11.08
Rowen Jordan Caplan
Rowen began his studies with the trumpet and later studied percussion with Gordon Gottlieb at Julliard. He continued with free-form sessions in his own basement in New Rochelle, NY. Musicians would often journey for days to become part of these sessions. He cites his influences as Ginger Baker, Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, and Ginger Baker.
His parents, Arnold Caplan and Irene Jordan, both spent many seasons with the Metropolitan Opera, and as a result, there was always music in the house. Actually it was because their professional lives left the young Rowen and his friends many opportunities to jam and explore experimental rock late at night in the basement.
His professional experience includes brushes with fame as a member of The Nude Ants and later with sci-fi rockers ‘Artificial Intelligence’. His stint with The New Suburbans is now going on 30 years.
Rowen designed and built his house in the Berkshires around a central playing space which now houses his recording studio. The cathedral ceiling gives the main room a great sonic signature, and an impressive-sounding grand piano graces the lower level. The first New Suburbans album was recorded almost entirely here, and the follow-on effort has Rowen coming to the fore in sculpting the sound of the new songs.
Rowen drums also add the spice to recordings produced by an ever-widening circle of artists in the Berkshires and surrounding communities, and he performs at live gigs ranging as far north as Vermont and as far south as New York.