The Cowboys: "I Suppose the Only Thing Keeping It Going Is Our Friendship, Which Is Really What This Band Is — Just a Minor Social Club for These Four Guys"

Over the past decade, The Cowboys have quietly carved out one of the most distinct, joyfully unclassifiable catalogs in American rock 'n' roll. Formed in 2012 in Bloomington, Indiana by Keith Harman (vox, keys), Mark McWhirter (guitar), Zack "Chode" Worcel (bass), and Jordan Tarantino (drums), the quintessential Midwest group rose from basement shows to cult-favorites all while never losing the playful spark that first brought them together. Following their 2023 album Sultan of Squat, which marked a return of the original lineup, The Cowboys are back again with something even bolder: Captain Easy's Downfall. This wide-eyed, wildly adventurous 20-track album pushes their scrappy pop rock 'n' roll ethos into new and far out territory. With members scattered across cities and countries, the album was born from long-distance collaboration, obsessive layering, and a commitment to reinvention without abandoning their roots from straight riff-o-rama Nuggets-style garage rock to offbeat, theatrical psychedelic pop anchored by Harman's charismatic charm. With the first single "The Hate In Your Heart" out today, we caught up with Harman and McWhirter to discuss the making of the new album, the group's shifting dynamic, and what it means to keep playing ball after more than a decade together.

Photos below by Alice Knipstine

Hot Sounds: For readers unfamiliar, how exactly did you all meet and decide to form The Cowboys?

Keith Harman: Jordan and I were living in Bloomington and for some reason we both had this desire to start a band. Which doesn’t make any sense when I think about that now. He and I have known each other since preschool, so we’ve been old friends. He started taking up the drums and I was already a decent piano player and teaching myself guitar. We were looking for a shit hot bassist and guitarist and found them both when Jordan met Chode in a university art class and I met Mark in line for the bathroom at a college party, bemoaning current musical trends. 

HS: What are your memories of the very first Cowboys show?

KH: It would have been a cover song set in a basement most likely. Chode probably wore a dress or something. I would have played the keys. I think I can kind of remember it. Pretty standard fare. I remember being underwhelmed by the experience.

Mark McWhirter: I believe it was in a basement in Bloomington, and we did the Sonic the Hedgehog theme (which i thought was super nerdy but cool) and Monochrome Set's "Jet Set Junta." I'm not 100% it was our first show, but I have those two on cassette titled "Keith, Chode, Jordan, Dr. Ray Live 2012." The three of us played our instruments really fast and crazy and Keith would say lyrics really fast, so it was pretty intense and goofy.

HS: You know some people might not realize it but it’s incredible seeing a Cowboys record in 2025. What's kept it all going and how do you think the group has evolved over the years? 

KH: I suppose the only thing keeping it going is our friendship, which is really what this band is — just a minor social club for these four guys. I write songs, We meet up, laugh at a couple of dick jokes, we play our instruments, and record them and that’s that. If the friendship dissolved I suppose so too would the band. 

MM: Just being friends, liking Keith's songs, the fun of touring, hoping to go to Europe, hoping to be able to make some money from it. Hard to say how we evolved. I think we've all just been exposed to more of life at this point, but I don't think our music sensibilities have changed a whole lot.

HS: Now a bit older, are you still driven by the same enthusiasm for the music?

KH: I still love writing songs and recording them with this group. Writing songs, not to sound like a twerp, seems pretty vital to me and without that craft to retreat to I’d be worse off for wear. I don’t feel that way about playing live, however. I am driven by no enthusiasm for that endeavor. 

HS: What insight can you share regarding your latest album Captain Easy’s Downfall and was there a particular moment that tied all these songs together? Where, when and how was it recorded?

KH: It was recorded between May 2024 up until May 2025. The bulk of it was recorded in Cincinnati with Jerome Westerkemp [of Vacation and Motorbike] recording the sessions. Mark finished overdubs and mixed the whole thing in Mexico City where he lives. It may seem odd that not all of The Cowboys were in the studio at one time for every song but it’s actually closer to the dynamic of the original first EPs we released. Backing tracks done by me, Chode, and Jordan and the overdubs and mixing done by mark secluded and away from us. So it was always exhilarating to finally hear it all. It is an adventurous record. I hope it is liked.

