I played drums in a few neighborhood bands from time to time, but my musical exploits were pretty much something I kept to myself during my time at Jesuit. Going thru all of the requisite teen angst, my grades suffered even though I tested very well and was told that I was exceedingly bright. Ahhh, youth. The only course I excelled in was a media class that, although it would be considered quite primitive today, was very cutting edge back in its day.

As fate would have it, the week that Lennon was killed happened to be my week to do the school wide morning announcements that was a requirement of each media student. The announcements were broadcast from a radio studio within the school that had been set up as part of the media class.

Being a huge Beatles fan (both then and now), I was pretty stunned by what had happened in New York the night before. And since music was the only thing that had ever reached me on a personal level up that point, I considered the loss to be a very tragic one indeed.

Arriving at the school radio station I was greeted by the school disciplinarian, a decorated marine colonel whose charge now was to oversee the conduct of hundreds of kids, as well as the president of the school, a gregarious cleric who was well known on the New Orleans social circuit. They too were part of the school announcement process every morning.

When I asked them if it would be ok if I mentioned something about John Lennon’s death during the announcements, the response was both swift and intense. “Don’t you DARE say anything about him during the announcements or you will be severely punished!” This seemed a bit over the top to me at the time but in retrospect I can understand it. Back then the Beatles were still seen as relevant, rebellious, and even potentially dangerous – especially to someone like the Colonel who had done time in Vietnam and held the traditions of home and country dear to his heart. He wasn’t a bad guy in any sense, but I guess the Beatles didn’t really jibe with the sensibilities they were trying to conform our little minds to at Jesuit High School.

Needless to say I was pretty intimidated. I remember my heart beating wildly as I quietly did what they told me to while preparing to do what I knew I needed to do.

After those two had finished their announcements I reached over with my hand and gently cupped the button that shut off the announcement system so that no one could cut me off during what I was planning. I started by saying that we needed to pray for John Lennon’s soul, that he had made a tremendous positive difference in the world, and went on to describe what his music and message had meant to me. I honestly don’t remember the rest of what I said as I became increasingly aware of the priest and the Colonel who were both breathing down my neck with daggers in their eyes.

When I was finished, I slowly uncovered the shut off button, flipped it off, and prepared for the inevitable disciplinary onslaught. It was rough. They were very stern and my punishment was indeed severe. Although I barely escaped being expelled, I did have to serve ALOT of afterschool time. But what the hell. Sometimes you gotta stand up for what you believe is important. And John Lennon’s life and music mattered to me.

After the retribution of my superiors I slowly walked back to my homeroom class alone feeling pretty dejected. Not only had I been read the riot act by the people running the school, but I was truly in no mood to be hassled yet again by my classmates just for being different, as always.

However, when I got back to class I was greeted with a far different reception than I expected. As I walked into the classroom, all of my fellow students gave me a rousing round of applause with a standing ovation that lasted until I sat down at my desk and the teacher had to implore them all to stop. That was a good moment.

Later that year I found the courage to join a rock band that a friend of mine was starting at school. The shell wasn’t completely broken, but the first layer was coming undone.

A dear friend of mine named Willie Bennett passed away recently. Some of you who may have heard my spoken word track “Always Give Thanks” know that Willie was my comrade on a journey to the wilderness of Jamaica that reminded me to live and ended up saving my life. I was always indebted to him for subtly pushing me to go on that trip into the heart of the Jamaican rain forest during the Christmas of 1998, a trip that incidentally saved my life and Willie and I spoke of it often. I hope to put together a Youtube video of the “Always Give Thanks” track with lots of pictures that i recently found of that trip.

Willie was one of those guys who always had a slight twinkle in his eye, the type of guy who knew something that everyone else around him didn’t. It wasn’t his job to tell what that something was, but he was gonna damn sure have fun watching you learn it.

I’ve met many distinct characters over my many years as a traveling minstrel but I gotta say Willie was one of the most unique. Imagine a 6-ft plus white, fair skinned Rastifarian with blue eyes, and piles of blonde dreads that he let slide down his back greeting you with a big smile and a soft Texas-lilted voice. He promoted many shows in the College Station/Bryan area (around Texas A&M) and was responsible for helping to nurture the career of many a well known Texas musician, as well as a kickass band from Nola called Cowboy Mouth.

He wasn’t the biggest or most successful show promoter in Texas, but he always made us traveling types feel right at home and anyone who ever met him never forgot him. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find somebody who would have anything less than a kind word to say about him. As I’ve gotten along in my years, I find that to be one of the truest measures of personal impact upon those whom we come in contact with in this mortal coil. And if making others feel special and appreciated is a quality that can be used as any sort of barometer of one’s intrinsic value in this world, then Willie was a true gem.

I’ll miss ya, bro.

I have a new single for sale in my download section. Its a rock and roll take of the old Cher song “Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves.” I think its pretty kick ass and I’m very proud of it. Check it out if you get the chance!

