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John Cowsill, who supplies the beat for the Cowsills, has a lot more going for him than simply being an excellent drummer. He claims to have the second longest shock of hair in his family. (" What fd really like to do is to get to go on tour, a whole 90 days, without a visit to the barber.")
"The difference between 'now' and 'then' for us as performers is that we started out just playing dances. So people danced while we played. Now they sit and listen.
"It's interesting, the difference between being onstage and being in a studio cutting a record. Onstage, you're just doing it once. You say to yourself, 'I didn't hear any mistakes.' But in the studio, you may have to do it 150 times. And even then, when it sounds good to you in the ' studio, it doesn't mean that it's going to sound good in the playbacks.
"I like performing for an audience, but I don't miss having an audience to play to when we record. I'm used to playing without one. That's how we rehearse.
"I dig The Beatles. They're always moving. Onwards and upwards. You know, if you stay with one thing too long, you get a mental block and you blow it. We're like that, always trying something new simply because the other way would be a bore.
"One of my big favorites at the moment is 'Proud Mary.' We use it as a warm-up song. Really gets you going. It's outta sight.
"It's not any different being a 'Cowsill' than being a Smith, a Carter, a Jones, or whatever. Nothing so special. You're just a human being with likes and dislikes.
"But we do travel more than most people. It's interesting to see what different types of people there are. Like what I hate is the 'cold type.' I hate to sign checks in a hotel. They always look at me and ask where my older brother is.
"Or I call up the hotel operator in my 'telephone voice' and ask for the time. And she says, 'Yes, madam, the time is . . .'
"I loved it when we went to Europe for the San Remo Festival. My favorites were St. Peter's in Rome and the Sistine Chapel. Td stand out in front of St. Peter's and angle so that those rows and rows of columns looked packed together solid, like trees in a forest.
"What I really like are scare movies.Like Christopher Lee flicks. I don't like to read, I think that's terrible. I care, but I haven't found anything lately that I want to read. All the books now seem to be about superheroes. I only watch TV on Saturdays. Cartoons drive me crazy. I guess I really just like to loaf!
"What really bugs me is incense. Barry burns incense every night in the room because of the mosquitoes. I'd rather have the mosquitoes.
John had to leave, wondering about what could possibly be amiss with liking "groovy looking girls." Bob, Paul, and Barry were yelling for him to get back to rehearsal.
But even before "Hey, Jude" got underway, we realized that John Cowsill has a lot more going for him than simply being an excellent drummer.
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