Dylan James Bowker

Alejandra Lara talks about vying for a Bellator title at 23 years of age, training at Roufusport, and the Women's MMA Flyweight class

On this BTB installment, I was happy to speak with Alejandra Lara ahead of her title bid against Flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in the main event of Bellator 201 on June 29th...…..(Bowks Talking Bouts #92)
 
We talked about being in a main event title fight at 23 years of age, Alejandra training with Alexa Grasso and other name talent in the past at Roufusport (2:33), her teammates being family and the support of Columbia (3:53), not being stoked that she didn't get a name key put up in her last fight and the benefits of surprising people with your skills (6:29), doing commentary work for Empire MMA and how commentating benefits her own fighting (7:52), working full time as a physical trainer and the functional strength Alejandra gets from aerial silks, acrobatics, etc (8:44), Lara's thoughts on the 125lb women's division in Bellator and who she would like to compete against (10:51), and more!

Liberty Music: Dave Weckerman

I had a great time speaking with Dave Weckerman of Yung Wu/ The Feelies.
 
We discussed influential artists from growing up, his recent re-issue project through Record Store Day, taking part in various side projects which usually involved the same cast of characters, preferring occasional local shows to steadily touring, living the log cabin life with a rotary phone, journeying through Canada, having a map of the Great White North on his bedroom wall, the enjoyment of playing to unfamiliar crowds, and more!
 

Jerin Valel discusses the learning curve for MMA judging, the musicality of grappling sequences, and advice for prospective MMA referees

Bowks Talking Bouts #91 showcased a super artistic/ insightful talk with well regarded MMA referee/ judge/ analyst Jerin Valel. We got into several topics throughout. 
 
 
 
We talked about how he got into mixed-martial arts despite initially finding it barbaric, why Jerin gravitated towards becoming an MMA referee (5:35), Jerin's experiences as a pro fighter and how it informs his efforts as an MMA ref (9:05), the evolution of MMA judges becoming more aware of how to score grappling exchanges (13:10), the international travel associated with his job (17:45), Jerin's XFFC experience deducting points on low blows and the culture of MMA refs admonishing fighters without penalizing them (19:32), Jerin's best advice for any prospective mixed-martial arts referees (29:30), the musicality of jiu-jitsu and how the undulating movements between grapplers creates it's own underlying rhythm/ groove/ music (32:10), and more!

Robbie Peralta discusses fighting Juan Archuleta at Bellator 201, the benefits of Cannabis for an MMA fighter, and his love for old school hip hop

I spoke with UFC vet Robbie Peralta on Bowks Talking Bouts #90 ahead of his fight with Juan Archuleta at Bellator 201 going June 29th.
 
 
We discussed debuting with Bellator, recently overcoming a four fight losing skid (3:14), cross training with Tristar in the past and his training heading into Bellator 201 (4:07), what his future goals are in MMA after spending over a decade in the sport already (4:54), maintaining a full time job to provide for his family while also being a professional athlete (5:53), the benefits of cannabis to Robbie's efforts and cannabinoid viewpoints in mixed-martial arts (7:30), his love for old school hip hop and how he trains to rap oftentimes (10:21), and more!

Saad Awad talks about using CBD products for recovery, his Bellator 201 fight with Ryan Couture, and the possibility of a 165lb weight class within MMA

On Bowks Talking Bouts #89, I welcomed back veteran MMA competitor Saad Awad to the program ahead of his Bellator 201 bout against Ryan Couture on June 29th.
 
 
 
We discussed overcoming a recent injury to get back to action, using CBD products for recuperative measures after hard sparring/ fights (1:56), finally feeling the love from Bellator in terms of promotional focus on his fights (3:15), his desire to compete for Bellator's Lightweight title (4:29), moves to establish 165lbs as a weight class and his wrestling prep ahead of fighting Couture (5:52), the big keys for Saad to get a W in his bout with Ryan Couture (8:49), his desire to compete against Roger Huerta and other opponents he would like to test his skills against in the future (10:24), his stance on people missing weight as a fighter who often takes catchweights/ jumps between classes (12:26), Anthony Bourdain passing away and his impact in the martial arts world (16:26), music he loves training to plus so much more!

Liberty Music: Dean Ween

I was ecstatic to have Dean Ween on the program. I got a lot of great insights from the longtime ax-man for Ween. 
 
We talked about his recent record "rock2", what's in his guitar rig, how finding the perfect gear is like finding the end of the internet, taking part in a Noisey segment with one of his childhood buddies, how there's only two modes, both of us playing guitar "the wrong way", Dean's signature guitar model, testing out new material in a live setting, coming up with zany song titles/ lyrics, the importance of having multiple projects on-the-go, chilling with Skrillex, and more! 

Rob Veevers of BTC Fight Promotions talks BTC 3, carving a niche on the dormant Ontario MMA scene, and more

On this BTB installment, I spoke with BTC Fight Promotions matchmaker Rob Veevers ahead of BTC 3 on Saturday, June 23rd. 
 
 
Bowks Talking Bouts #88 delved into BTC carving a niche on the Ontario MMA scene, all of the BTC 3 debutante fighters that are worth keeping a close eye on (4:12), TKO veteran Lindsay Garbatt's fight (8:09), absolute division grappling phenom Ergys Sigeta making his pro MMA debut at BTC 3 (9:30), the co-main and main event title fights (13:32), wanting to be a frontrunner in establishing a BTC 165lb class as the sport seems to move towards establishing that division (15:00), and more!

Liberty Music: An Hour with Thor Harris

Always interesting to hear Thor Harris' perspectives on things.
 
We delved into regressive political ideologies, Thor's own aspirations to hold public office in the future, the difficulties of aiming to concurrently being a musician and politician, Thor not having the highest opinions of Richard Nixon and Alex Jones, camaraderie being galvanized among fellow musicians in these turbulent times, the similarities between the Carter/ Reagan transition compared to the Obama/ Trump transition, his endeavors with painting/ drawing, his efforts with long form article writing, the prevalence of anti-immigration rhetoric these days, being informed by minimalist composers in his recent musical efforts, building his own instruments by hand, taking part in a dream collaboration on the day his mother died, and more!