Writers Note: Not all the music Shawtane mentioned in our interview could be included in this piece. I have compiled a Spotify playlist for anyone interested in listening to more of his favorite artists. There is a link at the end of the article.
At around 10 years old, Shawtane Bowen, a drama professor at Bennington College and member of the sketch comedy group Astronomy Club, understood music’s importance in his life and the broader world. He found solace in everything ranging from hip-hop classics like Ice Cube to 80s proto-shoegaze band The Jesus and the Mary Chain. In the Canfield apartment, where Shawtane lives during the academic year, this eclectic love of music is reflected in the shelves carrying an estimated collection of 3000 vinyl records (despite his girlfriend’s wishes for him to downsize).
Recently, he discussed some albums that have helped shape his taste and represent important moments in his life with The Bennington Lens.
- Raising Hell by Run-DMC
“My love of music is born out of my relationship with my dad and also just growing up in a rough neighborhood in northern California. There wasn’t a lot of stuff to do. So I was just hanging out in my room and listening to the radio.”
His cassette player was one of his most prized possessions, and that kick-started his collecting.
“The first music I ever bought wasn’t even vinyl. It was a cassette. It was Run DMC Raising Hell on cassette. My dad took me to Tower Records in Mountain View, California, and bought the tape, and I became obsessed. This is around the time when hip hop was really starting to become a national mainstream thing.”
- By All Means Necessary by Boogie Down Productions
Immediately after discovering his love of music. Shawtane started reassessing his adolescent life – trading and selling his GI Joe Action figures to purchase records. One of the first he bought was By All Means Necessary by legendary rap group Boogie Down Productions, best known for member KRS-1.
“I got this on cassette; now I have it on vinyl. But this is one of the first rap albums I really was obsessed with. KRS-1 is on the cover doing the famous Malcolm X pose by the window. My favorite song on here is called ‘My Philosophy.’ It’s just a great fuckin record.”
- Death Certificate by Ice Cube
“Ice Cube was my favorite rapper growing up. This is an amazing record.”
Shawtane shared how he got to meet Ice Cube once when filming the sketch “Ice Cube Day” for Astronomy Club’s Netflix show.
“He was very nice, actually. You know, sometimes I get worried when you meet your heroes. They can be total dickheads. But he signed so many autographs. He took so many pictures. He was funny.”
- Dirt by Alice in Chains
Following the 1992 release of Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, G-Funk took over the airwaves, and Gangster Rap became the “it” genre of the decade. However, among classic releases such as Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle or 2Pac’s Me Against the World, according to Shawtane, the sound also became too commercialized and overplayed. This led him to the discovery of grunge and rock in search of something different.
“I was watching BET, and a video came on, and it just sounded like fucking regurgitated G-Funk. So I thought, let me see what these white people are doing on MTV. I turned it on, and it was an Aerosmith video with Liv Tyler, Steve Tyler’s really hot daughter. Long story short, that was kind of like my gateway drug into more like alternative and grunge music, oddly.”
“I was just, like, really bored with where hip hop was going. I was like, Okay, let me learn about this other shit,” he added.
At around the same time, he heard Nirvana’s “Smell Like Teen Spirit” playing on a school bus, which he enjoyed, unlike his peers. He then discovered Smashing Pumpkins and Alice in Chains soon thereafter.
“Dirt reminds me of just college and also my time, you know, when I first started living in New York. There’s ‘Down in a Hole’ and ‘Rooster.’ I feel like it’s a perfect album. It’s 10 out of 10. Not that anyone asked me.”
- Ash Ra Tempel – Starring Rosi
While an undergraduate, Shawtane got the opportunity to work the front door at the original Berkeley location of the world-famous record store Amoeba. There, his musical pallet would expand and be exposed to other genres he might have never heard of before.
“It was me and a bunch of gutter punks. I stuck out like a sore thumb, but they accepted me.”
Back in the day, the music in Amoeba used to be separated by genre, with a staff member working in each section who would have an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre in their area. This allowed Shawtane to ask more questions about music and be given recommendations.
“I call it the Harvard of music stores. I learned a lot from those guys, not just about punk but also German stuff. Like Kraftwerk and a lot of Krautrock. Then really out there kinds of stuff like Nurse with Wound or Current 93. A lot of experimental stuff like this, Starring Rosi by Ash Ra Tempel.”
- Cuckooland by Robert Wyatt
“Just sometimes, I’ll grab stuff that reminds me of the time working at Ameoba.”
“At Ameona, I burnt over 1000 CDs. Because I didn’t know that digital music was coming. I knew I was going to grad school for acting, so I needed to compile and hoard as much music as possible. This is one of them. I love Cuckooland so much. When I was in grad school, I used to listen to this album every single day because it just has a calming effect, and grad school can be really intense. Whenever I worked box office or the info booth, I played this, and people were like, ‘What the fuck are you playing?’ I’d say, Robert Wyatt, bitch.”
- Judee Sill by Judee Sill
“My girlfriend’s not that interested in music. She likes to take credit for the records. She doesn’t like it when I bring more records home, but when we’re hosting goofy faculty members or whatever goofy students, she’ll be like, ‘Look at the records’ or ‘Put one on!’”
Shawtane’s girlfriend is actor Jenny Taher.
“I bought this because this is one of her favorite records. Judee Sill had a very tough, horrible life and a very beautiful voice. This is a very beautiful album. Put it on, on a Sunday, lay back on the couch, and get transported.”
Another record that Shawtane and Jenny equally love is Blues & Ballads by Lonnie Johnson and Elmer Snowden.
- Dusk by The The
“This is one of my favorite records ever. It’s a really beautiful record. It’s kind of poppy and all love songs. I’m kind of soft in that way. This is what I love about vinyl when you get to hold the artwork, there are also memories. Periods of time. Any time I put this on, it takes me back to, you know, being in college, working at the door trying to keep people from stealing shit.”
- Cold Sweats by James Brown
Shawtane’s love of music stemmed from his father, who, when growing up, played albums on an 8-track tape player.
“My dad was a huge jazz-head. He loved people like Idris Muhammad, but he also loved James Brown. His favorite song was ‘Cold Sweat,’ so I had to get this. James Brown was a man no one can outperform.”
- Just Meg and Me by Meg Myles
When Shawtane moved to New York for the first time, he took up work as a personal caregiver–something he had experience doing before..
“When I was 17, my mom passed away from cancer, junior year in high school. So music was one of the things that kind of got me through it. But while my mom was sick, I would be one of her primary caretakers when I would get home from school. So I learned a lot about hospice care.”
He also assisted one of his friends in college who used a wheelchair.
“When I got to New York, I was really broke. I started doing personal care work again. One of my clients was Meg Myles, as seen on this record. She was also a pinup girl and actress. When I met her, she had dementia. She was really sweet. She passed away a few years ago, and unfortunately, I couldn’t go to her memorial. I came across this on eBay. Anytime I see a Meg Myles record. I buy it. Just in honor of her because I feel like this is kind of lost stuff.”
When asked about the relationship between music and acting, Shawtane paused and discussed how music can help an actor to become a character or bring someone into a different mindset.
“I think actors secretly want to be dancers. Stage movement transitions, having all that music, just kind of elevate the piece and give the actors something to ride or work with or push against, depending on the show. Everyone’s process is different, but I use music. So right now I’m reading scripts. I just have to hear the music in my head, like, oh, maybe this song. Music really just gives me ideas on the tone of the show.”
“I love music more than anything except my girlfriend or my dog. But music is pretty much the most important thing to me. It’s my life force. I have way too many records.”
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