Taoist Cowboys exemplify elusive Ft. Sanders Sound

University of Tennessee Daily Beacon, August 19, 1991
By DAVID L. HAYNES
Entertainment Editor

It may not have occurred to you that there is a Ft. Sanders sound. Places that foster and cultivate a musical community or music "scene" often have a distinctive sound associated with them. Think of the Memphis sound (delta blues, Stax, Beale Street, Booker T.), the New Orleans sound (dixieland, cajun, the Nevilles), or the Detroit Motown sound. Sometimes these associations are easy to make - like with Nashville and country music. Others are more hazily defined, as in the case of Austin, Athens and Minneapolis. Those are places where diversity is prized, and radically divergent musical styles co-exist side by side.

The Ft. Sanders sound, if there is one, must fall into that latter category, being an elusive thing with a number of different facets.

It probably grows out of student musicians rehearsing in garages or delapidated Ft. Sanders apartments. And it probably has something to do with a straightforward, no-frills, no-nonsense approach to music, a down-to-earth honesty, and an adherence to the aesthetics of classic rock 'n' roll. If that is the case, the Taoist Cowboys are some of it's leading exponents.

The formation of the Taoist Cowboys took place in 1988, following the demise of What Alice Found, a college band that included current Cowboys members Scott Carpenter and Brad Eaton. With the addition of drummer Jeff Bills, and guitar/vocalist Bob McCluskey, they began assembling a long list of original compositions.

From the time of their eagerly anticipated debut, they have drawn substantial audiences as well as favorable press. Playing in Knoxville venues like China King, Planet Earth, and ellA Guru's, they began drawing a strong following, and gained notoriety as one of Knoxville's best new bands. (They definitely should be nominated for the award for the band with the best name.)

They performed regularly, sharing the stage with local bands like Smokin' Dave & the Premo Dopes, Jesus Chrysler, and Exit 65, and opening for touring bands like Tiny Lights and Slammin' Watusis. A particularly effective combination in their early days could be found when they played double bills with The Judybats. The two bands were ideal compliments in that they shared enough aesthetically to appeal to the same crowd, but were distinct enough in terms of style and sound to keep the evening from becoming monotonous.

The Taoist Cowboys have been described more than once in print with phrases like "pop meets punk." Band member Bob McCluskey has described them as "an alternative to alternative music." Perhaps an apt description would be to call them the thinking man's garage band. They are talented musicians, capable of producing a clean, integrated sound. At the same time, however, they don't shy away from pulling out the stops and getting positively gritty.

Their lyrics are witty and often pointed, blending humor and irony with social commentary and (occasional) sincerity. (Maybe they've been collaborating on songwriting with their friends The Judybats.)

The song "Tipper Gore" is a prime example of their satirical side, with lines like "I'm in the mood for a big fat blonde / and Tipper Gore, you're the one." That kind of spirit is carried on in selections like "'70s Girl" and "Debutantes in Economy Cars."

In their live performances, the band covers a lot of musical ground. They can sound silky and sparse like the Velvet Underground or the Feelies in one moment, turn on Minutemen power chords in the next, and toss around country riffs in the next.

Another dominant feature of their live shows is the obvious fun they have while performing. At the summer performance at Gryphon's (returning from a lengthy hiatus that had some Knoxvillians thinking the band had broken up) they held a mid-set birthday celebration for bar-employee, Cat Knauff, complete with a cake and party hats for the audience. They followed the celebration with a tribute medley entitled "The Year of the Cat Scratch Fever." Periodically, between songs, Scott Carpenter would summon a waitress by lifting an empty pitcher and screaming "More beer !!" Bob McCluskey displayed a talent for climbing onto a precarious perch atop bar tables and amplifiers (no easy feat, considering Gryphon's low ceilings). At one point near the finale of the show, he flung himself, guitar and all, from his lofty vantage point onto the floor. Landing flat on his back, he missed not a lick of his guitar lead.

During a break in the show, Scott Carpenter took a few minutes to talk about the band. Carpenter is a recent graduate from UT law school and, during the daytime, works in the Knox County Public Defender's office. He said that the band is feeling pretty good right now, since they've gotten a little national press. They also made it to the semi-finals of the Snickers New Music Fest, a contest that searches out the best college bands in the nation.

He referred to the band's Ft. Sanders roots, and its connection with other local artists like Smokin' Dave and The Judybats saying, "Our main association with them is that we're friends; we live in the same community." The Cowboys have independently released a cassette entitled Cholo (available locally at Raven). They are currently working towards putting together some material for a more widespread release.

They hope to make a lot of local appearances this fall, so if you're compiling that "bands I need to see" list, The Taoist Cowboys should go somewhere near the top.