Honored to be part of this list

​Matt: Cowboy Mouth concerts are a lot of fun as a musician because of that unexpected aspect where we can take a right turn or a left turn or go off a cliff sometimes. You never know.

Fred: People crave the interaction of live shows. I think when concerts come back, they will come back stronger than ever. I think the world is going to deal with a little bit of PTSD following the pandemic. People are going to be gun shy for a while, but people have a natural need to interact with each other. I think that's one of the great things about a Cowboy Mouth show is that it's always encouraged interaction with each other.

Once we're able to kind of do our thing again, to swing for the fences again, I think it has the potential to be better than ever.

JTG: Whenever I visited my parents, they took me to a Chinese restaurant they loved called The Panda. Right after the Red Rockers and "China" took off, they took my (then) wife and I there. 

The restaurant had a thick book of show tunes. You chose a song out of the book and a lady came over to the table and sang it. 

I chose "Climb Every Mountain" from "The Sound of Music". The lady had a lot of trouble singing that. I tried not to laugh. My wife kept kicking me under the table.  Meanwhile my mom and dad are sitting there like this was a great show. 

Then they told the lady, "This is our son. He's on MTV!" 

I said, "Dad, no, no. She's not going to care." 

Everyone is embarrassed by their parents now and then.

Matt: Learning to play guitar by ear has been an advantage with Cowboy Mouth and Fred. Because most of that show, you're just listening to what Fred wants. If he decides to go into a cover somewhere, he's going to do it. And then you've got to figure it out. A player who learns by charts might be thrown in a situation like that. 

​Jazz Fest ‘13

Fred: I found this video trolling through an old hard drive. And I think this really is what its all about: The joy and the passion of belief, whether in the moment or in a million moments…whether in a diety, family, purpose, friend, or really whatever...

The ability to find the faith inside of yourself, and then to bring that energy to a much bigger world and to - hopefully - connect with as many others as possible. 

Not to intentionally quote myself here (because I think that’s obnoxious), but...’I’ve always found my strength inside the act of faith.’ 

Every once in a while you get it right.

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

​Fred: There is a certain celebration of life, a joie de vivre if you will, about our music,  about our approach to performances. There is not a lot of wallowing and self-pity. With Cowboy Mouth there is a lot of personal celebration of the individual, basically saying, your life is in your own hands. Your life is what you make it. 

​In honor of Allen Toussaint Day, here is Griff's story about the one time he auditioned for Allen...

“What is it like to sit in with Cowboy Mouth?”

Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish: I equate it to an athletic event. Not from a competition standpoint, but just from the level of energy that you need. Going on stage anyway, for me, is like going into a game. But I work harder and play harder with them than any other group.