Biography
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Years Active
2011 – present (13 years)
Cowgill - an eclectic, indie folk rock group hailing from Boston - is set to release Side One of its debut album, Planted, on May 17. Recorded at Power Station New England - the near-perfect replica of Avatar Studios in Manhattan - the five tracks toe the line between a Beatles-y pop sensibility, a darker folk rock side, and experimental song structures easily missed on the first listen. Cowgill nimbly hops genres several times throughout the record, occasionally even mid-song.
Phil Tortoroli of MP3.com refers to the album’s opener as "…harking closer to Wilco’s current discography with its lush arrangement of strings, acoustic guitars, and plodding drum lines." Funded largely through the generosity of their fans, friends, and family via Kickstarter, the tunes on Cowgill’s debut release will appeal to fans of Dr. Dog, The Head and the Heart, Radiohead, and The Decemberists alike.
Cowgill is…
Paul Cowgill - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Mike Truskowski - piano, trombone, backup vocals
Dan Weissman - mandolin, trumpet, backup vocals
Leeann Hackett - violin
Ryan Rivers - bass guitar, backup vocals
Joe Pess - drums
Formed in Boston in June of 2011, Cowgill has been winning the hearts of fans at their shows at Middle East Upstairs, the rock club Church, the Occupy Boston stage, and their residency at P.A.'s Lounge, as well as Pianos in NYC. Paul Cowgill sings, writes songs, and plays acoustic guitar. Mike Truskowski (Paul's roommate of four years) takes care of backing vocals, keys, and trombone. Dan Weissman - whom they met through a mutual friend - plays the mandolin and adds eeeven more backing vocals as well as the occasional trumpet. Craigslist recruit Leeann Hackett is on violin, her high school friend Ryan Rivers slaps the bass and steps in for quite a few fourth harmony vocal parts, and his Berklee College of Music classmate Joe Pess holds it all down on drums.
The band will be touring the U.S. in August (tour dates not yet announced), recording Side Two of the album in the Fall, and promptly hitting the road again for a more extensive tour in support of the full album. Jon Hillman of popular Boston music blog Allston Pudding writes, “ has the ability to sing with the genteelness of a folk idol while retaining a controlled manic energy just beneath the surface, waiting to erupt into one of his many pop-laden choruses.” He adds, “…it’s the musicians and instrumentation that encompass Paul Cowgill’s folksy pop melodies that truly differentiates this indie-rock sextet.”
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