The Cowsills In Magazines

You've been playing nearly your entire life. From when you first picked up an instrument, to playing in front of hundreds of people. Even through all the changes you and music have gone through, it still brings you the joy you hope to bring to others, whether it be rock, pop or hip hop.

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An example of a musician born into music is John Cowsill, a member of the Beach Boys. The Cowsills is not only the name of his family, but also a band formed by him and his siblings when he was only seven years old.

"My career chose me," Cowsill said. "I didn't choose it. So I never was a kid who said I want to be in the music business, I just grew up in it, so it was different for me than other people. And I'm glad that I did. I love playing drums and I love singing and I love doing what I do."

Cowsill has played with many bands, but throughout all of them he's kept a strong focus on rock music. In addition, he's stuck with the drums and singing from when he first started doing music with his siblings to now in his 60s.

"I thought [drums] were the coolest looking instrument I ever saw in my life. I loved the colors of them," Cowsill said, "And people still pay me to hit things with two sticks, which is an amazing things."

After the Cowsills band, Cowsill eventually moved on to the Beach Boys. Though he's occasionally worked for some other bands, he's been with the Beach Boys for over 20 years now.

"One day, I got a call saying, 'Hey, what are you doing?' from their musical director. And I said, 'I don't know, why?' I hadn't heard from this man in a long time. And he said, 'Because we need a drummer temporarily.' And so I went out with them for a week of gigs," Cowsill said. "They said, 'Do you want to come on full time?' And then I said, 'Yes, I do.' "

Cowsills' siblings aren't his only musical family either. His wife, Vicki Peterson, is an accomplished musician as well, founding her own band, the Bangles. Though she didn't have as early of a start as her husband, she's still been doing music for a long time. She started at nine years old and did some smaller performances in her teenage years.

"When I was in high school, I got together with my best girl friend," Peterson said," And she and I started wriging songs together. And then we kind of roped in my little sister. And we started playing little shows around town and schools and junior high dances and that kind of thing, middle school dances."

Peterson has been playing the guitar throughout her career. Though she did try out the piano when she was 11-years-old, the guitar's portability played a large factor in her choice.

"[The guitar] was very melodic, and also portable, so I could bring it to my friend's house for sleepovers and stuff, which I did a lot, and you can't bring a piano to your friend's house," Peterson said.

Eventually her small group in high school transitioned to the Bangles, though the members changed a bit. Although the Bangles have broken up a few times, Peterson came back every time it did, and while she's stuck with rock mostly, the exact subgenre has varied.

"My best friend who was playing with us, she was a bass player. She decided whiel she was in school that she was falling in love with anthropology and history. She decided to go out and get her master's degree and realized that she couldn't do both," Peterson said. "So now, it was just my sister and me. Then we met, we put an ad in the paper, and we met our friend Susanna, and she wanted to be in a band above everything as well. That's how it became the Bangles."

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