CWA (Cowboys with Attitude) by The Cowlicks

represent Northern California with a flair and intensity that would make any native proud." - Good Times, Santa Cruz

"This isn't just pure countrified roots music; the songwriting is so good, and the playing so intense, you think you are hearing a rocker who could be the next Tom Petty or John Mellencamp. Great licks through and through...These guys have a great lineup of original music and aren't afraid to do a bluegrass take on some AC/DC." - Brad Kava, San Jose Mercury News

"A testament to the hidden hillbilly talent bubbling up under our concrete-paved paradise. Their new CD demo shows a wealth of picking & penning power." - Lawrence Kay, Bay Area Buzz

"Younger than the Rolling Stones and they sing better too!" - Larry Kelp, KPFA

"Todd Novak's musical meanderings have taken him all across this nation, rubbing shoulders and strings with Alejandro Escovedo (back in his Rank 'n' File days), Dave Schramm, Kevin Salem, Syd Straw, and a half-dozen other obscure luminaries. Nowadays he calls Berkeley home, and has since late 2001 led a quintet called the Cowlicks, who have in common with their namesake a natural adherence to curve and bounce. And like the waves in the Duke Boys' hair, the Cowlicks are just good ol' boys, wouldn't change if they could, wrangling the slide guitar and mandolin like, erm, five modern-day Robin Hoods." - East Bay Express "Critic's Choice for the week of December 11-17, 2002

About The Cowlicks:

The Cowlicks reside in the San Francisco Bay and have been playing gigs in the region for the past three years. This four-piece line-up includes former members of bands such as The Dragsters, The Schramms, Kevin Salem, The Big Blue Hearts, The Waybacks, and The Beau Brummels. They've shared the stage with the likes of The Austin Lounge Lizards, The Mother Truckers, Dave Gleason's Wasted Days, Dallas Wayne, The Bootcuts, and Calamity and Main, and in venues such as The Starry Plough, Moe's Alley, The MakeOut Room, Café du Nord, Thee Parkside, The Hotel Utah Saloon, Downhome Music, and Strings. They have their tunes played on KPIG, KFJC, WFMU, KVMR, KPFA's "Sing Out" and "Pig in a Pen," and KALX's "The Next Big Thing." Their website www.thecowlicks.com continues to dazzle fans and receive plentiful hits. Downhome Music has been selling their CD's to local East Bayers. Their new 13-song "Cowboys with Attitude" is available now here, at Downhome Music in El Cerrito, CA and through the Cowlicks website www.thecowlicks.com.

Band Biographies:

Todd Novak - Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter:

Todd Novak's cosmic country journey began as he sprouted up in rural Pennsylvania and Ohio. He soon outgrew the scenery and moved to Columbus, Ohio where he met kindred spirits on the local music scene. After spending several years in the legendary "Ronald Koal and the Trillionaires", he was soon looking for a more rootsy/country band to scratch his itch. "Rickey Barnes and the Hootowls" became that back scratchin' band. Equipped with hay bales and an upright bass fiddle, the Hootowls played barns & club dates warming up for the likes of Rank N' File and many other early alt-country greats, with Dave Schramm often joining in on lap steel guitar.

Todd felt he was out-growing his britches in Ohio (ouch!), and he moved to New York City to play in the Ska band "Cryin' Out Loud". C.O.L found themselves the first independent label band to have a video on MTV in regular rotation. Once again the britches shrunk. So Todd joined Dave Schramm's group "The Schramms" and recorded with them on their first CD "Walk to Delphi" on Okra records. Still in a growing spurt, Todd formed and fronted a surf band "The Dragsters". He left the Schramms when "The Dragsters" received a recording deal from Great Jones/Island records.....Loads of touring, surfing, and sun followed. Enter Kevin Salem of Dumptruck, Freedy Johnston, and Yo La Tengo fame. Kevin asked Todd to join his group, and they soon landed a recording deal with Roadrunner records via Jeff Pachman.

Todd appeared on Kevin's first CD "Soma City," produced by Nico Bolas (of Neil Young fame), playing guitar and singing harmony vocals with Syd Straw. The KS band played on national tours supporting the Jay Hawks, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, and many others. Other New York activities included performing and producing cuts on the Brian Wilson tribute album "Smiles, Vibes and Harmony", and teaming up with virtuoso jazz guitarist/mandolin player Peter Brazier in a 1920's/Django-style group "The String Tickers". Soon the growing pains started again and sunny California started callin' Todd's name. He flipped coasts and formed a band of all-star Bay Area musicians called, yes, you guessed it, "The Cowlicks." Don't worry though, he's all grown-up now, and the Cowlicks are here to stay.

