Spencer Bohren

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Spencer Bohren is from Wyoming but is often associated with the Crescent City, as he lived there for a number of years and continues to prove a popular club attraction there. Brought up in a strict Baptist family, Bohren sang harmonies in church, and it was his passion for gospel music that led him to become an equally diligent student of blues. He left Wyoming in 1968 for the folk scene around Denver. At the Denver Folklore Center and in coffeehouses, he learned acoustic folk-blues firsthand from people like the Rev. Gary Davis before moving to Seattle, where he played with a series of blues bands and continued to hone his songwriting abilities. In 1973, he moved back to Colorado to play with folk-blues singer Judy Roderick, and after talking extensively with Dr. John one night, he decided to move to New Orleans, where Dr. John was born and raised. Bohren spent a decade there, playing clubs like Tipitina's and the Absinthe Bar. In 1983, Bohren and his family began a seven-year journey on the road in an Airstream RV; Bohren performed all over the U.S., and later began to tour extensively in Europe and Japan. In 1989, Bohren had a Top 40 hit in Sweden. Although his discography is quite extensive and Bohren has been presented at many large festivals around the U.S. and Europe, a major-label deal in the U.S. still eludes him. Bohren's albums include Born in Biscayne (1984) for Great Southern Records, Down in Mississippi (1986) for New Blues Records, 1989's Live in New Orleans for Great Southern Records, Snap Your Fingers for Loft Records (a French label), and Totta & Hot ‘n' Tots (a Swedish group featuring Bohren); Spencer Bohren for Alpha Records of Japan in 1991, Full Moon for Virgin Records of France in 1992, and Present Tense for Loft Records in France, a 1995 release. His most recent recordings on U.S. labels include Vintage, a 1994 release for New Blues of New Orleans, and Dirt Roads, a 1996 release on his own Zephyr label out of Caspar, WY. In 1990, Bohren moved back to Caspar and has been based there ever since. Bohren continues to tour Europe three or four times a year, and as of 1996, Bohren's album Present Tense was available in Europe on Sony and on his own Zephyr label here in the U.S. Carry the Word followed in mid-2000.