The Cows
Encyclopedia
Cows are a post-hardcore
/punk blues
band from Minneapolis, Minnesota
. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock
and blues
played with large amounts of noise
and surreal humour
; their music is often considered noise rock
. Their CD releases are often difficult to find, as most of them are out of print, with the exception of Whorn and Orphan's Tragedy. Some of their albums, such as their debut album, Taint Pluribus Taint Unum, were never released in CD format.
They have a star on what is probably the most famous venue in the area, First Avenue. After disbanding, Shannon Selberg
went on to front the band Heroine Sheiks
.
on bass, Thor Eisentrager
on guitar, then front man Norm Rogers and on drums Kevin's younger brother Sandris Rutmanis. Sandris left the band in January 1989.
's trademark is that he has a tattoo illustrating the game Hangman
on his body that reads "F_CK" and another tattoo of an anchor with the word "DAD" on top of it. One reviewer wrote about the band's shows, "I have no doubt that the Cows know how to play their instruments. What I don't understand is why they refuse to tune them."
to advertise the band's performances. One of posters features The Reverend Horton Heat
, with Cows as a supporting act.
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
/punk blues
Punk blues
Punk blues denotes a fusion genre of punk rock and blues. Punk blues musicians and bands usually incorporate elements of related styles, such as protopunk and blues rock. Its origins lie strongly within the garage rock sound of the 1960s and 1970s.Punk blues can be said to favor the common...
band from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
played with large amounts of noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
and surreal humour
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
; their music is often considered noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
. Their CD releases are often difficult to find, as most of them are out of print, with the exception of Whorn and Orphan's Tragedy. Some of their albums, such as their debut album, Taint Pluribus Taint Unum, were never released in CD format.
They have a star on what is probably the most famous venue in the area, First Avenue. After disbanding, Shannon Selberg
Shannon Selberg
Shannon Selberg is a noise/punk rock musician known for his unusual antics on stage. Formerly the frontman for the Minneapolis-based group The Cows, Selberg provided lead vocals, trumpet, bugle and hardcore guitar...
went on to front the band Heroine Sheiks
Heroine Sheiks
The Heroine Sheiks were originally a New York-based Noise Rock band until early 2006, when the band called it quits. In 2008 the band was reformed in Minneapolis, and then only lasting another year. It began in 1999 as a collaboration of Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, Norman Westberg and John Fell...
.
Origin
The band was formed in 1986 by Kevin RutmanisKevin Rutmanis
Kevin Rutmanis is an American bass guitarist. He is of Latvian descent. In late 1985, along with his younger brother Sandris Rutmanis, Thor Eisentrager, and then Jayhawks drummer Norm Rogers started the band The Cows. After the dissolution of The Cows, Rutmanis was the bass guitar player for The...
on bass, Thor Eisentrager
Thor Eisentrager
Thor Eisentrager is a founding member and former guitarist for the Minneapolis-based Noise rock outfit Cows. After the release of the Cows's ninth album, Sorry in Pig Minor, Thor announced that he had grown tired of touring and left the band. The remaining members disbanded shortly thereafter...
on guitar, then front man Norm Rogers and on drums Kevin's younger brother Sandris Rutmanis. Sandris left the band in January 1989.
Live performances
The band are notorious for their raucous live performances. Acts the band have performed onstage include kicking people in the front row, spitting on the stage, throwing the microphone stand into the crowd, throwing food at the crowd, drawing on themselves, among others. Lead singer Shannon SelbergShannon Selberg
Shannon Selberg is a noise/punk rock musician known for his unusual antics on stage. Formerly the frontman for the Minneapolis-based group The Cows, Selberg provided lead vocals, trumpet, bugle and hardcore guitar...
's trademark is that he has a tattoo illustrating the game Hangman
Hangman (game)
Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters.-Overview:...
on his body that reads "F_CK" and another tattoo of an anchor with the word "DAD" on top of it. One reviewer wrote about the band's shows, "I have no doubt that the Cows know how to play their instruments. What I don't understand is why they refuse to tune them."
Cultural depictions
Cows were featured on several posters created by Derek HessDerek Hess
Derek Hess is an American artist based in Cleveland, Ohio. His creative career grew largely out of his ability to express the emotion in the indie, hardcore and hard rock scenes of the mid-1990s...
to advertise the band's performances. One of posters features The Reverend Horton Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician Jim Heath as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist....
, with Cows as a supporting act.
Band members
- Shannon SelbergShannon SelbergShannon Selberg is a noise/punk rock musician known for his unusual antics on stage. Formerly the frontman for the Minneapolis-based group The Cows, Selberg provided lead vocals, trumpet, bugle and hardcore guitar...
– Vocals, Horns (1987–1998) - Kevin RutmanisKevin RutmanisKevin Rutmanis is an American bass guitarist. He is of Latvian descent. In late 1985, along with his younger brother Sandris Rutmanis, Thor Eisentrager, and then Jayhawks drummer Norm Rogers started the band The Cows. After the dissolution of The Cows, Rutmanis was the bass guitar player for The...