Mike Anderson - Bass & Vocals:

Mike began his illustrious career as a guitar player at the age of 12. As it goes with many bass players, his first band had too many guitar players and zero bass players, so Mike volunteered. He has been laying down the bottom ever since. In 1997 he formed a band called Big Blue Hearts that recorded a CD on Geffen Records, produced by T-Bone Burnett. Following a European tour and opening for Joe Walsh, The Big Blue Hearts cut some tracks produced by Roy Thomas Baker (of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" fame) before breaking up. Mike has toured Europe and America, opening for Boz Scaggs, Lyle Lovett, Lisa Loeb, Dave Alvin, The Blasters, Robert Earl Keen, and Chris Isaak. In the process he has become quite the expert on backstage cuisine. Currently he enjoys creating innovative bass parts for the Cowlicks and working on projects in his recording studio. He is the Cowlicker most likely to be found wearing Cowboy boots and a ten-gallon hat.

Peter Tucker - Drums:

Peter Tucker began his musical trek by working with a Boston-based group called "The Monks" which featured Brad Delp, the future lead singer of "Boston". Peter then moved to NYC's Greenwich Village where the folk scene was exploding. There he met and recorded with Tim Hardin (If I Were A Carpenter) and other folk legends such as Richie Havens. Peter then joined a group called "Guns and Butter" and recorded an album for Cotillion/Atlantic records. When "Guns And Butter" broke up (Axle Rose was a big fan at the age of three), Peter moved west to California and played with the band "Pacific Gas and Electric" in Los Angeles. He then moved up to the S.F. Bay area where he immersed himself in the Irish folk music scene and eventually worked with Declan Mulligan of "The Beau Brummels". Peter encouraged Declan to reform the Beau Brummels. Soon after, the group had another five year run, which included recording a single produced by Vince Welnick ("The Tubes", "The Grateful Dead"). In the 1980's Peter played rock, country, and jazz gigs, which led to work with Kathi Goldmark, and recording and performing with a group of famous authors including Norman Mailer, Amy Tan, and Steven King. In the 90's Peter toured nationally, and Internationally, in the bay area bluegrass supergroup "The Waybacks". These days Peter enjoys doing tasty brush work, and rockin' country drumming with the Cowlicks.

Michael Hanna - Guitar, Mandolin, & Vocals:

Michael Hanna was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. One of the first sounds that reached his ears was the sound of the Banjo being plucked by his father, an amateur folk singer. He was hooked from the start. Although Michael had begun his guitar study in Guadalajara Mexico on the Classical guitar, it wasn't long before he had his first electric guitar, a Gibson Melody Maker. By the time Michael reached adulthood he had began his career further South as a country rock guitarist with the NorthEast Band in Gainesville Florida, unfortunately during the peak of the Disco craze. After the demise of the NE Band he spent a few more years in Gainesville singing, and playing mandolin

and guitar with Country Love, a popular Bluegrass group and playing Slide guitar with a Blues Brothers Tribute Band. Yearning to escape the humidity and flatness of Florida, he fled out West to California. There he majored in Music at the College of the Siskiyous near Mt. Shasta, studying downhill skiing, Jazz, and playing guitar and bass in various ensembles. He also spent time playing tenor banjo and singing with a Dixieland Band, Shasta Mountain Strut. At UC Santa Cruz he continued his Jazz and music studies, writing a thesis on Folk Protest Music. Michael is currently an Elementary School Music teacher and the creative force behind Hanna Banana Music for Kids. He has played chicken pickin' lead guitar with ShowDown and Derringer, Jazz with the Bob Schoen Quartet, fusion rock with Shakti, Irish music with Gryphon, as well as many other projects, mostly in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. He currently lives in Oakland where he resides with his family and musical instrument collection.

Doug E. Blumer is now pursuing his solo career. The Cowlicks thank him for his friendship, and for participating on some of the songs on "CWA".

Doug E. Blumer - Guitar, Vocals,

Doug was born and raised on the banks of the Mississippi in Southern Missouri. His musical roots include equal parts Buck Owens and The Beatles with a dash of bluegrass, gospel and folk. After a stint in the Navy, where he played in a band onboard his ship, he relocated to northern California. It was in San Francisco during the 1980's that he became part of the local music scene, joining several rock bands and writing original music. In mid-1990 THE WESTERLEYS were formed. Their sound combined the musical talents of three singer songwriters; Doug, Nancy Terzian and Peter Axtell. The group gained notoriety by blending their vocal harmonies and original music with an acoustic flair. It was during this period that Doug got a taste of the national scene. The band released three albums and toured extensively around the country, appearing at venues such as IOTA in Arlington, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Americana Radio also embraced their sound.

2000 brought the break-up of The Westerleys, but also brought Doug back together with his high school band mate, DALLAS WAYNE. Dallas had spent the intervening years fronting bluegrass and honky-tonk bands, culminating in a lucrative career in the U.S. and Europe. Dallas relocated to the Bay Area, snd formed the honky-tonk band "Dallas Wayne and the Road Cases." Signed to HighTone Records, Dallas led a stellar band which included Doug on Telecaster guitar and harmony vocals. Touring on the road gave Doug the opportunity to hone his skills as a honky-tonk musician while sharing the bill with some of alternative country's best, including Redd Volkert and Jim Lauderdale.

Doug has recently finished his first solo release "Ten of Hearts" and is working on a second CD to be released in early 2004.

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