In the world of 21st Century media, with online blogs, webzines and social networks pumping out review
after review, it is rare for one band to have a critical appraisal stick for more than a month.
But for the New Orleans-based rock quartet Cowboy Mouth, a Cake Magazine reviewer said it all, “…on a bad
night they’ll tear the roof off the joint and on a good night, they will save your soul.”
It really doesn’t get more definitive than that. Twenty-one words that encompass the mantra of Cowboy
Mouth’s live show and set expectations for those who have yet to experience it.
The group plays Sept. 12 at 9:50 p.m. on the Main Stage.
Led by the raucous drumming and lead vocals of front-man Fred LeBlanc, Cowboy Mouth continues to be a
nationwide rock-and-roll institution for music lovers craving a carefree release and energetic,
danceable music.
LeBlanc is joined by equally energetic band mates John Thomas Griffith on vocals and lead guitar,
Jonathan “JP” Pretus on rhythm guitar and Regina Zernay on bass.
“We are serious about what we do, but we are not there to drag the audience down.,” LeBlanc said in a
recent telephone interview. “It is a pretty much as celebration. Kind of like a tent revival without the
religion.”
They call it New Orleans-style rock and roll and while to some that may seem like an empty epithet to
promote a live show, there is a distinction to this band that drives to the heart of what New Orleans is
all about.
Simply put, a lot of rhythm and a good time.
First and foremost, is the rowdy and entertaining LeBlanc who sits right up front with the rest of the
band and reminds one of Animal from “The Muppet Show,” with his drumsticks failing and head banging
relentlessly. Although most drummers are typically relegated to the back of the stage, LeBlanc, who
writes the majority of the band’s songs, said moving the entire band to the front was something that he
had always wanted to do when he had is own band.
“I had left my band and was looking to start my own thing because I was tied of being the drummer in the
back and tired of looking at guitar player’s butts all my life,” LeBlanc said. “People aren’t used to
seeing a drummer up front.”
Originally founded by LeBlanc and Griffith, who knew each other from past bands in the New Orleans
circuit, Cowboy Mouth existed in its early days as a collection of young 1980s rockers, looking for a
new sound and direction.
The band quickly became a grassroots success, attracting a large following for their exciting live shows,
also garnering the attention of major labels. Cowboy Mouth released three albums on major labels in the
1990s before striking out on their own early this decade.
While they have 11 studio albums under their belt, the live show is their bread and butter, attracting
audiences of all ages and walks of life. Cowboy Mouth typically puts on 200 live shows a year and has
tallied nearly 2,000 lives shows in their two decades of touring.
“A Cowboy Mouth show is a give and take of band and audience energy,” LeBlanc said. “It is a very
interactive experience, it is very passionate and it is very fun. We have some audience members who go
completely berserk and some audience members who stay in the back and just enjoy it.”
In addition to a live DVD released in 2007, Cowboy Mouth’s most recent album, “Fearless” (2008) features
the tune “Kelly Ripa,” a playful ode to daytime celebrity, penned by LeBlanc and recently played to its
namesake on a taping of Live with Regis and Kelly.
Just one mainstream media stop for a band that has also graced the Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Late Show
with Craig Kilborn, sold out arenas around the country and now, the Main Stage at the Black Swamp Arts
Festival.