Members of the Cleveland-based “cowpunkabilly” band The Cowslingers admit they have an interesting fan base.
“Usually drunks and degenerates,” lead vocalist Greg Miller said. “You know, the bigger the freak, the more you like the show usually. Drunks are a key portion to our audience.”
The Cowslingers will bring their mix of punk, country and rockabilly to Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing, at 10:30 p.m. Friday.
“Our response was real good at Mac’s in the past,” bassist Ken Miller said. “We haven’t been up there in a while, but I believe our last three shows were at Mac’s and they turned out to be great.”
Greg Miller said the shows are very animated.
“We’re a somewhat entertaining rock band,” he said. “We don’t just stand there and play. We’re not lame; we move around and like a little action and adventure.”
The band is supporting its latest release off Shake It Records, based in Cincinnati. Having been in the studio and on the road since its start in 1990, the band has six full-lengths, 12 seven-inch singles, a half dozen compilation cuts and more than 600 live shows to its credit.
“Cowpunkabilly is kind of a term we invented because we’re an even blend of rockabilly, punk and country, for lack of a better term,” Ken Miller said. “I think we’re pretty close to unique, at least with our exact combination of it.”
Since their career began, band members have spent most of their time on the road promoting their sound, Ken Miller said.
“We’ve always been a live-oriented band instead of a studio band,” he said. “You basically have two choices: stay home and play all the local bars and be the king of your little pond, or you can climb in the van and get on the road and play all over the place.”
Norman Zebrowski is the booking agent for Mac’s Bar. He described The Cowslingers’ live performance as a mixture of punk rock and psycho-billy with an element of trash.
“They are very animated and a real good time,” he said.
Ken Miller said the crowd response the band gets really varies from town to town.
“When we go into big cities we get the, ‘I’m too cool to have a good time or show any emotion’ problem,” he said. “In smaller towns people are more willing to openly have fun.”
Greg Miller said the band plays a type of music that isn’t going to go out of style, like a lot of music genres tend to do over time.
“It’s derivative of American music,” he said. “It’s not like we’re doing a synth-pop thing we’re going to be embarrassed about a few years later.”
He also said being interested in the band’s music doesn’t require being well-educated in the music field.
“When you hear ‘Louie, Louie’ you know it’s a cool song and you don’t have to understand where The Kingsmen were coming from,” he said. “It’s a basic instinct and what rock ’n’ roll is supposed to be. We try and play the music we like and hopefully other people like it along the way.”
Greg Miller is confident people will enjoy the show.
“It will be the greatest rock ’n’ roll show you’ve witnessed with your own eyes,” he said. “You’ll be completely captivated, either that or you’ll demand your money back.”
Cover is $3. For more information, call Mac’s Bar 484-6795.
