Fourth Fan Club - Cowsill Connection
Volume 3 Issue 4 and Volume 4 Issue 1
Spring / Summer 1993

Page 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT...
THE COWSILLS have been on hiatus this summer while negotiations for a recording contract continue with record companies in New York and Japan, but THE COWSILLS are scheduled for a return performance at the Taste of Rhode Island festival in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 25.

The Cowsill name has "popped up" on various T.V. shows this summer such as "The Larry Sanders Show" (FOX), "Short Attention Span Theater" (Comedy Central), "The Today Show" (NBC), and "Saturday Night Live" (NBC). It would be most beneficial to THE COWSILLS' current endeavors if we fans contact these programs and update them on "our band's" progression into original, adult 90's music.

All facets of the media (T.V., radio, newspapers, and magazines) need to be made aware of the evolution of these talented singers and musicians and the fact that they have many supporters. If our voices proclaim loudly enough what we want to hear, then maybe the decision makers in the recording industry will take heed.

Sincerely,
Marsha Jordan

COWSILLS HEADLINE BENEFIT AT GENGHIS COHEN

On April 19, 1993, Bob, Paul, John, and Susan Cowsill performed at Genghis Cohen Cantina on North Fairfax in Hollywood, CA, in a benefit to aid Chris Delligatti (the brother of a Genghis Cohen employee), who was hospitalized with a gunshot wound in San Francisco.

The show was opened by Peter Holsapple. The former dB and REM member accompanied himself on guitar and performed a crowd-pleasing set of alternative/folk songs (many of which were Holsapple originals) beginning with an impromptu composition entitled "Welcome to Our Honeymoon."

A group called Joan's Balls was next, followed by Vicki Peterson and fellow Continental Drifter, Gary Eaton, both on guitars, who sang several ballads that they "like to sing." Then the entire Continental Drifters band took the stage: Susan Cowsill (percussion and guitar), Peter Holsapple (guitar, mandolin, and accordion), Vicki Peterson (guitar), Gary Eaton (guitar and flute), Mark Walton (bass), and Carlo Nuccio (guitar). The group gave a tremendous performance, including a song that Susan had just written, "Your Little World Revolves Around You;" a song co-written by Susan and Vicki, "It's Fun to Lie;" and the band's SOL Records recording of "The Mississippi."

Then came the long-awaited appearance of THE COWSILLS. The casually clad foursome were very relaxed and jovial as they entertained the audience with an all acoustic set. Since this was Susan's honeymoon night, her brothers let her choose the songs they would perform (but they nixed her reguest to open the show with "Last Train to Clarksville). With Bob and Peter Holsapple on guitars and Robby Scharf on bass, THE COWSILLS opened with Susan singing lead on "Bitter Jest," a Bob Cowsill original from the late 70's. They followed with selections from Bob and Mary Jo Cowsill's 90's compositions: "Cross That Line" (Susan), "What I Believe" (Bob), "Under the Gun" (Susan), "You Got No Time" (Bob), "Far Away" (Susan), "Is It Any Wonder" (Bob), "Shine" (Paul), "Maybe It's You" (Bob), "What About Love" (John), and "Some Good Years" (Bob). The group also harmonized on one of their favorite cover tunes, the Beatles' "Nowhere Man." When Paul and Bob introduced Peter to the audience as their new brother, Peter "Cowsapple," Susan guipped, "he'll be divorcing me in the morning." THE COWSILLS' encore for the good-time evening was a spontaneous and hilarious English/Spanish version of their 1969 hit, "Hair," which Bob proclaimed as their "very last and final performance of this song." And, as always, THE COWSILLS left the crowd wanting more.

Cowsill family members in attendance were John's wife, Val; Paul's wife, Lou Ann; and Bill's son, Travis.

Fan club members in attendance were Paul Bailey, Penny Brannon, Sue Otto, Gary Strobl, David Jenkins, Marsha Jordan, and Martha Jordan.

GENGHIS COHEN CANTINA, 740 N. Fairfax Ave. This longtime "industry hangout" features original, live acoustic music as well as fine Chinese cuisine. Quality sound and unique decor are your bacKdrop for a nice, relatively quiet evening of fun. Full bar; all ages. Cover varies For booking call Jay at(310)392-1966. Show info. (213)653-0640

Fri - —Michael James, Xian & the Infidels, Dirk Hamilton
Sat — Laura Lees, Mark Bryson, Jon Butcher
Sun—Sandy McKnight, Teresa Tudury
Mon — Special benefit to defray medical expenses for a member of the Genghis extended family (gunsnot wounds, no less, ouch), featuring the pop grandeur that is The Cowsills; a solo set from Peter Holsapple plus Gary Eaton, Vicki Peterson and Mark Walton of the Continental Drifters; and very special (pseudonym veiled) guests Joan's Balls, and more TBA
Tues — Terri & Jean, Jeff Kosack, Maria Vidal, The Search
Wed — Crosby Tyler, Patricia Maertens, Karen Martin, Jon Ernst, Amelia K. Spicer, The Bellmonks
Thurs — Tom Viscount, Natalie Farr, Nadia Ruff, Danny Peck

COWSILL QUICKIES . . .

