Cowboy UP
Fred LeBlanc knows what it means to miss New Orleans. The lifelong resident and hyperenthusiastic Cowboy Mouth drummer/frontman was recording his band’s next album, Voodoo Shoppe, in Atlanta when Hurricane Katrina hit. He says watching the TV coverage was “like watching someone you love get run over by a car.” Already one of the hardest-touring bands around, Cowboy Mouth promptly took to their Southern Comfort bus for the Take Me Back to New Orleans tour, which pulls into La Zona Rosa Saturday and benefits the Cowboy Mouth Hurricane Relief Fund. The next night, Sunday – same location – Marcia Ball, Cyril Neville, the Iquanas and more anchor another NOLA “Benefit Boogie.”TCB: How’s everything going?
Fred LeBlanc: [chuckles] Well, let’s see. My city got destroyed, my guitar player lost his house, my place had part of the roof ripped off, insurance adjusters are jerking me around, and I’m touring with a kickass rock & roll band across the country.
TCB: What were your thoughts when you went back?
FL: It was emotionally overwhelming. A lot of it looked really terrible, a lot of it still looks really terrible. A lot of it’s really beaten up, but she still looks like New Orleans to me.
TCB: What about New Orleans inspires musicians so much?
FL: I think the ability to just lay back, to take your time, to not really worry about being judged too harshly. It was a great place to just go and woodshed, to become who you are. It’s a great place to explore yourself in any direction you want to go. Sometimes those aren’t the healthiest directions, but the city allows that. It’s such a vast clashing of culture in such a tiny area that it’s created something really wonderful.
TCB: What did it mean to the band to have New Orleans to come home to?
FL: For me, it was always an energy source. It always recharged my batteries. I really enjoyed the feel of the city, the natural friendliness of the people there. Despite what you saw on TV, which was just desperate people in a desperate situation doing the best they can, people in New Orleans genuinely tend to be very laid-back and easygoing. We don’t normally greet each other with handshakes, we always greet each other with hugs. There’s something special about the city and the people in it that’s always energized my soul. It always has, and it always will.
This article appears in October 21 • 2005.