Bohagey Bowes

The History

The brainchild of Brian Hallas, the Brooklyn-based composer and musician, was born with the July 2006 release of Tourist on the Run, a nine-song tale of one man's search for a home. It features appearances by a dozen fellow artists and musicians from all over the country. Caroline Altman lives in San Francisco. She met Hallas as a fellow teacher at Stagedoor Manor, a theater camp in the Catskills, where Hallas was teaching movie making. Her hypnotic voice haunts both the the album opener, This Isn't It, and Drifting, a song built on loops of her vocalizing. Muna Tseng is a well-known dancer and performance artist in New York City and throughout the world, and she, too, appears on the opening song. Jon Lavieri and his wife Martha Lenihan-Lavieri have known Hallas for decades. They had returned to Rhode Island just days before recording, from six years of playing jazz in Portugal. Jon's saxophone provides an ethereal element that was missing before he added tracks to Drifting, and The Primordial Scream and Martha's harmonies on Anytime Anywhere help give the song its truth. David Sardinha is a media specialist in Middletown, RI. He and Hallas first wrote songs as partners in 1972, and most recently produced Tourist on the Run together at the beginning of this year. Paul Carrellas teaches college art courses and Tom Perrotti plays Irish music and Ken Foster makes jewelry. John Sunderland works on computers at RISD, Mike Napolitano the same at NYU. Bethany Smith-Staelens runs an office in mid-town Manhattan and sings big band music, while LindaLee Wayne raises two girls and cleans apartments. They all make music. And many have never met.

One favored featured performer is Oscar Hallas, the 13-year-old son of the bandleader. The younger Hallas plays bass guitar on one song, Drifting, and bass keyboard on the title track. It's the first time both Hallases have appeared together musically. "It was a thrill to have Oscar play - the best thing about the entire album. I suggested he needed to take it as seriously as everyone else on the songs, most of whom are 30 years his senior. No pressure there, eh? He played like he'd been recording for decades."

The Buzz

"Together with the 'lonely planet', this CD completes the illusion of roaming in the 'free world'."
Robin Scott, aka "M" ("Pop Muzik")

Three Tracks of the Day on garageband.com plus twenty reviewers awards. Featured on podcasts and online radio from all over the world. Tourist on the Run is available through CD Baby and local stores.

The Video Project

Musician/Director Brian Hallas created videos for the songs This Isn't It and You, the opening tunes on the new album by BOHAGEY BOWES, and posted them on YouTube where they have each maintained a 4.5-star rating. This Isn't It is a galloping mosaic mystery tour of public domain footage and shots from the F Train in Brooklyn, Hallas poses the question, "What planet can I live on?" The video was the eighth most viewed in DigiFestival 2006 from Florence, Italy. You is a similar video fun-house ride, featuring Hallas's son, Oscar.