Cowboy Mouth

All Music Guide:

Cowboy Mouth are a collective of '80s rock & roll survivors -- musicians with slight new wave and alternative connections who have aspired to AOR stardom. Formed in the early '90s after alternative rock had broken into the mainstream, the group fused AOR with alternative and roots rock influences on a handful of indie releases before signing with MCA Records in 1996. Although Cowboy Mouth had trouble remaining on a major label's roster, the band has continued releasing material in the new millennium on a variety of imprints and indie labels.

Paul Sanchez (vocals, guitar) had previously recorded as a solo artist before teaming up with Fred LeBlanc (vocals, drums). The pair formed the Backbeats, who were short-lived. After their breakup, Sanchez moved to New York, where he continued to perform solo. In 1988, he returned to New Orleans; LeBlanc, who had just finished playing with Dash Rip Rock, had Sanchez join his new band. The duo began jamming with Griffith (lead guitar, vocals), who had just left the Red Rockers, a new wave band who had a hit with "China." The trio played with a variety of bassists until 1993, when Rob Savoy -- the former frontman for the Bluerunners -- joined the band. The band released its first album, Mouthing Off, late in 1993 on the independent Viceroy Records. Two years later, they released It Means Escape on the Monkey Hill label.

By 1995, the group's following had grown large enough to earn attention from major labels. Cowboy Mouth decided to sign with MCA in early 1996, and they recorded their major-label debut, Are You with Me?, with producer Michael Wanchic during Mardi Gras of that year. The album was released in the summer of 1996 and charted a hit with "Jenny Says," an older song that the band had reprised for its major-label debut. The following spring, Cowboy Mouth released Live on Monkey Hill; Mercyland appeared a year later, and both All You Need Is Live and Easy followed in 2000. Disappointing sales prompted Atlantic to drop the band after Easy, but Cowboy Mouth, undeterred as always (even with the departure of bassist Rob Savoy), rose to the occasion and released the blistering Uh-Oh on the independent Bayside label the following year. Voodoo Shoppe, which was issued by Eleven Thirty, arrived in 2005. Fearless followed three years later, featuring a spunky ode to TV personality Kelly Ripa. After another three years passed, Cowboy Mouth returned with Mardi Gras, an EP salute to their hometown of the Big Easy.

Wikipedia:

Cowboy Mouth is a rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their name usually means "One with a loud and raucous voice". The nucleus of the band formed in the 1990s, and they have become a powerhouse live act whose performances have been likened to "a religious experience."

Some of their most popular songs include "Love Of My Life", "Everybody Loves Jill" (where the audience throws red spoons on stage), "Easy," "Disconnected," "How Do You Tell Someone," and "Jenny Says." They also perform a version of "Born to Run" on the Light of Day tribute album to Bruce Springsteen, a version of "The Pusher" on the soundtrack to Half Baked, and several of their own songs on the soundtrack to the 1995 film The Underneath (two of which they perform onscreen in the film). Their single "This Much Fun" from their 2006 album "Voodoo Shoppe" is featured in the trailer for the Disney animated feature Meet the Robinsons.

They maintain a very active touring schedule, primarily through the United States. The album Voodoo Shoppe is in part a tribute to city of New Orleans, Louisiana in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the tracks "Home" a defiant vow to rebuild the city and "The Avenue", an emotional plea for the continued vibrance of the city. "The Avenue" features the lyrics "Because the marching bands will roll/I'll find my city in my soul/Because I plan on growing old on the avenue," a reference to watching Mardi Gras parades on New Orleans' famed St. Charles Avenue. A portion of the album was recorded with producer Mitch Allan and features engineers, Stewart Cararas and Danny Kadar at their studio Paradigm Park Studios in New Orleans. Unfortunately just seven months after the record's completion the studio suffered the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. They performed "The Avenue" on Mardi Gras Day 2006 live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The album also features the song "Joe Strummer", a semi-tribute to the late Clash frontman. The band released its first full length live DVD The Name of the Band Is Cowboy Mouth on November 20, 2007. The DVD, which was recorded in front of a packed house at the Roxy On Sunset in Hollywood, CA during the summer of 2007 features much of the band's classic material like "Light it on Fire" as well as some songs to be released on the band's new album, Fearless in September 2008. Among the new songs of the DVD set,"Kelly Ripa" was released in a very different studio version as a single on iTunes in early March 2008 followed by an appearance and performance on the Live with Regis and Kelly television show on March 13, 2008.

On May 14, 2011, during a performance at Bon Ton Louisianne in Houston, Texas, Cowboy Mouth was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.