The Continental Drifters (whose members include Susan Cowsill, Peter Holsapple, and Vicki Peterson) performed at the South by Southwest Music Convention in Austin, TX, in April. The "inimitable" Susan Cowsill's vocals and tambourine playing were praised in a Raleigh, NC, newspaper review. (Peter Holsapple is a Winston-Salem, NC, native.) . . .

In the June 19 issue of Billboard, Susan Cowsill was mentioned in a list of under-10 artists in the rock era. . . .

Susan Cowsill's background vocals can be heard (along with NRBQ, Dave Edmonds, and others) on the chorus to "I Love You 'Cause I Want To" on Carlene Carter's Giant Records CD entitled "Little Love Letters" and also on the recently released "The Great Lost Twilley Album" on the Shelter/DCC Compact Classics label (a compilation of early unreleased material by the Dwight Twilley Band and songs from the never released "Blueprint" album) . . .

According to the July issue of ICE, Susan Cowsill and Peter Holsapple can be heard on Rhino Records' August release, "Commemorativo: A Tribute to Gram Parsons," featuring various artists' all-new recordings of songs written by the legendary country-rocker . . .

Billy Cowsill and his band, The Blue Shadows, have a new album of country music entitled "On the Floor of Heaven," which Sony Music released on the Columbia label in Canada in July. Mail orders for cassettes and CD's may be placed through A & B Sound in Vancouver, BC, at 1-800-663-0596 . . .

Travis Cowsill (Bill's elder son) has been in the recording studio singing backing vocals for Bouquet of Veal . . .

Paul Cowsill and his elder son Shane have been building movie sets in L.A. . . .

An up-to-date bio on THE COWSILLS appears in a book entitled American Singing Groups 1940-1990.

PHOTO CREDITS

Carol Lane, Kirn Masi, Debbie Miller, Sue Otto, and Marsha Jordan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

John - March 2

Susan - May 20

Bob and Richard - August 26

HOLSAPPLE-COWSILL VOWS EXCHANGED

Susan Cowsill and Peter Holsapple were united in marriage on Sunday, April 18, 1993, at two o'clock in the afternoon in an outdoor garden ceremony at the home of Vicki Peterson in Calabasas, California.

Lou Ann Cowsill, sister-in-law of the bride, served as matron of honor. Vicki Peterson, friend of the bride, was maid of honor. Flower girls were Courtney Cowsill and Marissa Cowsill, nieces of the bride. Ring bearer was Tenaya Cowsill, niece of the bride.

Carlo Nuccio, friend of the groom, served as best man.

Special music for the wedding was Henry Mancini's beautifully orchestrated recording of the bride and groom's favorite song, "Moon River," from the movie, "Breakfast at Tiffany ' s. " .

The bride, given in marriage by her brother, Paul Cowsill, wore an ecru, ankle length, three-tiered, crocheted overlay wedding gown with a scooped neckline and long sleeves. A single strand pearl necklace enhanced the gown. The barefoot bride carried a white floral bouquet of baby's breath, gardenias, roses, and lilies of the valley (her birth flower) and, wore a garland of the same flowers in her hair .

The bride's attendants wore identical short sleeved, ankle length floral print dresses of pink and green crushed cotton and carried nosegays of baby's breath, gardenias, and peach roses. The flower girls wore matching floral print dresses of pink and blue cotton. All wore white floral garlands in their hair. The ring bearer wore a black and white tux accentuated with a tiny green bow tie.

Vicki Peterson honored the bride and groom with a wedding reception at her home immediately following the ceremony. In addition to the traditional bride and groom's cake, champagne, and champagne punch, wedding guests enjoyed a bountiful buffet of ham and roast beef sandwiches, chicken, fruit, finger foods, and soft drinks.

Among the wedding guests were members of the Continental Drifters, Redd Kross, Giant Sand, Michael Steele, Debbi Peterson, and Randell Kirsch.

The newlyweds honeymooned in Spain.

MR. & MRS. PETER HOLSAPPLE

COWSILL BLOPPER

A new book entitled Rock and Pop, Day by Day, which goes through the year one day at a time and lists musicians who were born (and those who died) on each day, refers to John and Susan Cowsill as "musical twins" born on May 20 who sang for the pop group, THE COWSILLS.

Generation gap engulfs critics at music conference

AUSTIN, Texas — The only thing worse than getting old is not getting old. Unless, of course, you happen to be talking about rock 'n' roll.

At last week's South by Southwest industry conference, one moment in particular dramatized this point. During the "Is Rock Journalism Relevant?" panel, a 15-year-old in the audience stood up and told the 30ish panel members what every rock critic dreads: "You're all a little old to be writing about popular music."

