The Original Cowards began life as the recurring daydream of a local sixth grader.
“The band started in my mind circa sixth grade, Williams Middle School, in Longmeadow,” recalls John Crand. “I used to make up fake album covers, songs and band names, in this notebook I had, ala [Guided by Voices lead man] Robert Pollard, and dream about kicking out the jams.”
It wasn’t until last year that Crand was able to turn his childhood musings into reality. “It really started this last April with Karl Helander and Aaron Moon at the Sierra Grille,” he says. “Karl and Aaron were way too busy with the good things they had going, including their band Pale Cowboy, who are super fantastique, but they helped get the ball rolling.”
The current Original Cowards lineup features Crand singing and playing guitar, Chris Wilkey on drums, Phil Sena on guitar and organ, and Marlon Adams on bass. “It’s the first time Marlon’s ever been in a band and the first time he’s played bass,” Crand says. “Kind of like Tommy Stinson in The Replacements.”
Like The Replacements, The Original Cowards play tuneful rock with a loose, bar-band feel. Crand hopes that bits of their many influences shine through in their own material. “We love bands like Guided By Voices, Television, The Kinks, the Sonics, The Stones,” he says, “and we just want to catch a bit of their fire once in a while.”
Original Cowards tunes usually emanate from Crand. “It’s mostly me with a guitar, occasionally at the piano, fumbling around until something sticks,” he says. “Occasionally songs will build out of a riff someone else brings. Marlon and I struck lightning that way and came up with one of our grooviest numbers, a little bit of Dick Dale and a little bit of Wire called “Fliff Night.” But it’s mostly me bringing the songs and the band working them up into shape.”
The four recently had the opportunity to record some tracks at Vermont’s Verdant Studios. “Verdant is a real special studio and Pete Weiss is a great engineer and stellar individual,” says Crand. “Pete has converted the barn on his property into a studio/living space for bands, so when you book time there it is a round-the-clock experience. You can literally roll out of bed and walk into the studio where a smorgasbord of vintage gear is at your fingertips—he even has gear that came out of Abbey Road which both the Beatles and Pink Floyd used. I wish we could have spent a month there.”
Crand says that the plan is to try and record some additional tracks in-house, with an eye towards some physical releases. “We’ve actually been buying our own gear to record with and are looking to work on an EP for the spring,” he explains. “We have enough material for a few albums, but we’re all busy, so an EP is where it’s at right now. The summer should be a good time for us as far as recording goes, so maybe a full-length for the fall.”
The Original Cowards play the Brass Cat on March 6 with friends Watcher, Carl Simmons, and Pale Cowboy. They also play Jason Bourgeois’ multi-band tribute to ’60s garage rock March 13 at The Rendezvous in Turners Falls.”
For more, visit http://www.myspace.com/thecowards1