– Bass (1987–1998) - Thor EisentragerThor EisentragerThor Eisentrager is a founding member and former guitarist for the Minneapolis-based Noise rock outfit Cows. After the release of the Cows's ninth album, Sorry in Pig Minor, Thor announced that he had grown tired of touring and left the band. The remaining members disbanded shortly thereafter...
– Guitar (1987–1998) - Freddy Votel – Drums (1995–1998)
Former members
- Sandris Rutmanis – Drums (1987–1988)
- Norm Rogers – Drums (1990–1995)
- Tony Oliveri – Drums (1988–1990)
- David van der Steen – Fifth Udder (1987–1992)
Studio albums
- Taint Pluribus Taint UnumTaint Pluribus Taint UnumTaint Pluribus Taint Unum is the debut studio album by Minneapolis-based noise rock band Cows, released in 1987 through Treehouse Records.-Music:...
– Treehouse RecordsOar FolkjokeopusOar Folkjokeopus was a Minneapolis record store that operated on the corner of Lyndale and 26th from 1973 until 2001. The store was considered one of the staples of the Minneapolis rock scene in the 1980s, along with Jay's Longhorn Bar, and became a popular hub for musicians in the Twin Cities and...
, 1987 - Daddy Has a TailDaddy Has a TailDaddy Has a Tail is the second studio album by Minneapolis-based noise rock band Cows and their first to be released through Amphetamine Reptile Records in July, 1989.- Recording :...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1989 - Effete and Impudent SnobsEffete and Impudent SnobsEffete and Impudent Snobs is the third album by the Minneapolis-based noise rock band Cows.-Track listing:# "Memorial" - 4:23# "Dirty Leg" - 2:39# "Big Mickey" - 3:15# "Preyed On" - 3:35# "The Emmigrant Song" - 2:37...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1990 - PeacetikaPeacetikaPeacetika is the fourth studio album by Minneapolis-based noise rock band Cows, released in March, 1991 through Amphetamine Reptile Records.-Track listing:# "Hitting The Wall" - 2:41# "John Henry" - 3:36# "The Man" - 2:53# "I'm Missing" - 3:56...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1991 - Cunning Stunts – Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1992 - Sexy Pee StorySexy Pee StorySexy Pee Story is the sixth studio album by Minneapolis-based noise rock band Cows, released on March 23, 1993 through Amphetamine Reptile Records.-Release and reception:...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1993 - Orphan's TragedyOrphan's TragedyOrphan's Tragedy is the seventh studio album by Minneapolis-based noise rock band The Cows, released on September 9, 1994 through Amphetamine Reptile Records.-Track listing:# "Cow Island" - 3:08# "Pussy Is a Monarchy" - 3:59...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1994 - WhornWhornWhorn is the eighth album by the Minneapolis-based noise rock band The Cows.-Production:Whorn was the band's first time working with Tim Mac since their fourth album Peacetika...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1996 - Sorry in Pig MinorSorry In Pig MinorSorry in Pig Minor is the ninth and final studio album by the Minneapolis-based noise rock band the Cows. It was produced by Buzz Osborne of the Melvins and is their most experimental album.-Track listing:#"Cabin Man" - 5:14...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1998
Singles and EPs
- Chow 7" – Treehouse RecordsOar FolkjokeopusOar Folkjokeopus was a Minneapolis record store that operated on the corner of Lyndale and 26th from 1973 until 2001. The store was considered one of the staples of the Minneapolis rock scene in the 1980s, along with Jay's Longhorn Bar, and became a popular hub for musicians in the Twin Cities and...
, 1988 - Slap Back 7" – Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1990 - Plowed EP – Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1992 - Woman Inside 7" – Insipid Records, 1992
- Cow Island 7" – Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1994 - The Missing Letter Is You EP – Thick RecordsThick RecordsTHICK RECORDS is a Chicago based independent record label formed in 1994 by Detroit native Zak Einstein. Early label releases include influential albums from Chicago ska-punkers The Blue Meanies, Alton, IL’s Judge Nothing, and the Omaha based Commander Venus, whose members included Conor Oberst,...
, 1998
Compilations
- Old Gold 1989-1991Old Gold 1989-1991Old Gold is a compilation album by American Noise Rock band Cows. It is composed of material from three of their earlier albums Daddy Has a Tail, Effete and Impudent Snobs, and Peacetika-Track listing:# "Shaking"- 2:47...
– Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
, 1995 - Orpheus’ Travesty – KMFMT Records, 1998 (A retrospective album put together by Kevin RutmanisKevin RutmanisKevin Rutmanis is an American bass guitarist. He is of Latvian descent. In late 1985, along with his younger brother Sandris Rutmanis, Thor Eisentrager, and then Jayhawks drummer Norm Rogers started the band The Cows. After the dissolution of The Cows, Rutmanis was the bass guitar player for The...
and Freddy Votel and sold before their final concert)