BIO
 

   Sleepy James has a secret identity.
By night, he's a singer-songwriter plying his trade in
the night clubs and coffeehouses of Los Angeles.
But by day, he's James. E. Fowler, a mild-
mannered reporter for a great metropolitan
newspaper-the Los Angeles Times.
    And although Sleepy has just released his first CD, "L.A. 'til Morning,''   James is no Johnny-come-lately to the world of  music.
     ''I started playing guitar in high school-I did my first paying gig when I was 15,'' James says. ''Actually until I was 35, music was the way I earned my living.''

                                                                  gw
 

     Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he grew up in Bay Shore on suburban Long Island where one of his classmates was singer Patti Austin.
     ''We were in Mr. Issakson's social studies class together," James reminisces. ''Patti even sang a song with my band on the very first gig we ever played. Which was pretty damn gracious of her considering she was already a seasoned pro and we stunk!"
 

      However, James and his band, the Strangers,
soon rose to prominence in the Long Island/New
York music club scene. They caused a minor
sensation when they released a single, "Remember
My Address, " produced with the help of an
engineer from Bay Shore's only radio station.
The song, one of Sleepy's early compositions,
was written with bandmates Ron Pallick and
Tony Conocenti.
     Promoting the single, the band was a hit in the local club circuit and even attracted the attention of a manager who claimed to have discovered the Young Rascals in those same clubs a year or two earlier.  The band  was preparing to embark on its first tour, but in typical rock ‘n’ roll fashion,  the drummer's van broke down . . . and the group broke up.

    Deciding he’d had enough of the cold weather and the New York scene
in general, James let out to the West Coast, arriving in July, 1967, just in time for the Summer of Love.
     Over the next few years, James performed as a solo act in Los Angeles’ folk clubs and coffeehouses, sharing stages with likes of Jackson Browne, Don Henley, John David Souter, Glenn Frey and others.
     The singer/songwriter later partnered with Dave Borisoff, a banjo player/dobro player/kindred soul and future music mogul. Together they were fixtures on the L.A.’s South Bay area club circuit in the 1970s.  In the 1980s, he worked for several years with Kama Sutra recording artist Adrian Loveridge in the band The Splitz.
     So for nearly two decades Sleepy James worked clubs; played weddings, bar mitzahs and everything in between; toured with different acts and recorded.  Twenty years as a working musician is enough to make anyone tired, and the countless one-nighters eventually took their toll on the drowsy one.  Between gigs James had managed to stay awake long enough to get married and father two daughters. He was ready for a change.
    In 1984, Fowler abruptly quit music. He went back to school and earned a B.A. in journalism. In 1990,  he landed a job at the prestigious Los Angeles Times.  ''For the first time in my life,” said Fowler,  “I had a health plan!''
     As a journalist, James E. Fowler has been part of an editorial staff that won three Pulitzers in five years for spot news reporting. He also wrote a popular weekly music column for the Times, “RockTalk.”  But after three years of interviewing musicians, listening to CDs, seeing live acts, and hearing more stories behind the music than psychologically safe, he came to a startling realization.
      ''It's a lot more fun playing music than it is writing about it!,” Fowler said. “Writing about music is just too damn hard."
     “That's why so many music writers get bogged down with labels," James continues.  "They're looking for a shorthand way to describe a song or an artist in three words or less.”
     “For the most part, musicians aren't interested in labels, they're interested in something that feels good.''

     When pressed, however, to make life easy for
journalists, Sleepy James might label his own
music, “original and eclectic.”
      "If you like it, you can call it eclectic; If you don't like
it, you can call it unfocused." Fowler says.
     Even a quick listen to Sleepy James’ material reveals
strong folk, rock, country and R&B influences.
    "My music is my music,'' he adds.  ''Why should I limit
myself to just one style, when I can use all my influences?
Would you ask a painter to paint in only one color?''
    And at this stage in his career, Sleepy realizes that he
has only himself to please. Like many musicians, Sleepy
has come full circle and he's back when it all began--
the music and the way it makes him feel.
     "The old adage is "Never quit your day job,"  says Sleepy. "But, you should never quit your night job either. It's just as important."