Art & Life with Parker Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Parker Smith.

Parker, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’ve always had a fascination with history and preserving, Music was my first love, I’ve been playing it as long as I can remember. I started playing shows when I was 13 and have not stopped since, For the most part, it’s been the only thing that’s really made sense. I started collecting songs that were written over 100 years ago when I was 18 and it quickly became what I dedicated my life to. Everything from cowboy tunes dating back to the 1830s to 1920s and 30s blues, country, old-time & hillbilly music, and jazz.

Along with that came digging up and preserving the 78rpm records that you could find these old rarities on, as well as vintage instruments, which in my opinion this music sounds best coming out of. But one thing that I’ve always done is make these tunes my own since I’m a fully self-taught musician I hear and play music a little differently than most others. So in return every son I play, whether its old or one that I’ve written has a unique and personal feel to it, I’ve traveled all over the country sharing these songs and finding new ones. My main instruments of choice are guitar, banjo, fiddle, lap slide, and bones.

When I was younger I’d travel the country for long periods of time, playing music wherever I could as well as work on different farms. When I was 20 I was working on a 120-year-old farm in Steamboat Springs Colorado for a man named Ryan. It was a hot summer and the only hat I had was a tattered old “apple cap” that I had been wearing for a couple years at that point. He went and dug up one of his old Stetsons and gave it to me. I had had a couple brimmed hats before that, but to me, that hat was the real deal. A wide brimmed, sweat stained, farmers Stetson. And from that point on I started collecting and repairing vintage and antique hats. Which eventually led me to live in Northern Arizona, where my passion for hats really grew & I started getting serious about making and repairing hats.

Last December my fiance and I moved ourselves, my dog, and my whole collection out to Old Towne Orange, California. I started Bowman Hat Company in 2017 with the idea of recreating some of these great old hat shapes that have not been around for decades, both by replicating them and putting a little more of a modern feel to them for the general public, but always with an eye on history. I made most of my tools, except for my antique hat blocks, and do the entire process of making a hat by hand. I love how personal the process is and how each hat is completely unique to the person that will wear it. I like to involve my customers in every step of the process. They choose the color, shape, size, ribbon, what style of bow they’d like, down to having their name or a favorite quote gold foil stamped on the sweatband, making the hat truly theirs. All resulting in a high-quality hat using the finest furfelts that will last a lifetime.

Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I think it becomes a little bit of both. On one hand social media has helped a lot of people get their name out there and get recognized, but on the other hand, I think that it made us more of a temporary society. People are always looking for the next thing and I think alot of great talent gets lost in that. People are watching and streaming more than going and seeing people preform live and buying their records. I wish you could still go, walk in and try to talk to someone about putting out your record, or not needing a website, 3 social media accounts and a good amount of followers to book a tour or even a show at a local coffee shop.

For music, I think that more local businesses, whether it’s a coffee shop or restaurant or brewery should have more live music. That’s been a big adjustment for me coming out here. for how many great little spots there are to play around the neighborhood that I live in there is a surprising lack of venues. I think that if the music pairs well with the environment everybody wins. People get excited about making their outing more of an experience and getting to hear some of the local talents, which brings in business, and the local artists get a little bit of money in his pocket at the end of the night.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I play shows around Orange and Los Angeles county monthly. For both my music and my hat making I have social media as well as websites. You can find my music and upcoming events on Facebook and Instagram, or I have my last 4 records at parkersmith.bandcamp.com. For my hats, I also have Facebook and Instagram or you can find more information at. Please feel free to send me a message or email to get talking about your next custom hat.

Contact Info:

• Website: bowmanhatco.com
• Phone: 928 642 6697
• Email: bowmanhatco@gmail.com
• Instagram: @parkersmithmusic @bowmanhatco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkersmitholdtime https://www.facebook.com/bowmanhatco/

Image Credit:
Holly Jo Photography, Susie Delaney, & Nick Kassouf

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