Drumming with frenetics
John Cowsill is all about music. Before the Newport, Rhode Island native joined the Beach Boys in 2001 he was best known for his work as a singer and drummer in the Cowsills, a group comprised of his mother and siblings. Over the years John has also been a member of the Bel Air Bandits (with Jim Armstrong, Chris Farmer, Gary Griffin, Mark Ward, Randell Kirsch and Philip Bardowell), the Pranks (with Jeffrey Foskett, Randell Kirsch, Bo Fox and Robby Scharf), in addition to recording and performing with Jan & Dean.
Here’s an exclusive excerpt from Cowsill's upcoming interview appearing in the Fall 2011 edition of Endless Summer Quarterly.
David Beard: What do you recall from your first tour with The Beach Boys in 2001?
John Cowsill: After Atlantic City, we flew up to Nova Scotia and then to Europe. Biarritz, France was the first stop on the tour schedule. Right before Scott Totten and I came onboard, the band had been hittin’ it pretty hard, so by the time we joined, there were several days off. I didn’t like that, but I guess everyone else needed a little R&R. They had just done 170 shows that year. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Biarritz, but I was chomping at the bit to work. When we finally started the run, I was happy to be working. We went everywhere in Europe and the UK. Man, I remember playing in Liverpool on Kings Docks with Status Quo. In fact, we did several shows with Status Quo. They weren’t very big in the states, but across The Pond? They were huge. Everything was happening so fast. I was now secretly wishing I could do this full time. Things were going well and I was having fun. But the end was nearing, and Phil Bardowell was supposedly coming back out when we got stateside. Then… there was talk of him maybe not coming back…hmmm. The latter proved to be true. I was hired full time. And it’s been one big tour since then.
For the complete seven page interview, be sure to pick up your copy of the Fall 2011 edition of Endless Summer Quarterly; The World’s Leading Brian Wilson/Beach Boys Publication. Individual issue: $10, Subscriptions: $30 U.S., $34 Canada & Mexico, $38 elsewhere in the world. ESQ’s PayPal account ID is: esqeditor@aol.com.
©2011David M. Beard/All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: This article is the original work of David M. Beard. Under no circumstance may any portion of this article be broadcast, copied, published, rewritten or used without the permission of the author. Please email requests to esqeditor@esquarterly.com.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: This article is the original work of David M. Beard. Under no circumstance may any portion of this article be broadcast, copied, published, rewritten or used without the permission of the author. Please email requests to esqeditor@esquarterly.com.
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