HISTORY (continued)
Losing a friend...
“The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired.”
- Robert Southey
One evening while Bowser was about to go on stage for a performance at a Sheboygan venue, the band was informed that former founding member and bassist Derek Wieland was in a serious car accident while driving home from his school in California. Drummer Brian Wieland immediately left from the performance, requiring Ehlenbeck to continue to show solo and leaving the rest of the band confused and dumbfounded as to how their long-time friend was doing. The band trudged through what seemed a very surreal and bizarre set, with their thoughts and prayers constantly with their friend. When the band went on break after their first set performance, the band received a phone call from another friend informing them that it did not look good for Derek. The band, unable to help their friend and baffled by the recent chain of events, decided to finish the remainder of that night’s performance with the memory of their friend and former band member constantly on their mind. No recording is available of the performance, but needless to say the band poured every ounce of their soul and passion into the remainder of that show.
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From L-R: Abler, Ehlenbeck, Mooney, B. Wieland, and D. Wieland at "The Ranch" (circa 2003)
Derek D. Wieland, born November 26th, 1980, left his friends and family to be with the Lord on May 23, 2004. He was a founding member of Bowser and true friend to all that knew him. His legacy and contributions to the band continue on today as many of his words and music still regularly appear in live Bowser performances including the Bowser staple “Nicholas the Pufferfish”, and rarity “The Gnu Song”, among several others. Since his passing, he has been greatly missed by his friends and family and will always hold a special place in our hearts.
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From L-R: Voightlander, Prigge, Mooney, and D. Wieland - Elkhart Lake (circa 2003)
A new pursuit...
After the loss of their friend and former band mate, Bowser took a short break from touring and performing. The hiatus gave the band members time to lament and some much needed personal time. After some time off, the band picked up the pieces where they had left off. They would eventually begin performing again; however, they all decisively resolved that the band needed an official studio record. While several bootlegs and recordings of the band existed among the Bowser community, it lacked a quality studio recording. During the Fall/Winter of ’06, Bowser hit the studio to begin recording their debut album, a mix of classic songs and new material. During the recording process, Bowser still performed albeit much less frequently. Their focus was on producing a quality record for their fans that showcased the band’s sound. The band had chosen another long-time friend and aspiring soundman Andrew LaValley to help them through the recording process. LaValley, or “Bear” by dubbed nickname, was eager to pursue this project and even resorted to moving into the band’s Elkhart Lake studio for a period of time to tackle this recording. LaValley had already been working sporadically with the band since its inception, providing his sound engineering expertise to various live shows and even performing as a musician alongside Bowser with several of his side projects (The Twofold Band, Stonefloat).
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Prigge and Abler at the 1st annual "Chazstock" (circa 2001)
The recording process took the band roughly 4 months to complete. Thereafter, LaValley would finalize the project by mastering the disc and preparing it for distribution. After all was said and done, the band was ready to put the album into circulation. The self-titled album “Bowser” was made available just in time for the band’s busy summer schedule. The remainder of 2007 for the band saw them again regularly performing, promoting the new album, writing new material, and pushing the limits even by Bowser standards.
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Bowser's "Self Titled" debut album cover art (circa 2007)
All images & content © Bowser 2000 - 2010
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