Susan Cowsill Interview: SXSW 2010

From her time in her family's '60s pop band the Cowsills -- starting at age 8! -- to working with Dwight Twilley to her years in the Continental Drifters, Susan Cowsill has rarely hit rough patches in terms of touring and recording. But when Hurricane Katrina ravaged her New Orleans home, the results were devastating. Not only was her home destroyed, but her brother Barry died in the storm. Now, Cowsill is returning with a new album entitled 'Lighthouse,' which deals with the tragedy and proved to be cathartic for the musician. Spinner spoke with Cowsill ahead of her SXSW performance about her band, the Jonas Brothers and what the Saints victory meant to New Orleans.

How did this current band lineup form?

The Craft Brothers -- Sam and Jeff -- are local musicians here in town and they have their own band called Glasgow. We've known them just through other bands that we know. They're local, up-and-coming, brilliant songwriters and musicians. They're all-round great guys. And Mary LaSang is our bass player and she's another old friend and she used to be in the band Cowboy Mouth, they're old friends of ours as well. Everybody is locals who we've been playing in and out and around each other for years and are now just deciding to play with one another.
Did making 'Lighthouse' help you deal with the events of Hurricane Katrina?

Sure, I mean that's what music for me is all about. It's cathartic. It's the way to express something that I might not be able to do by picking up a phone and sharing with somebody. Or even able to look at myself, but you put it in song and it all seems much more palatable for some reason. It's a constructive way of kvetching.

How would you describe your sound?

It runs the gamut; I write pop songs and I've seen myself in the column of Americana singer-songwriters. Every once in a while a Joan Jett will come out of me out of nowhere. I don't know. I'm a mutt -- it's mutt music, that's what it is! That's how I'm going to start describing my music. I'm a mutt. That could be the name of my next publishing company -- just a little bit of everything that I've ever learned from every band I've ever played with from the Cowsills, Dwight Twilley, the Continental Drifters to my heroes of Karla Bonoff, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King ... just a big old mishmash.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Karla Bonoff was my main chick. I think she's just the best and most underrated songwriter and vocalist -- just a beautiful, beautiful voice. She's my heroine, and I don't mean the drug.

What's in your festival survival kit?

If I thought they'd work I'd buy those shoes that have springs on them, but they don't work. So in lieu of the spring shoes, three pairs of cushion-y soles to reinsert into the shoes you're wearing. I would say train before you come, running the stairs at your local capital building, like Rocky going up the stairs in the movie, get your walking legs in order. Manage to sedate yourself safely for sleep in the evening for the three hours of sleep you're going to get each evening. Definitely bring bananas and Clif bars in case the hot dogs are gone, and water, because you want to have a beer and then water.

Are you looking forward to SXSW?

Very much so! SXSW is always a wonderful experience for us. We get to see old friends, hear new music and depending on what we're up to, share what we've got going on. And I just love doing business over a hot dog and a beer, it's the way to go. I don't have to wear sensible pantsuits to go to my meetings, not that I ever would. And you always lose weight at SXSW no matter how many beers you drink or hot dogs you eat you're always walking them off.

What would you say is your biggest vice?

Brie cheese and crawfish. I love the crawfish and I have to have it.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

I think the Jonas Brothers are very good. When I heard the Jonas Brothers on a little [television] snippet it was just the three guys and an acoustic guitar. They were beautiful, soulful and excellent musicians, excellent vocalists and to me that strips every piece of Disney away from them. They're just musicians, songwriters and singers like the rest of us. I think people need to get off of them!

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Davy Jones [of the Monkees]. He was short so that worked; he was fabulous and on a really cool TV show, and sang really cool songs. Whether he played on them or not I could care less. He was really cute and he had an English accent. The Beatles were too old for me and it would be kind of awkward. So with Davy it was perfect.

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Oh, the Beatles -- the Stones are a little too dirty for me. I mean, I like them when I'm feeling dirty.

What's the craziest thing you've experienced on tour?

I was in Germany and the entire axle of our van fell off while on the autobahn going about 85 miles an hour and we all lived. We had to walk about three miles in the snow to a German countryside home where this elderly couple who spoke no English at all allowed the Continental Drifters into their home and offered up tea and crumpets while we waited for our van to get fixed. Everybody was fine, but when I looked at the van I don't know how we all made it out. I also had my then two-and-a-half year old daughter with me. So I'm very thankful.

How important was the Saints' Super Bowl victory to New Orleans?

Epically, it was way more than a football game for our city, for our families, for everybody in Southern Louisiana and our friends up in Mississippi as well, because it was a victory and triumph over much adversity. It was very symbolic about how we're feeling about ourselves down here in New Orleans. We're doing great, we're coming back and we're better than ever we were before.