Date: Nov 9, 2006 MUEN: Hey! Congrats on the "Best Blues Band" award at the All Access Music Awards in Los Angeles!! How does it feel to have that under your belts this year? MARK DRUMMOND: Being a native of Greenwood Mississippi, it has a special significance to me. I hope my late homie Little Milton approves. MIKE MANN: We are looking for big things to happen to us in 2007, so this is really a positive way to head into the end of the year. MUEN: How long has the band been in the L.A. area playing? MIKE MANN: Close to 10 years. We started out as a trio for a couple of years, but the demand to do more shows for bigger crowds led us growing to 6, sometimes 7 members that make up the group. We have a pretty big sound these days. MUEN: Where are you from originally? MIKE MANN: I was born in Tennessee and raised in the small Mississippi river town of Clinton, Iowa from about 4th grade on. MUEN: Where will you be performing mainly, in the next few coming months? And where are some of the past venues you've played? MIKE MANN: We have been playing a lot at The World Famous Farmers Market in Los Angeles, so we'll continue to do that along with fairs and festivals that come up. As far as clubs, I loved playing The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, B.B Kings in Universal City, and many others. We are ready to play anytime and anyplace, and we look forward to hitting some of the bigger country clubs like "The Cowboy Place" in the valley. MUEN: Did all of you start your careers in Country and Blues? Or are there other genres too, within your musical roots? MARK DRUMMOND: I spent my early years playing in Southern R&B "show" bands in the mid-South... we'd do covers of the current R&B tunes, playing at all kinds of dances in the smaller towns, opening for bigger acts in larger cities. I would also be hired by whatever acts that would come thru the area looking for additional musicians. |
MIKE MANN: I can honestly say I am a child of top 40 radio, so I heard all the country hits. A lot of the stations in Iowa were country, so I just grew up enjoying all kinds of music. The other fellows in the band grew up all over the country. Mark Drummond is from Greenwood, Mississippi, Tracy Hill is from Seattle for example. Ted Cooper is from Detroit and was all over soul. Keith Washington the bass man has a formal education in jazz. So all of us bring our unique influences to the band. MUEN: Who does most of the songwriting for Cowboy Soul? And how do you usually go about that process? Do the lyrics come before the music is written, or is it usually the music first that inspires the lyrics? MIKE MANN: I started off doing the most writing. But as time went on, all of the members of the band have been throwing ideas and songs into the arena. We like great song titles, so some of the songs that we write together start with the title. But others start with a simple riff that has a life of it's own. Then we write around that groove. MUEN: What brand of guitars and drums do you prefer to get the sound you desire? MARK DRUMMOND: I'm basically a single-coil Fender man, although I recently started using a semi-hollowbody for mellower stuff. I use tube amplifiers exclusively. Solid state hurts my ears! MIKE MANN: I have been playing an Alvarez 6 string cutaway acoustic for many, many moons. It's just like an old buddy. I also use an Ovation and a Takamine for backup. My favorite harmonicas are the Hohner Marine Band and Blues Harp. MUEN: Tell us what has been the task at hand in the past few months, where are you focusing most of your attention? MARK DRUMMOND: I've had a pretty busy last few months, producing a number of tracks for African star, Tuface Idibia, producing and co-writing music for the Soleil Films / Post Meridian Productions short film, "Bringing Up BayBay," which has garnered quite a few awards at film festivals around the country. I'm also wrapping up a CD of my own, "naturally the guys in the group have been helping me out with that! MUEN: Ok well, best of luck with that and thanks for keeping us informed. MARK DRUMMOND: Thank you MUEN for the interview!! www.cowboysoul.com Interview by G. Cataline G.Cataline www.MUENmagazine.net www.MUENmagazine.com www.GCataline.com |
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