Cowboy Mouth

"Take two parts gospel-inspired, rock'n'roll medicine show, add two parts country-tinged harmonies to an already ferocious live stew, season liberally with top flight songwriting and cook down over the course of 250 performances a year and you have Cowboy Mouth."

I am unsure as to whether or not anything I can write can really do this phenomena justice but the temptation to try is just too irresistible. Their name is derived from a piece of theater written in part by Patti Smith. The quote, or origin: "You gotta grab all the little broken-up, busted pieces of people's frustration…you gotta give it back to them bigger than life…you gotta be a rock'n'roll Jesus with a Cowboy Mouth."

I can stop there. No better name could have been picked for this band when understood within the context of its origin.

It is the summer of 1999. The location: 815 V St. N.W, Washington DC; a club called the 9:30 Club and along with hundreds of other expecting Mouth fans I find myself in a dimly lit room, a ceiling shielded by smoke, the atmosphere laced with expectation. I had never seen Cowboy Mouth. Understand my surprise when I find my friends talking to a random stranger, a large amount of girth, sporting a cut off sleeve black football jersey. He turns out to be Fred LeBlanc, the lead singer.

Next thing I know he is onstage. Fred is no ordinary lead singer, he also is the drummer. The drum set takes center stage at a Cowboy Mouth show, placed right on the front edge for the fans. It is a well deserved honor. Within seconds, Fred goes berserk, you can feel the drums echo within your stomach no matter where you stand in the room. And here is this insane man standing up, arms raised, screaming with all his might at everyone in the room to celebrate the joy of life as he falls backward and begins to slam on the drums like a hurricane out of hell. It is amazing. It is just the beginning.

Try to get close to the stage. Found there is another piece of Cowboy Mouth tour trivia. Sweat. That's right. Sweat. Not yours, but Fred Leblanc's (although everyone is sweating). This man plays music with such passion that within seconds he is beat red all over and literally dripping. He throws his head around and it is like a priest anointing the crowd at mass. It goes everywhere. Girls scream if it hits them. Screams of pleasure. Drum sticks, fly. Fred has a bucket of spare sticks to his right. At least 30.

That's just a description of the drummer.

"But something is different now. The venue is completely dark. And everyone seems to be crouching on the ground while some lunatic is going on about believing in yourself and letting it all go. About finding the passion in your soul that you may have forgotten about or may have let someone kick out of you. Then all of a sudden the light slices through the blackness with a vengeance unmatched while a thousand people jump as high as they can with their hands in the air screaming as loud as possible to assert and to celebrate their very existence."

Cowboy Mouth is straight out of the heart of New Orleans rock 'n' roll and they have tapped the main artery. Each member of the band is a frontman, each writes songs, each sings, creating an incredible mix of music ranging from country to Cajun rock at its best. The music ranges an incredible amount of styles.

Check out their website. Check out one of their numerous albums. Start with a live one if you want to preview that actual experience. Fred and the other band members even have their own cd's. The quotes found above are from the official Cowboy Mouth website.

And new, this week, request a Cowboy Mouth mix for free from Logistical Nightmares. The mix spans 6 different albums, one from a live show in Paris. It's worth it. Trust me. Oh, if they are in your town, don't miss them.