​It's what you bring to the game that matters most. The faith that you have in yourself will determine where you go in life. 

And I'm not talking about arrogance, thinking you are better than anybody else. 

Faith in yourself also means the ability to have faith in your ability to learn. - Fred

It's about celebrating this moment that we have here. Tomorrow might be rough but this moment right now is great simply because we decide it is. - Fred

​I realized a long time ago that it would have been very easy for me to move my drums to the back and play behind some pretty boy with long hair, or pretty girl with long hair, singing about his or her angst, or whatever, and I could have had a lucrative life doing that, but that's not what I wanted to do. I really felt the need to express something different. - Fred

​The most positive feedback you can ever hear from somebody is not, "Oh I think you're wonderful." It's, "What you did or what this song said really made me look at things differently and made me want to do better." That's such a thrill. That's the best part of doing this, to be honest with you. - Fred

Looks like the old Nola guard are all slowly slipping away to their greater reward. And it's all as it should be, I suppose...

​I could go on about Art Neville and his immense talent, his sincere graciousness and humility, his healthy sense of humor, etc...But there are many who can - and will - tell those stories much better than I'm able.

All I can say right now is that, more so than anyone else in my opinion, Art Neville was, is, and will forever be the sound of New Orleans music, period. 
Best, Fred

​For me songwriting goes in seasons. I'll go an entire year without writing anything. I learned that you can't force it. If you do, it's not really worth it. - Matt

​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. - Fred

​Even though a number of the songs I used to write were about love gone wrong, they were never about, "Oh poor me. I'm so miserable. She hates me." Blah blah blah. Instead it was, "This happened. What are you going to do?" or "This happened. Let it go, let it go, let it go." Look at the song "Love Of My Life". This person was quite the pill, but hey, she's not the love of my life anymore. Woo hoo! - Fred

​John Thomas and Fred have a rare opening in their schedule on September 14! If you live in the New Orleans area and want to book them to perform one of their acoustic, living room concerts, send an email to john@cowboymouth.com.

​You don’t want to sit there and base your life on something like other people’s opinions. You’ve got to be true to you, and just do your best. - Fred