Cowboy Mouth as a band was started in 1990, but its history goes back much further.
Drummer Fred LeBlanc and guitarist Paul Sanchez played together in their teens in an early 80's New Orleans band called The Backbeats. When The Backbeats broke up, Fred and Paul went their seperate ways. Fred went on to a four year stint in the drummer's seat of the hard rocking punkabilly band Dash Rip Rock. Paul moved to New York and Boston seeking his fame and fortune as a folk singer. After Fred left Dash, he signed a deal with a record label to record a solo album. Fred called Paul, who was out of the music buisness at the time and working on movies in Boston, to come and record the album with him in Wisconsin. When the two got to the studio, Fred found out that his deal got dropped, and there would be no solo album.
The pair soon began jamming with guitarist John Thomas Griffith. Griff was also a veteran of the music buisness, having recorded and played with his San Francisco area based band The Red Rockers on both M-TV and opening up for major acts like U2.
The three coaxed bassist Steve Walters out of retirement to play with them. Walters was a legendary bass player from the New Orleans scene, having played with bands like The Normals. Cowboy Mouth, which took their name from a Sam Sheppard play about a rock star who took all the busted broken bits of peoples lives and gave it back to them bigger'n life as a rock and roll Jesus with a "cowboy mouth", was born.
The Band toured around the U.S. and in France, performing shows that would become legendary and earning a reputation as a formidable live act. The band released 3 independant label cds, one of which was a live cd culled from their shows in France before a major label took notice and MCA signed them to a deal. At this time, Steve opted to retire once again, and bassist Rob Savoy joined the band, in 1995. The band was already on fire, and Savoy, who hailed from the heart of Cajun country in Lafayette, La added the tabasco sauce needed to make the band explosive. Rob brought more than just his bass skills to the band - he brought another and a different voice to add to CM's sound.
MCA released the band's first Major label album "Are You With Me" in 1996, and record sales spured on by the hit single "Jenny Says" proved that people across the country were indeed with CM. CM continued touring the country at a break neck pace, playing some 250 shows a year. After the release of "Mercyland", and because of a growing uphappy situation with MCA due to changes at the label, CM left MCA with an album recorded that will never see the light of day. They then signed on with a vanity label of Atlantic Records, Blackbird, and recorded an album, "Easy" for Atlantic. While awaiting the release of "Easy", the band released a live album on their own Cowboy Mouth records, called "All You Need Is Live". The live album was a perfect summation of a Cowboy Mouth show and a great "fix" for any fan needing a little fun in-between CM shows.
Atlantic was bought out by Time Warner/AOL and shut down. The band is currently shopping for a new label and is in the process of recording a new album.
In March, 03 long time bassist Rob Savoy retired from the band to settle down and get married. After auditioning several bassists, Mary LaSang emerged to fill the shoes of the Legendary King Of Mardi Gras. And you know what? I've seen her perform with CM. She KICKS ASS.
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