Q and A with Cowboy Mouth

How did the songs on Voodoo Shoppe come together?

Fred LeBlanc: We actually tried a different songwriting approach than we had in the past, where one or two of us would come in with a more or less completed song and the band would add its spin in the playing of it. This time we pretty much wrote and/or arranged everything as a band.

Paul Sanchez: We wrote it together, recorded it together and endured really difficult times in each other’s lives during the process. We were emotionally, creatively and spiritually engaged in the recording as never before in our history.

“Home” and “The Avenue” deal directly with New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Were these songs an immediate reaction, a way of dealing with your feelings about what you were seeing and giving a voice to the city?

FL: As writers, the best thing you can do is write about what we know, and the whole experience of Katrina and its aftermath was about as visceral as you can get. “Home” and “The Avenue” deal with the same situation from completely different angles. They were simply about how we were feeling.

PS: It was less about giving voice to the city and more of a way of screaming out in pain.

FL: We were in the middle of recording, and we would take breaks and check out what was going down at home. Keeping spirits up during that time was tough but we just put it all in the songs.

How do you compare this album to other Cowboy Mouth albums?

FL: Sonically I feel it’s a huge step up for us. We finally sound like the rock band we've always thought we were. Russ-T Cobb did most of the mixing and recording of the album, and his work was impeccable. The tracks mixed by Nick Brophy complemented Russ-T's work very well, and the album sounds as a complete whole. The experience of recording Voodoo Shoppe was the best of the best and the worst of the worst. About half of it was done during and after Katrina, while we were in Atlanta, but I feel like we put our hearts and souls into the making of this one.

John Thomas Griffith: I love this album, both knowing that sonically it is far superior than the last one and the fact that we all played an integral part in its inception and execution. I think producers make the difference. The ones we worked with were young and made the process fun, not a chore. And that's the way rock and roll should be....fun. With this CD, both Paul and I came up with some tasty riffs to build around this time. I think the 'riff' is what sets apart the men from the boys. Anyone can strum three chords, and sing, but when you've got cool riffs flying all over the place...you're onto something good.

The songs on Voodoo Shoppe go from the punk imbued sound of "Joe Strummer" to the New Orleans rhythm and blues shuffle of the title track? How do your musical influences impact the way you express a particular song? Is it ultimately finding the best way to bring the lyrics to life?

FL: It’s all a part of who we are, the varied influences that make up Cowboy Mouth as a unique whole. When we got the band together we wanted to be able to define ourselves by what we could do, not by what some record person told us we shouldn't do. It’s completely natural for us to shift musically. It’s all the music we love. Punk, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Funk, New Orleans R&B, Blues, Hard Rock/Metal, Ballads, etc...
We don't really think about it. We just do what we do and it comes out sounding like us.

PS: The different styles have been a part of our live shows and recordings from day one. A punk song next to a country ballad next to New Orleans funk is who we are, and it's what New Orleans music is about. Aaron Neville got his famous high yodel sound in part from listening to the Sons of the Pioneers when he was a kid. The separation of styles and cultures is in the eye of the separationist.

After years of playing on the stage together, as a cohesive unit, how is it going into the studio and working together? Is the studio work getting any easier, harder after all of these years?

FL: The studio and the stage are completely different animals with the same purpose: bringing the audience somewhere else emotionally. As such, they both need to be approached in contrasting ways. The stage is a place where you can display emotion, passion, energy, etc. You can lay all of these experiences bare for all of the world to see, if you wish. In the studio, the object is to TRANSLATE the emotion, passion, et al... so that the listener will hear it as close to your original intention as possible. We're all pros when it comes down to it, having done every aspect of this job for many years. So, yes, it’s getting easier. But the challenge always remains to get the listener to have the visceral Cowboy Mouth experience (or as close to it) without being at a show. That's always a challenge.

