to tell him about how hard it is to get licensed to do certain things and how he needed certified electricians, plumbers, blueprints, and that it was not possible for him to build his house on that budget etc… and on, and on! My friend just listened to him and shook his head grinning and said nothing to dispute the contractor’s claims. To make a long story short, my friend did in fact build his house employing methods that the contractor couldn’t see because he limited his focus to the perspective he had conditioned himself to rely on in his own experiences and endeavors. He didn’t take into consideration (CHANGE), or the fact that my friend possessed a quality that he didn’t give him credit for! (INNOVATION)! My friend erected a 3 bedroom / 2 bath prefab on a block work basement with attached garage on 10 acres of land, excavated in a unique way, put in a well and septic system in separate purchases, and basically put together a small estate on a simple interest plan. Setups like his go for around 350k to 500k but he did it on close to 67K, which was 13K less than what he originally imagined he would spend to completion! Granted he was at it for a little over 2 years, and yes he did need some certified help just like the contractor said he would, but he did it! Why and how? BECAUSE HE WANTED TO! How did he get professional help so cheaply? Well the contractor who tried to shoot him down gave his help for free! In his efforts to tell him what he couldn’t do he told him basically everything he needed to know to find out how to get the job done! Getting it done “cheaply” is where the creativity comes in. so when you ask me how I expect to succeed at what I’m doing my answer to you is this, (BECAUSE I WANT TO)! As far as the means and tools I employ to get the job done, well that’s where the creativity comes in! You can come to see the house when I’m done, heck; you can even watch me build it if you like! And by the way, criticism is welcome here! EFFORT ITSELF IS BHAIRAVA! (Shiva Sutra). FOR THE RECORD: Just for the record what you hear is origional, recorded and performed by real instruments in real time. I don't employ karokee disc, samples or prerecorded music in my arrangements. The closest thing to sampling in my forte is the drum machine tracked for quantize value and I try to make them as real sounding as possible for LIVE reproduction and performance. I do use live kits, but unfortunately they take up a lot of room that I don't have to use at the moment! Guitar, Bass and Keyboards are played in real time with real fingers! I rarely try to sing pretty, for the most part I just say what I mean to the music employing a basic melody, although I do scrape for the spark that ignites the passion! Thanks for reading, and keep it real! CHECK ME OUT AND SIGN IN: You can visit my website at: www.leobskoolin.com and get links to everything I'm doing to try to boost my following for future events, Short term plans, and album releases. Who knows you may even pick up a few ideas you can expand on for your own use. I've visited quite a few artist pages, still do, and there are some incredible "sites" to see! THANK YOU. Leo B.