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