PS: Playing on stage was instant and natural. We never had to plan it or think about it, and it worked for the three of us from the start. In the studio it's been years of learning, getting over fears, egos, learning how to use the studio, which, like anything else, you have to do it enough so you don't think about it. Then it gets more comfortable.

Mention the band Cowboy Mouth and people immediately think of the city of New Orleans, a kick ass live show, constant touring and a very loyal fan base, but if you look at what's behind that, your songs are one of the key things that ties it all together; the songs you play live, that people sing along to, take home with them on CD, that reflect your lives and where you come from, that have people bringing props to shows....and so forth. What is it about Cowboy Mouth songs that your fans just can’t seem to get enough of? And looking at songs of yours from the past, how do you see the songs on Voodoo Shoppe holding up?

FL: The songs we write speak more to the things we all go through: life, heartache, release, making the most of the time we have, etc...I think these songs continue the story that started years ago when we formed this band. Whereas “Jenny Says” was about my first heartbreak, “Joe strummer'” was partially about me finding out what I don't want in a life mate, albeit in an almost comic fashion. Whereas “Easy” was about picking myself up by my bootstraps and moving forward despite adversity, “The Avenue” shows exactly how hard those challenges can be. I think the songs on Voodoo Shoppe show a broader range of experience because we all either wrote or finalized them together, so its less of him or him, and more about what we ALL go through.

PS: We've been playing on the road non-stop for sixteen years, and I think people dig the songs. We've been playing some of them since we started. If they were just coming for the show we'd form a dozen Cowboy Mouth cover bands, teach them the show and franchise out.

JTG: I think we take it for granted the we've been fortunate enough to write some memorable pieces of music, but that's due to the constant tour bubble we live in. We, unfortunately, never have had the luxury of sitting back and looking at our body of work in that manner. The general thought around the base camp is that if we're out of sight, we're out of mind...so, let's go, go, go!

Just to be sure, this is your 11th recording? Counting EPs and live releases.

FL: I have no idea. I stopped counting after 4. If I'm still lucky enough to do this, then it’s a good day.

This is the first studio album with Sonia in the band. How was it working with her in the studio, having a new creative partner and musician in the mix?

FL: It’s working great. She brings a lot of freshness and drive to the table. She's a great spirit, and we're very, very lucky to have her.

PS: She is also truly one of the sweetest human beings I've ever met, and we swap books on the road so I dig her.

JTG: She is stupendous. We love her very much. She has added to the rock and punk side of the band. She is a great solo artist in her own right and has released a couple CDs on her own. We are very fortunate to have her on our team.

What is the glue that keeps Cowboy Mouth together after all these years?

FL: The knowledge that we are part of something special, something bigger than we are as individuals.

PS: We love playing music. It's how we wanted to spend our lives for as long as we can remember.

JTG: For the love of it. You can't do what we do, put up with the shit, and not love what you do.

New Orleans is such a part of Cowboy Mouth. How would you describe the intangible effect the city has had on the band, from its beginning to where the band is now and is going?

FL: Peter Holsapple (the dB's, R.E.M., Hottie and the Blowfish) said it best about Cowboy Mouth, that we are a very 'geocentric band', that we 'never could be from anywhere else.' We are very much a product of our environment. It has shaped our attitudes on playing music and living life like almost nothing else.

Releasing the album right before Mardi Gras, is there something symbolic there for you?

FL: I hope so. Hopefully by releasing this album right before carnival, it can be viewed as one more light coming back on in the great city of New Orleans.

PS: New Orleans forms everything about me. The way I play the guitar, the way I write, dance, breathe, sing, talk, eat, walk. It feels like the city needs a party. It's what we do and have done for a long time. We'll release Voodoo Shoppe and give them a good time.

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RollingStone.com performance

Chicago's Sun Times Interview

Indianapolis Musicpix Interview

Fred's Times Picayune Interview

Anniston Star Interview


October 2004 Review of Cowboy Mouth in All Access Magazine:

All Access Magazine

Cowboy Mouth Electronic Press Kit