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Home  Archive music profiles Two Cow Garage: Home is Where the GMC Van is Parked
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Two Cow Garage: Home is Where the GMC Van is Parked |
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Written by Jim Dunn
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Friday, 16 December 2005 |
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To judge by
the band’s live performances (as well as their recorded output), Two
Cow is a band that shows its enthusiasm and love for the music and even
the business of music.
We attended a metal show at Off Broadway; cleanly sandwiched in between
two very loud metal bands was Two Cow Garage. Two Cow Garage is not a
metal band; not even close. We stood out on the gravel lot with the
trio and what would pass for their entourage (including Beatle Bob),
passing time as the first act worked its way through its set. The act
that was supposed to headline that night came over and explained that
there must have been some kind of mistake. Two Cow certainly didn’t fit
in, and would it be OK if they switched places with Two Cow so as to
not confuse the audience. All in a day’s work for this traveling band.
Like Miranda Sound, Two Cow Garage is another unique sound from
Columbus, Ohio. The trio is loud, raucous, and road-hardened (300-plus
shows in little more than two years, nearly all of them played outside
their hometown). They are truly a road band in their 1985 GMC van.
Micah Schnabel (guitar/vocal), Shane Sweeney (bass/vocal), and Dustin
Harigle (drums) have been many places in the last two years, except in
their own apartment. In fact, they gave it up recently and now stay at
their manager’s for the few days out of the month they are home.
Last year, the trio released their first album, Please Turn the Gas
Back On. The earnest effort was recorded only six months after the band
was formed. “That gave it a more polished feel,” says Schnabel,
explaining the lack of grittiness that has come to personify their live
shows. “We were looking for it not to sound like other records, but our
record. But we are definitely a way better band now.” However, in the
usual Two Cow modesty, he adds, “Whether we are good or not, I’m not
sure, but I do know we are better than we were.”
To judge by
the band’s live performances (as well as their recorded output), Two
Cow is a band that shows its enthusiasm and love for the music and even
the business of music. The seeds of Two Cow came from Bucyrus, Ohio,
where Schnabel and Harigle went to school together. Harigle explains,
“We learned how to play music together in high school. We were playing
with another guy; basically, it was the only person we knew who played
bass. Then Micah moved to Columbus, met Shane at an open mic, and
[they] hit it off. I moved down like two days after. It was on that day
that we started playing together.” Comparing notes, they even come up
with the date: September 4. “We set up all the instruments even before
I unpacked,” says Harigle. And so Two Cow Garage was born.
There is a definite intensity onstage, with shared vocals between
Schnabel and Sweeney. Schnabel sounds like he gargles with the
cigarettes that are nearly always with him. The emotion and urgency in
his voice make him sound much older and wearier than his 21 years
should yield. Sweeney offers a more nuanced sound, but no less
agitated. When the two yelp the Beatles’ chestnut “Don’t Let Me Down,”
you feel something from the song that eclipses even what Lennon and
McCartney invested into it. In describing how their sound is formed,
Schnabel suggests that each member “is something like a filter. We grew
up in Ohio. My dad, who was a fan of John Prine, taught me how to play
guitar.” Harigle interjects, “My parents were big fans of ’80s rock:
Poison, Van Halen, Skid Row, Quiet Riot…” Without a beat, Sweeney adds
his background to the mix: “My grandparents had a lot of old country
stuff; my mom, Bob Dylan; me, a lot of Black Flag.”
As time
for their performance approaches, the three reflect on their hometown
and its growing music scene. Though it has spawned so many great bands,
there are drawbacks, as well. “It would have hindered us if we had let
it,” explains Schnabel. “We’ve been around enough to have seen bands be
the flavor of the month and destabilize. We knew from the get-go that
we were not going after Columbus and that we had bigger fish to fry.”
Sweeney adds that it’s great “to have a show and have our friends
come…some of them really like our music. But when we come to St. Louis
(or some other town) and people come out, they come out because they
want to hear the music and see us. It means more to us if 10 people
show up because they want to see us than if 100 come out of obligation.
I don’t think bands get that.”
Two Cow took to the stage after
the club was safely metal-band free. About 20 people remained to see a
blistering set that stretched into the early-morning hours. It was
worth the wait. As the band was packing up to go, Schnabel left us with
this thought: “You are going to love us or hate us. But get the hell
out of our way!” The band will take some time in early spring to record
a new album and then hit the road once again.
Two Cow Garage
appears with Grand Champeen, Saturday, November 15, at Frederick’s
Music Lounge as part of a Twangfest—and Playback St. Louis—sponsored
event.
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