A cougar holds an electric guitar in one paw, and flashes the rock sign with his other paw. This memorable image lets the viewer know that they are in for some rockin’ music, presumably, though incorrectly at the paws of a large cat.
Cougar Magnum formed in the summer of 2006, when Shane Smith, guitarist and vocalist, met drummer Alex Shepard and they began playing together. Smith later met Brandon McLean, guitarist and vocalist, at an open-mic night at Blue Martini later that summer. Until recently, there had been a high turnover rate of bassists within Cougar Magnum, having had six players previously. Seventh bassist Scott Birch joined the band about two months ago, when he was introduced to the band through a mutual friend. After trying out and rehearsing, he’s been the bassist every since.
The name Cougar Magnum came about as a joke from childhood. Smith and Shepard were twelve years old, and they and another mutual friend all thought that Cougar Magnum, the name of a gun from the Goldeneye video game, would be a good name for a future band. Years later, the current band formed and got booked for a show in short order, and a name was quickly needed. Cougar Magnum was the first name to come to mind, and has stuck ever since.
There have occasionally been problems with audience members comprehending the name. Smith said, “We’ve had a bunch of people think it’s different. We were at Blue Martini for another open mic and when we got done with the set we said ‘Hey thanks, we’re Cougar Magnum.’ I went up to the bar and the guy was like, ‘Cooter Magnet, huh? Pretty out there.’ It’s not that and then you know the whole cougar with the older woman reference thing. That has nothing to do with the band.”
The band decided to go on tour for two months, from the end of March to the end of May of last year. Smith said, “We did two months and played thirty shows, totally self-booked, we did everything. We drove all the way down to south Florida and Fort Lauderdale and all the way up to Messina, New York which borders Canada. We played pretty much every major city on the East Coast.”
Cougar Magnum returned to Raleigh on the night of February 13th, playing a set at the Berkeley Café, with Vintage Freshness opening. Vintage Freshness warmed up the crowd with some blues-inspired stylings, driven by drumbeats and accompanied by saxophone.
While waiting for Cougar Magnum, the audience mingled, talking and eating. The room darkened, and colored lights swirled around the room in kaleidoscopic patterns. The lights went up as Cougar Magnum went on, and the crowd clustered around the stage.
For their first song, Cougar Magnum played “Felix Chesapeake”, the last song from their first CD entitled “The Greens”. They also played “Emily’s Song” and “Outer Banks” off this album.
The band employed a wide range of instruments during the concert, using cymbals, a keyboard and a cowbell. The members also used their voices by harmonizing, singing a cappella, and, at one point, whistling.
After playing sixteen songs, Cougar Magnum finished their set to the sound of raucous applause. The audience asked for an encore, and they obliged, ending the night by playing an energetic cover of Weezer’s “No One Else”, punking it up a bit with the addition of cymbals and heavy drums.
Rasta, ska and jam band influences can be heard in Cougar Magnum’s music. Various influences are named amongst the members, such as the Beatles, Van Halen, Creedence Clearwater Revival and general jazz.
In terms of defining their sound, McLean said, “That’s one of the things that we’ve gotten over the past couple years. Some people say we haven’t really found our sound yet, but we are definitely working towards that direction.” The members disagree on how exactly to categorize their music. Birch said, “pop-punk”.
Aside from touring, the band has also played special gigs, such as one for a friend who was showing her fashion collection at the Art to Wear fashion show. McLean said, “We were background music. Normally, we’re kind of in the front of things, with lights on us. At the fashion show, we were just noise on the side. We had to play for exactly how long the girls were walking down the runway. We apparently screwed it up, but no one noticed and everyone thought it was great”. Smith said, “It was the most people we have played to, because there were like 2000 people at this event in the Court of the Carolinas.”
Cougar Magnum will next be seen at Lincoln Theater on March 16, opening for Badfish and Ballyhoo. They will also be releasing a full CD in the coming months, to be found on iTunes, their MySpace page and their website cougarmagnum.com.
