Hootie and the Blowfish‘s Darius Rucker, R.E.M.‘s Mike Mills, and the Black Crowes‘ Steve Gorman have been quietly working on an album by their new supergroup, Howl Owl Howl, for the last five years — and it’s not quite done yet, except for the debut single “My Cologne.” But they decided to go on tour anyway, because at this point in their collective careers, Mills explains, they don’t have to follow rules.
“ We don’t care,” Mills says on the new episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. “We are not doing this for money. We’re not doing this to rebuild our careers. We’re doing this ’cause we like it, and we just wanna play.”
In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, the trio sits down with host Brian Hiatt to discuss the upcoming album, the band’s origins, and much, much more. A few highlights follow; to hear the whole episode, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play above.
A single text message started it all. “I was putting together a gig for my kid’s school, a fundraiser for the performing arts department at his high school,” Gorman recalls. “And I had an artist locked in who then had to bail shortly before the performance. And so I suddenly had to put a band together for the night. And as I was processing the news, Darius texted me… And I went, ‘Hey man, do you want to come up to Nashville in a couple weeks and sing at this school gig? I’ll put a band together.’ And he immediately said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’” Rucker suggested getting Mills involved, and the gig went so well that they immediately started talking about the future.
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Michael Stipe came up with the band name, and at first Gorman and Rucker hated it. “Stipe said, ‘Howl Owl Howl,’” Mills recalls. “And I was like, ‘Okay, that’s it. That is so weird that I’m gonna send it to ’em and they’re gonna hate it.’ And they did.” Within two days, Gorman says, “it was just in my brain. I couldn’t get rid of it. I was like, ‘Oh shit. Howl Owl Howl’s great.’”
The single “My Cologne” was inspired by Ariana Grande‘s decision to launch a perfume called R.E.M., but Mills hopes she’ll find it funny. “Nobody’s angry, nobody’s hating,” Mills says.”It’s supposed to be funny. It’s tongue in cheek and I hope somewhere someday she sits back and laughs when she hears it.”
There will be no R.E.M. reunion. “R.E.M. broke up because it was time and we all recognized it and we all had thought about it before we ever mentioned it to each other, ” Mills says. “And, you know, it’s fine.” The band did step on stage together to play one song for the Songwriters Hall of Fame last year, but Mills doesn’t consider that a reunion. ”We didn’t reform, we got together to play one song one time, because that’s what you do with the Songwriters Hall of Fame,” he says. “It’s churlish to go in there and not do the thing that everyone does when you play there. So we did, and, and it just completely reinforced our belief that we’d done the right thing.”
Rucker is candid about not being eager for more Hootie & the Blowfish tours. “Every time I played with Hootie, in ’19 and two years ago, it’s because I thought the fans wanted it,” Rucker says. “It’s not because I wanted to. I wasn’t dying to go play with Blowfish. I wasn’t dying to take a huge pay cut, but you know, the fans wanted it” The band will play Stagecoach this year, but that will be it for a long while. “We won’t play again anytime soon. If we play again, I’ll be well into my sixties if we ever play again.”
Rucker is also nearly done with his next solo country album, but is more focused on Howl Owl Howl right now. “It’s just more satisfying,” he says. “Doing the country thing and being a solo artist is great, it’s cool. But man, when you get with a band that’s a real band… we’re a team, man, and that’s just awesome.”
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Mills abandoned plans to make a solo record. “I don’t have the voice to carry a whole record by myself. I can’t imagine anybody else wants to hear 35 minutes of this. But I just really enjoy working with my friends and collaborating and creating something together. It’s a lot more fun than sitting by yourself in a fricking studio trying to come up with ideas.”
Howl Owl Owl will tour again once the album is out. “We’re all pretty sure that we’re gonna be doing this again,” Rucker says.
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone‘s weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or go here for the podcast provider of your choice. Check out nine years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth interviews with artists including Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Questlove, Halsey, Missy Elliott, Dua Lipa, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Ice Cube, Taylor Hawkins, Willow, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Charlie Puth, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, and Gary Clark Jr. And look for dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone‘s critics and reporters.