MM: We all live in different places. Keith keeps coming up with songs. We thought maybe it'd be nice to just take them as they come rather than going into a studio and doing it all at once. So they demoed some songs, and we decided we'd have them record with Jerry at his older studio Checkered Flag. I was there for most of it, but I didn't play guitar on

everything. We just wanted to get the bare bones down. And then Jerry sent me the stems and I mixed it and added stuff on Reaper (like pro tools). This was a new endeavor for me, and I got totally consumed with it. The guys ended up doing like 20 songs, in maybe 3 or 4 different sessions. I think it took like nine months or so from start to finish. I could go on and on and on. Thank god Keith somehow came up with a good structure for all the songs. Funnily enough, we left off the title track "Captain Easy's Downfall," which is a song I helped make. I think we had already said that "Captain Easy's Downfall" would be a good name. The story behind that is that my like 100 year old grandma (Grandmargey, she was the bomb), was playing a board game with my family where you come up with three things, two fake and one real. The people have to guess which is the real one. The category was "movie titles," and my grandma made up "Captain Easy's Downfall". We just loved that. I named a song after it, Keith saw it and said it was funny. So, when the guys were recording one of Keith's songs, I was outside smoking, and I could faintly here this chord progression/rhythm. When I went inside it was totally different from what I had made up in my head. I told them "I got a song idea" and we recorded it pretty quick. Keith came up with some lyrics, about Captain Easy's Downfall, and that was it. The finished song ended up being TOTALLY different than what we recorded too. It didn't really fit on the album though, so that one should be out on a comp or something sometime.

HS: This record definitely seems like your most ambitious with its 20 tracks. How would you compare this new album to past ones like Rotten Flower or Sultan of Squat? 

KH: It’s beyond the scope of those albums. It goes where those albums would never dare. But it’s the album I’ve wanted to make probably since I’ve started making music. I didn’t set out to write this carnival opus thing but the songs just kept coming. There were a ton more demoed by me only, so there’s still material to pick from if the occasion were to ever again call for it. 

MM: I'd say it's a bit similar to Rotten Flower, that one is long too and similar fidelity. Compared to Sultan of Squat, it's bigger and more colored and animated I'd say.

HS: Today, you shared with us its opening cut "The Hate in Your Heart." What’s the story behind this one?

KH: Just a standard pop rocker with a few nice touches, hopefully. It came together quickly in rehearsal and seemed like a key song right away. Lyrically, it’s a song about some negativity I’d been witnessing and the destructive nature of envy and/or wishing ill will unto others.

HS: Diving into some of the other songs here as preview, what can you tell readers about "Not A Lot Goin’ On"?

KH: A surprising song to have written, seeing as how I thought my speedball proto-punk days were behind me but this was written quick all in one spurt. A friend of mine was dismayed he'd seen an ex out at the bar on New Year’s Eve with a new man. So I wrote this and made the new boyfriend stupid and inadequate (not a lot going on upstairs) in the song to support the homie. 

HS: Mark, I remember you playing me "Penascola" last summer which is one of your more far out psychedelic pop tracks. How did it come together exactly?

MM: That was actually our kind of test trial for this new method of recording. The first song we did. We used a different drum mic setup for this one than the whole album, stereo overheads. Keith said it started abruptly, so I added an intro.

KH: It was the first song recorded for the album before we knew we were making an album. Me, Chode, and Jordan just put it down with Jerri one afternoon. Doesn't strike me as particularly far out but I told Mark to put an intro together for it and he hilariously cooked up this druggy, raga-rock soundscape. It's nice. 

HS: The last two I'll ask about are "Sugar in the Shoe" and "Coming Down With You." How did those ones come about?

KH: "Coming Down with You" is just another example of reaching back to the punk past. It’s a type of controlled chaos and I like the title because it suggests many things. "Sugar in the Shoe" was something a buddy said that made me laugh. It was attempted for Sultan of Squat but wasn’t coming together so it was left off. Mark gave it all this new wave flair which complimented it very well for this record. 

HS: Aside from this new album, what has it been like digging through the archives and remastering the back catalog? What are some other plans with those recordings?

MM: That's been fun. I learned a lot making this album and got some new tools. Mastering those simple four track recordings is a blast. The timbre and tone of everything is just way more interesting and pleasurable than digital for me. I'm hoping for the next thing we do we can do some recording with the four track or something. I never put a whole lot of thought into it before. I'd really like to record like that, but with an emphasis on acoustics, mic placement, and the room/space.

HS: Keith, will there be another Good Looking Son record and or has that project blended into what you're doing with The Cowboys now?

KH: No, I don't think there'll be another one. Those records only happened because The Cowboys weren’t ready to get back together and I was antsy to release music. Every Good Looking Son song could have and would have been a Cowboys song, there is no distinction. I wish I could be one of these lo-fi one man band guys that can just do all his own stunts but I cannot. I am limited and need players and people who know how to record. But as long as The Cowboys still want to meet up and record music I’ll be good. 

HS: I know you guys live all over the map but can fans expect a Cowboys tour in 2025-26? 

KH: I can’t say for certain. I would love to go to Europe. But I’m not sure if touring makes sense for this band anymore. But never say never, I’m sure we’ll do at least a one off or so in the Midwest next year. 

MM: Hopefully some shows, like I said, we'd love to tour outside of the USA. Hopefully this album does well so it's feasible. At some point a comp of odds and ends. And we'll be working on a new album as soon as it's feasible.

Keep an eye out for Captain Easy's Downfall out later this summer. For now, listen to the first single "The Hate In Your Heart" below.