Rowan Brothers

Chris and Lorin Rowan were born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts where their more famous brother Peter was already making a name for himself. All three brothers played in folk, bluegrass and pop bands. In the early 70s, through their brother s connection, Chris and Lorin got hooked up with aspiring producer and instrumental wizard David Grisman. Before long, Chris and Lorin along with Grisman moved to where it was happening San Francisco. One of the brothers first gigs in the Bay Area was opening for the Grateful Dead at the closing of the Fillmore West in 1971.  Shortly thereafter Clive Davis (Columbia Records) and David Geffen (Asylum) got into a bidding war for the talented singer/songwriters. Davis won out and the band produced the lavish and much-neglected The Rowans Brothers album on Columbia (1972), (reissued in 2003 on Evangeline Recorded Works) which was produced by Grisman under the name of David Diadem. Musicians appearing on the album included drum legend Jim Keltner, Grisman, and the Grateful Dead s Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann. Not long after the release of the album Davis got canned from the label and the Rowans were left without support. A planned second album never materialized. David Geffen came to the rescue and signed the brothers (now with Peter as part of the group) to Asylum. With Peter in tow they changed their moniker to simply The Rowans. They recorded three albums; The Rowans (1976) (reissued on CD by Collectors Music Choice in 2003) Sibling Rivalry (1977) and Jubilation (1978).      

Now, Chris and Lorin come full circle with the release of their new album "Now and Then" (BOS Music), containing 34 genre-jumping tracks. They offer a versatile and exciting mixture of bluegrass-flavored folk and Everly Brothers style rock and country. Contrasting the new tracks are seventeen vintage cuts (all previously unreleased in the US and making their debut on CD). These tracks date from the duo s early 70s pop-rock forays with David Grisman. The album features an impressive cast of backing players including: Hal Blaine, Jerry Garcia, Richard Greene, David Grisman, Jim Keltner, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Mookie Siegel, Barry Sless, and many others. Most recently the brothers performed with Phil Lesh as members of Phil Lesh & The Hepcats with Lorin on lead guitar/vocals and Chris on acoustic rhythm guitar/vocals. At the start of 2003, Chris and Lorin played the featured actor/musician roles of brothers Cal and Fred Maddox, in the world premiere of the musical play The Maddox Brothers and Rose (Sprekels Theatre/Performance Center of the Arts); the story of one of country music s most popular earliest bands to mix country with rockabilly.