Big Trouble in Little Albert
White Cowbell Oklahoma mosey into town this November
Will O’Donnell
When a member of a band boasts about themselves or his or her band, one generally takes it with a grain of salt. When that person happens to be Clem from White Cowbell Oklahoma (WCO), you sit there and listen . . . ’cause this band is packing chainsaws.
On Nov. 3, everyone in Winnipeg gets the chance to join the rowdiness as the members of WCO bring their keisters to the Royal Albert for some good ole mayhem. This is not their first time coming to our fine city, not even the first time they’ve played Albert. I spoke to Clem over the phone while he was riding a ferry in Victoria, B.C., and he remarked that he had no trouble bringing all nine members of WCO to this relatively tiny venue again.
“We revel in shitholes, so we love the Albert.” He joked (or didn’t) before reminding me that their show would be something like “ground zero of a nuclear bomb” (about five times). I took my own advice and simply listened to him . . . like I said, he’s got a chainsaw.
WCO is internationally known for its country-fried rock ’n’ roll, lewd stage antics, and chainsaw tricks. How lewd one might ask? “It’s up to Winnipeg how lewd it gets” says Clem. These self-proclaimed “human testosterone cannons” bring the party and it’s up to the ladies of each town to join them on stage for, well, things you probably shouldn’t write home about. “It’s never the same show. Nobody knows exactly what’ll happen,” says Clem.
WCO is promoting its latest release, Casa Diablo, which Clem boasts as the “pinnacle of the White Cowbell sound.” He also claimed to have recorded it in either the Arctic Circle or on Endor . . . boy, how these guys must party. WCO’s travels have seen them play numerous venues, up to and including a major festival show in the Netherlands on “metal day,” which paired them up with the likes of Dragonforce, Mastodon, and Iron Maiden.
Some interesting trivia came up as Clem reminisced about WCO’s earliest days gigging in the Toronto area, and the friends within the local comedy circuit they gained. The cowbell is, of course, the figurehead instrument of this band; and WCO just so happens to be the inspiration for, perhaps, the world’s most popular comedy sketch about said instrument. That’s right, folks, Clem went on record saying that WCO had befriended a Canadian writer who had gone on to write for Saturday Night Live and subsequently wrote the famous “More Cowbell” sketch starring Will Ferrell. It’s a few degrees of separation, but still a pretty killer thing to inspire (if I may go a bit high-school-giddy on y’all for a sec).
Speaking of trivia, I had mentioned that WCO have made many friends while touring. Many of said friends have joined them onstage, including members for Sloan, The Tragically Hip, The Sam Roberts Band, and Sean Cullen (speaking of Canadian comedy) to be part of the madness. These sorts of friends make cameos in their videos, as well, such as Rick Mercer (of CBC’s Monday Report) and Chris Murphy of Sloan.
Interviewing Clem is the sort of thing that could best be appreciated on radio or television; basically any medium where you can actually hear him. Clem is a tumult of one-liners, non sequiturs, and “rockified” gibberish. To catch some of this, I recommend checking out WCO’s website for saved interviews and more. WCO is terribly entertaining just over the phone. And this is even before the band members get their hands on some guitars and power tools (and lots of Jagermiester . . . Clem assured me of that).
This upcoming show is supported by Wisconsin rockers Wild Birds, whom Clem hopes to “take 10 years off the bottom end of their lives” by touring with WCO. Clem also hopes that we at the U of M c’mon down so that they can “balance (our) learnin’ with some good ole fashioned brain cell annihilation,” courtesy of WCO. Sounds like the perfect answer to mid-terms to me. Well shoot, sounds like a good idea any ole time. See you at the Albert this coming Nov. 3. Oh, and bring a condom to prevent “firecock” (Clem’s warning).
