Josh- The long version

There are people you meet who inspire you. Men and women that captivate an audience, and that in some way, make the audience or whoever the person they are speaking to want to be them, or want to be just like them . Then there are those people who you meet, and within only minutes of meeting their acquaintance,  you feel as though you might need a nap. The latter would probably perfectly describe… Me! (Josh Fowler) [And some of the first part could be true too.]

I grew up in the Mountains of Western North Carolina in Asheville, the Grandson of well-known local and Southern Gospel musician. Living only with my Mom, Marisa, until I was 12, Mom and I loved to drive all around the area, spending time with friends and family, and just hanging out. Fortunately for me, I also have an amazing father, Gary Fowler, who at the time resided in Canton GA. Typically, I would get to see Dad a few times a year growing up. Early on in my life, when Dad was still in the Navy, We only got to see each other a couple of times a year, and that was when he came off of a tour of Duty. Regardless of the little amount of time we had together, I loved spending time with my Dad. When he was out to sea, I would spend the majority of my time in GA with my Grandmother Velvie, and several aunts and uncles. I realized at a young age how much I really loved the Atlanta area, and the great people who lived around there. Being the only child of an only child on my Mom’s side of the family, the family really ate me up and took any and every opportunity to spoil my brains out!

Growing up, I lived a wonderful life. I found early on that he really loved and connected to my Grandfather, as most young boys do. Now as you read this, you perhaps reflect on your grandparents. What you did you call them? While I had a “Grandma” in Georgia, I had a “Mamaw” and a “Papaw” in North Carolina. I learned pretty quickly that if I just wanted to have some fun, or nurture my mischievous side, I could always go to my Mamaw and Papaw’s house where I could play outside, hang out with my cousin, or just do nothing at all. One thing was for sure; I had Mamaw and Papaw wrapped around my little finger!

As a kiddo, I usually spent a lot of time with my  Aunt Catherine who would keep me while my Mom went to work. As hard as I tried, I never could pronounce Catherine when I was a little boy. The name “Cakie” managed to squeeze out of my clumsy jaws, and somehow, the name stuck. At the end of a fun-filled day with Cakie, Mom would come by to pick me up, and usually take me to Mamaw and Papaw’s house for supper. Growing up the grandson of a musician, I  never wanted for good music or fun times. It seemed that people were always coming by my Grandparents house to eat, have good conversation, and mingle around an upright piano. Now you know just like anyone else does that when a little kid walks past a piano, he’s gonna bang the keys. Well, I did just that, and my Papaw loved every minute of it. All that putting up with noise paid off for him though, because at age 5, I began to let Papaw show me how to tickle the ivories. Yes, you read right… At age 5, I started taking piano lessons. From that point on, I took any opportunity that I could to play piano for anyone who would listen. I played at church, at home, at… well anywhere! Anytime I walked by a piano, I just had to play it. I never asked. Although I couldn’t articulate my unapologetic love for the keys until I was older, I adopted the philosophy from a very young age that it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission! As I grew older, he started to get more serious opportunities like playing in talent shows here and there, and eventually playing piano for my 5th grade graduation. As I got into middle school, I played in the school talent show, and learned how much attention I could garner for himself as young musician. I knew how much people liked to hear me play, and I leveraged that natural ability to my advantage to counteract the middle school awkwardness and undeniable lack of style that had!

Around that time, something else pretty significant happened. My mom remarried a wonderful man named Steve, who became like another Dad to me. While I maintained a close relationship with my biological dad Gary, I also grew very close to Steve, who eventually became known as “Dad” also! Not long after they married, I wasn’t an only child anymore. In the fall of  ’98, my sister, Bailey was born. Likewise, 7 years earlier My Dad had remarried, and I had become an older brother to my other sister, Ashley. Being an older brother was no new task for me, but living with my Sister all the time was.  I wasn’t used to having a crying baby in the house all the time, but I managed.

During all of this craziness, I went to high school. Now, as much fun as high school was, I can’t say that it was the most fun I’d ever had. It was a time when my friends and I were all discovering ourself. What we liked, and what we didn’t. We discovered new things that we were passionate about, and discovered even more passion about things we already excelled at. Then there was the newest passion: girls. (That’s another story for another day,) Anyways, this is when I started taking music the most serious. I was in everything musical you could think of. Band, men’s chorus, guitar club, I was in it all. I ate, breathed, and slept music. After my freshmen year, I came to the conclusion that marching band wasn’t really my thing, and I wanted to focus more on singing. That’s when I started taking chorus more seriously. I was beginning to get more opportunities to do solo’s, and my chorus teacher, Mrs. Tracy, saw in me the desire to perform often.