As drum grad Bogie Bowles sees it, he's finally made it. Since attending the LA Music Academy seven years ago, Bowles has just landed a tour with critically-acclaimed Blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd. After touring for eight years non-stop to support three successful albums, the Grammy-nominated Shepherd took a much-deserved break in 2000 and is now gearing up to hit the road again in support of his new album The Place You're In to be released on October 5th. Since meeting Shepherd two years ago, Bowles has kept in touch with him, leading to an audition in early September. After receiving the news of getting the gig, Bowles was ecstatic, noting that "it took me seven years to land this kind of thing. It was a matter of sticking around [in Los Angeles] to keep meeting the right people."

The tour will last for about a year with shows covering the United States, including a show in Texas with Staind and Kid Rock in front of 25,000 fans. Reflecting on his year at the Academy and how it will help him on the tour, Bowles says, "on the technical side, it helped me prepare...when I had ideas before [coming to the Academy], I couldn't always get my hands to do what I wanted. Now they do whatever I want them to." On a non-technical note, Bowles adds, "you get [all of the teachers'] approaches on how to do anything on a gig. Their knowledge really helped me step up my game."

In addition to his year in the drum program, Bowles also spent the past few years playing in various Ensemble Workshops and teaching private lessons at the Academy. Asked how these experiences helped him, Bogie states that "teaching really helped me with my confidence, how to treat people with respect, being patient and really working at [problem solving]."

Please visit http://www.kennywayneshepherd.net for more info and tour dates.