What was funny was how defensively the panelists reacted. When the critics' young critic asked how long it had been since anybody on the panel had "moshed," Rolling Stone's David Fricke indignantly snot back: "Last week. What's your point?"

Even funnier was that the young woman who brought this up babysits for the children of Don McLeese — the rock critic for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper — but had never raised the subject with him directly. Bet those two will have an interesting chat the next time he hires her to sit for his kids during his next slam-dancing excursion.

There's no denying that rock journalism is graying and feeling out of sorts at the moment, mired in a humdinger of a midlife crisis every bit as profound as that of rock music itself. At the root of this crisis is a yawning generation gap between young and old critics, and the differences each has in critical perspective.

Older critics generally react to music by trying to place it into a larger chronological framework: Where did it come from? What influences does it show? Is it a step forward or backward? Does it make historical sense?

Critics who came of age after the punk era are more likely to disavow the importance of the past. They shy away from comparisons and concentrate on capturing the energy of the moment.

Consider the reaction of two of my critic friends — one 46, the other 23 — to the South by Southwest performance of a Denver grunge band called The Fluid. The older critic pointed out that The Fluid wasn't doing anything the MC5 didn't do 25 years ago. His point was irrelavant to his younger counterpart who was too busy head-banging to quibble.

Obviously there are pros and cons to both perspectives, and the dichotomy isn't as either-or as I've spelled it out At 32, I'm not really part of either generation, boom or bust. I do like loud, obnoxious alternative rock (provided it involves at least some tunefulness ), but my critical perspective tends to be more historic.

I've been a music critic for going on eight years — 10, if you count college newspapers — and I'm certainly not bored with it. But I imagine more than a few 23-year-olds (if not 15-year-olds) would rather have one of their own writing about music for this newspaper.

It's nothing I want to give up yet, although I hope I'll realize when the time comes to do that. And I hope I can bounce into something else as well as Bud Scoppa, a former rock critic I met at South by Southwest

Scoppa was one of the rock-writing pioneers of the late '60s and early 70s. Thcss days he works for Zoo Records, where he is a vice president and has signed acts like The Odds and Matthew Sweet.

But Scoppa is still a critic at heart. In Austin he was handing out copies of "The Odds in Context," a tape he had put together that alternates songs from The Odds' new album with the music of Neil Young, Badfinger, the Pretenders and other acts the band cites as influences.

I asked him whether he missed writing about music, and he replied that what he does now isn't all that different. Instead of publishing his opinions after the fact, he evaluates music before it hits the market and gives advice on what will make it better.

Scoppa has achieved that rarest of rock critic dreams being taken seriously.

• • •

CHAPEL KILL: While wandering the hang of the Austin Convention Center and the city's nightclubs with South by Southwest's other 4,000 attendees, I was asked several times, "Just what is the deal with Chapel Hill?"

I hated to tell anyone, but the "Chapel Hill Scene" is now officially passe. According to the April issue of Spin magazine. America's hot new scene is the tiny (population 1,400) burg of New Market, Va., which "may one day supersede Seattle, or at least Chapel Hill, as a guitar-rock mecca."

It would have helped if more Chapel Hill bands had played the event. But most of the Triangle's leading lights didn't make the trip for one reason or another.

Queen Sarah Saturday did travel to Austin and played quite well Unfortunately, the band drew a crowd in the low dozens because of a bad time slot. Most of the big name critics were across town seeing soul great Arthur Alexander ("Soldier of Love," "You Better Move On").

I hope Queen Sarah's album, which the band starts recording Monday in Connecticut with producer Steve Boyer (Eric Clapton Bob Mould, Throwing Muses), will get more attention when it hits the stores this summer. It should, since the band combines highly marketable elements like grunge and high-volume jammin with nifty pop songs.

• • •

HIGHLIGHTS: Among the conference's more star-studded events was the show by the Continental Drifters, a supergroup featuring former dB Peter Holsapple, former Bangle Vicky Peterson and the inimitable Susan Cowsill.

Cowsill and Winston Salem native Holsapple are engaged, and the two sang a couple of Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris-style duets. Twenty-four years after "Hair," Cowsill sounded exactly the same on her vocal harmonies (and played a mean tambourine to boot).



ICE JULY 1993 PAGE 9

Finally, July is slated for Love Gets Strange The Songs Of John Hiatt, featuring 18 previously-released tracks of other artists covering Hiatt songs, ten of which the composer never recorded himself; August is planned for A World Without Gravity: The Best Of The Jim Carroll Band, with two previously-unreleased tracks, and Commemorativo: A Tribute To Gram Parsons, featuring all-new recordings of songs written by the legendary country-rocker, as performed by The Mekons, Peter Holsapple & Susan Cowsill, Steve VVynn, Carla Olson and Uncle Tupelo, among others; and September is scheduled for The Best Of Southside Johnny 1979-1999, drawing from six different labels and intended to serve as a companion piece to Southside's best-of package on the Epic label.