The blurb that accompanies any write-up of the New Orleans-based rock band Cowboy Mouth comes from Cake magazine: "On a bad night they'll tear the roof off the joint, and on a good night, they'll save your soul."
For drummer, singer, and primary songwriter Fred LeBlanc, a great live show -- which will be on display at RIBCO on Friday -- is both natural and a necessity.
The band has been around for two decades now, with the constant core of LeBlanc and guitarist, singer, and songwriter John Thomas Griffith. By LeBlanc's count, Cowboy Mouth has had 427 bassists and 1,628 guitar players.
"The crux of the band has always been me and John," LeBlanc said in a recent interview. "John and I always had a chemistry, and we always built a band around that. We had all done stints in major labels before the band, and so it was: What do we have that they cannot steal from us? They can steal songs from us; they have. They can steal recordings from us; they have. But they can't steal playing live. ... That's how we built our reputation."