CM used to play this when we first got started years ago. We had a habit of doing some wild and diverse covers when we first started out…

(this song, “Money Changes Everything” by Cyndi Lauper/The Brains, a punk rock “LA Woman” mixed with some Bo Diddley, etc…basically whatever we pulled out of the hat). Some of them stuck (”I Can Tell”), some of them didn’t…Anyway, I always liked the arrangement I put together for this song so I redid it myself a few months ago (I had an old version recorded on a cassette 4-track machine many moons ago, but I knew it could be better) and am pretty happy with the results. Hope you like it!

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded any of the content here or has ordered the drum heads. The response has been more than i could have hoped for, so thanks alot. If you haven’t seen them, then plz check them out.

Well, Carnival Season 2010 is now a thing of the past. With everything happening down here in Nola, I gotta say it was pretty wild. And yes, It did take awhile to get over it. What the hell, right?

In addition to all of the shows CM played on the Mardi Gras tour, we played an outdoor show the day before Margi Gras that probably ranks as one of the best we’ve played in awhile, I think. And we’ve been having some kickass shows as of late.

Its good to be home resting for a few. Jazzfest is coming soon as is the weather change and spring and summer touring. YES!!

CM is starting to work on some new music for release (hopefully) this year. So keep an eye/ear out! Also, I’m looking to do acoustic home shows again – with Griff on the road, by myself when we are off. So send an email to the address on the front page if interested the next time we come thru town and let’s see if we can make it work.

Hope everyone is well. See ya’ll out on the road.

Peace, Fred

This is the new site for Fred LeBlanc, drummer/singer for Cowboy Mouth. Thanks so much for checking it out!

On this site there’ll be music, blogs, pictures, videos, art, books, rantings, and ravings from one Mr. Fred LeBlanc.

I know it has been awhile since my last site was up. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years focusing exclusively on Cowboy Mouth and all related areas of that world. And while my main focus will continue to be there, I will be releasing content and songs on this site from time to time that, while not exactly fitting the CM vein, I would consider to at least be pretty qualitative. Not everything I do creatively can work for the band. So this website will be my outlet for everything non-CM.

My initial release for download is an old song of mine by the name of “Spellman Pellerin,” a song thatwas never officially released by CM or by myself. I’ve had “Spellman” for many years but was never satisfied with any of the recorded versions…until now. The song is very rhythmically complex and I could never get the feel that I wanted with CM, so I put the song on the back burner. I didn’t think about it too much until a group of fans began asking me about the tune, which made me want to take another shot at recording it. Lo and behold, I found myself more than happy with the results – I hope you guys feel the same.

WARNING!!! Some of the lyrics of this song are very intense. While its not N.W.A. the song does deal with some adult themes. So parents out there may want to listen to the song before playing it for your kids.

The next song is a song called “Believe In Yourself” and it’s a song I’ve had laying around for awhile that I was never quite sure what to do with. CM recorded a version with some different verse lyrics and melody for an album that was never released, but I’ve always preferred the original version of the song. Since it was never properly recorded I did this version recently and I hope you enjoy it. My wife thinks that this song is like a junior version of the CM song “I Believe.” Nothing wrong with a running theme in my music, is there?

And in order to lure you guys in, I’m giving away the original 4 track demo version of the Cowboy Mouth chestnut from the Easy album “Hold It Open.” It was recorded on a small cassette multitrack machine way back in 1998 but it has a cool feel that I’ve always enjoyed.

I’ll be releasing singles and EP’s on this site from time to time as the mood (and the time available to write and record these songs) strikes me. Since no one really knows where the future of recording and selling music is going I don’t really see the point of taking the time and expense of releasing solo discs when it can all be done a lot quicker and easier here. Why wait several years to get a disc right with songs that balance and compliment each other when I can just put music out as I want and let you guys decide how it can all fit together? That way, how the music is experienced is a creative endeavor for you guys as well as it is for me!

Many people have been asking about my solo music availability, so I also have all of my old solo releases here for sale as whole albums or by individual tracks. I’m very proud of these older albums and will be very happy for them to see the light of day again on this site.

One thing I will need to be strict about, though, is asking that any music I ask you guys to pay for here be paid for fair and square. It takes A LOT of time, energy, skill, and very expensive equipment to get the presentation of the music to be just right in my eyes. This IS my business and is partially how I make my living. I don’t think that fair compensation is too much to ask. Please feel free to expose anyone to my music and site that you wish. But please also limit the free file sharing. This is my job and if I can’t at least be compensated fairly for it, then it gets more difficult to do. Thanks.

I’ll also be looking to book some acoustic home shows thru this site as well, either in tandem with John Thomas Griffith when CM is on the road as well as on my own during the band’s time down. I love doing them and they are always a blast.

In addition to those activities, I’ll also be pursuing some other different creative projects thru this site as well, so keep an eye out. I’ll be posting regular blogs here letting ya’ll know what’s going on in my creative world on a regular basis.

Anyway, I’m very glad to be back and I look forward to sharing the new site with ya’ll and seeing you guys on the road at the next CM show in your area.

Hope all is well.

PEACE, Fred