Mr. Plow Premiere “Shaolin Cowboy” Video
You know who really likes Mr. Plow? Me, that’s who. And I’ll give you an example of why. The Texas-based heavy rockers have a new video for the song “Shaolin Cowboy,” which is taken from their 2018 album, Maintain Radio Silence (review here), and if you put it in, the charm is immediate. Dudes are sitting around a table, playing Dungeons and Dragons — as one does — and there’s a moment right after guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Stone‘s badass hippie mom offers fresh-baked cinnamon rolls to the assembled group where she says she’ll be in her bedroom watching her stories.
It’s 33 seconds into the clip, and pay attention to the left side of the screen, as the archquester in the red polo shirt — bassist Greg Green — is drinking presumably not-mead from a stein and just as the scene cuts away, he looks at the camera and is so clearly about to burst out laughing that he’s only saved by clever editing. That’s the whole thing, right there. Don’t get me wrong, the song is right on and the video that follows is clever and funny and does exactly what it means to do, but that single moment shows exactly where Mr. Plow are coming from. There’s never been any pretense in their work, or any kind of snobbish microgenre posturing. These are dudes having fun playing heavy rock and roll with songs about stuff they think is cool. That’s it. They’re a rock band.
One has to imagine there were multiple outtakes of “Shaolin Cowboy” — the comic the song is named after also makes an appearance early — especially as Metal Merlin shows up and transforms said cinnamon-roll-mom into Doomstress‘ own Doomstress Alexis, and then the two of them setting about whipping the band into rock and roll shape like some kind of ’80s movie montage, culminating in the band playing a gig at Houston’s own Rudyard‘s with a packed room, a celebratory high-five shared between Merlin and Alexis, a record deal, and even — as though just to underscore that they got it all right in the end — guitarist/vocalist Justin Waggoner wearing a The Obelisk t-shirt, which I assure you I didn’t know about when I agreed to host the premiere of the video, but which I very much appreciate just the same.
Wait, video premiere?
Yeah, that’s why we’re here. What did you think this was about, fun and games?
And with the assurance that someone in Mr. Plow will get that reference, I’ll gladly leave you with the clip for “Shaolin Cowboy,” laced with charm and easter eggs, a Lemmy tramp stamp on drummer Cory Cousins, and much more waiting to be beheld.
So behold:
Mr. Plow, “Shaolin Cowboy” official video premiere
Mr. Plow formed in 1997 when Kyuss and Fu Manchu were blowing out speakers in car systems across the land. When the term “stonerrock” was joining the lexicon for music writers who needed a category for riff-based rock that was tuned down and turned up. The band were influenced heavily by the times, but sought a different direction lyrically–instead of dark and evil, they went for pop-culture references and hooky riffs. Mr. Plow was way less about skulls and satanic imagery, and way more about good times that would be the soundtrack for summer trips to the beach or skatepark.
Mr. Plow is:
Justin Waggoner: guitar/vocals
Jeremy Stone: guitar/vocals
Greg Green: bass
Cory Cousins: drums
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Tags: Houston, Maintain Radio Silence, Mr. Plow, Mr. Plow Maintain Radio Silence, Ripple Music, Texas
