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TWIN FALLS - The Cowsills are a fun family - a family that enjoys being together traveling together and entertaining together.
Barbara Cowsill, pretty young mother of the talented group, flatly denies there is anything like a "generation gap." She believes all there is, is a difference of ages.
Her husband, Bud, who arranges their engagements and manages the money said, "People always have had problems with their children. Now there are just more people, more children and more problems, so somebody came up with the term 'generation gap'. "
Although the family is anything but ordinary (considering their background and musical talent), it makes every effort to be that way. A half-hour visit with the clan could almost be called exhausting. An extremely extroverted group, they all love to talk - and not necessarily about themselves.
Barbara describes the family as "the original hippies," Father Bud, who is retired from the Navy, moved his family to all parts of the United States. Surprisingly enough they still enjoy traveling. He says they try to arrive in a town several days before their engagement so they can visit sites in the area.
They came to Twin Falls Tuesday and spent the days before their Friday night performance touring the Shoshone Ice Caves, Shoshone Falls, and "just driving around." They always try to drive, he said, so they can see the country.
Things have not always been easy for the Cowsills. Barbara said her husband, when he was in the service, always had a night job to earn money to buy groceries for the seven children.
Bob, 20, now the oldest of the children in the group, remembers when they lived in Ohio and his father worked in a drive-in restaurant at nights. "He always brought us home some french fries. He froze them and then we ate them for breakfast," he said. "Have you ever eaten frozen French fries? That is really living!"
The group started out like most other singing groups. They entertained in their hometown of Newport, R.I., then became so popular they went professional seven years ago. The two oldest Cowsill children now are away from home, but once were a part of the show. The group now is composed of Bob, 20 (whose wife, Nanci, helps care for their wardrobe); Paul 18; Barry, 15; John, 14, and Susan, 11.
The family believes their success lies in the fact that they sing rock, folk and religious music - something for everybody. Bob points out there is someone in the group whom nearly every person can identify with. "Mom appeals to the senior citizens," Paul jokes.
Mother Barbara also notes that since their group has changed several times - adding another member of the family or when one left home - each individual, or two or three, is able to put on a concert by himself. Even young Susan has made solo appearances.
The unpretentious family said they thought Magic Valley was a beautiful area, but their mother said she especially appreciated the nice laundromat across the street from their motel.
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