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Newport's own John Cowsill will be in town this week, singing lead in a concert with New Jersey rockers The Smithereens. The band returns to the Greenwich Odeum on Thursday, December 12, with founding members Jim Babjak (guitar), Dennis Diken (drums), and Mike Mesaros (bass), with Cowsill joining the band on the East Greenwich stage.
How did a musician who got his start in the legendary 60s family band get asked to play for a rock band that broke out in the 1980s?
"I did one show with them before," he explained. "I've known them forever, especially Dennis, who is a very close friend of mine. When I was in the Beach Boys, Dennis would come to shows, and I'd have him sit in."
I always said 'I want to sing with you guys, but I was always too busy. Once I stopped with the Beach Boys, I called him up and said I want to sit in with you and play 'Time and Time Again.' "
With a louder and slightly more aggressive sound than other bands he's played with, The Smithereens upbeat power pop/rock tunes are easy to sing and dance along to. Cowsill had to learn a lot of new songs for the tour, although he was somewhat familiar with the band's catalog.
"I was happy they gave me a lot of advance notice, I didn't know the words to anything," he laughed. "I knew the choruses; that was it. So I did a deep dive… I showed up at the first show with them at a festival in Ohio. When I got on stage, I headed for the drum set, that's normally what I do, and I stopped myself and thought, oh my God, I'm just standing up tonight," he laughed. "I'd never been the lead singer of a band in my life. It was a lot of fun; they are such a kick-ass band."
Of course, Cowsill is best known in these parts as the youngest member of The Cowsills, AM radio stars of the late 1960s, a band that included his mother, four brothers, and his sister Susan. When they split in the 1970s, he continued to perform, touring with Dwight Twilley, recording with Tommy Tutone (867-5309), and playing occasional reunion shows with his family band. They were inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
On that day, he took a night from the Beach Boys to attend the ceremony, a big deal for a band he toured with for over 20 years, playing drums and keyboard and occasionally singing lead on hits like "Sail On, Sailor," "Darlin," and "California Dreamin."
In 2023, he parted ways with the Beach Boys, although he fondly recalls over two decades playing in "America's Band," an opportunity he never anticipated. "I remember when I got the gig, I would just count how many dates they were going to play," he said. "I didn't want a day off."
Known for their grueling schedule, the Beach Boys, who got their start a few years before The Cowsills, continue to be active under the direction of founding member Mike Love. "I've never worked with somebody who works so hard; he was a great boss, he always treated me well, he ran a great organization."
Cowsill has fond memories of his youth in Newport. “Everything about Newport was special - those were my wonder years," he said. That was pre-fame; I just loved living in Newport on the water. I remember all of it, the best time of my life."
"I remember playing four sets a night, we played a wine cellar in Newport, at the Muenchinger King Hotel. The first couple of nights, the local cops came and raided the place because I was like 8 years old playing at a bar," he laughed. "With all my brothers who were underage ... so they shut us down. But my dad went to city hall, and they said, well, as long as the kids aren't sitting at the bar, or the tables, or drinking, then it would be OK. So between sets, they put us in the storage room where they kept all the alcohol."
He recalled attracting large crowds at outdoor rehearsals at Halidon Hall, the Victorian-era mansion where the family lived. "The local kids would come and sit on our six acre rolling hill; they would sit and listen to us rehearse, that was fun, it made me play better.
On the horizon for Cowsill is a new album, Long After the Fire, a duo with his wife, Vicki Peterson of The Bangles, who he married in 2003.
"It's a tribute to my brothers Bill and Barry. They wrote some incredible songs that I've been singing for decades. After the Beach Boys, I decided that I would like to do this as a first recording project. I asked Vick, 'Would you do this with me,' and she said, of course. It was a labor of love. I love singing with Vicki; we go out and laugh and have fun on stage.
Bill was very traditional country, which I love, and Barry was more on the rock side. It's such a beautiful album," added Cowsill. "It's coming out in April, and we're going to go out and tour. We call it our shits and giggles retirement plan."
Thursday's concert at the Greenwich Odeum begins at 8PM.
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