Cowboy Mouth

“Let it go, let it go, let it go/When the world is coming down on me/I let it go…” Thirty years, half a million albums, thousands of concerts and headlining festival dates for 10M+ folks and millions of Spotify streams later, New Orleans alt/roots rockers Cowboy Mouth and their devoted, ever growing legion of fans still sing the chorus of their barn-burning jam – a Top 30 Billboard Mainstream Rock hit – like a high octane mantra and mission statement.

The band’s got other catchy, anthemic singalong favorites like “I Believe” and “Everybody Loves Jill,” but to frontman and drummer Fred LeBlanc, “Jenny…” is pretty much the apex of the CM experience – a clarion call to everyone to take all their troubles and worries and just…turn off the radio, lights and video and let them go. Whether they’re performing their nearly annual gig at the iconic New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, playing The Windjammer in Isle of Palms, SC or bringing the explosive, celebratory fire that LeBlanc calls their “southern gospel revival without the religion” to NYC, Texas, Atlanta, the Midwest or the West Coast, the four road warriors – LeBlanc, guitarist/vocalist John Thomas Griffith, bassist Brian Broussard and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Frank Grocholski - still love to play “Jenny” as a set piece of the party atmosphere and pure unadulterated joy they create every time out.

Featuring Fred’s instinctive, in the moment improvised monologues, energetic percussion and call-and-response with the audience, a Cowboy Mouth show is a fun, high spirited affair designed to elicit an exuberant response. It’s not simply about enjoying their favorite tunes or the members’ dynamic playing and antics, but leaving with a feeling of optimism, joy and possibility – a bold, powerful vibe to put out in a world seemingly designed to beat us all down. It’s about pure, raw enthusiasm for the music and crowd. All LeBlanc asks of himself and his band mates (traditionally and at the 80-100 shows they now average annually) is that they give their very best, whatever that may be at any given moment.

For LeBlanc, it’s the excitement of being able to live the dream he has had since I was a child: playing the drums and singing my heart out for an audience of folks enthused to be there. For Broussard, it can be jumping around playing his bass with abandon and encouraging the audience as well. For Griffith, it’s intense focus on what he’s playing as well as using the power of his voice to hypnotize their audience, and for Grocholski, the continuation of a life centered around being the best guitarist and performer he can be, wherever he is. Their combined energy forms an electrifying conduit for a range of musical possibilities.

Cowboy Mouth got its name from a line in the 1978 play of the same name by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith. A character in the play refers to being a “rock and roll Jesus with a cowboy mouth,” describing someone with a loud, raucous voice who gives people back their frustrations in a larger-than-life way. Originally formed in 1990 and offering a festive, freewheeling alternative to grunge, the band signed with MCA for their major label debut Are You with Me? (featuring “Jenny Says”) but have released albums both on indie labels and on their own since 2000. Their tunes have appeared in films ranging from the crime drama The Underneath (which featured them performing on screen) to the family comedy Meet The Robinsons.