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Who the heck names their band after a Pop-Tarts commercial?
Chinese Cowboy, that’s who.
Jonathan Armada, bass player for the Rowan County group, was inspired as he watched TV and saw a strange little character on the breakfast commercial. “He was playing a ukulele and was Asian. He was just dancing around in a cowboy outfit playing a ukulele,” Armada, 18, said with a laugh. Thus, Chinese Cowboy.
Now people all over the country are about to learn about the band and its music, thanks to Teen People, a magazine with a circulation of 1.5 million nationwide.
Chinese Cowboy is one of five semifinalists in the the magazine’s annual music contest. They already beat out more than 400 other contestants after submitting their song “Ride” from their CD “Sound:Blankenship,” which the band recorded at Hit Music Inc. in Spencer.
“It’s like, ‘Wow. Teen People is calling me,’ ”Armada exclaimed. “It’s sort of weird.”
As a semifinalist, Chinese Cowboy already has won $500 from the contest. Besides Armada, 18, other core members of the band are vocalist and violin player Allyn Steele, 18; drummer Daniel Pruette, 17; and rhythm guitarist Richard Armada, 20, Jonathan’s brother. All of the band members attend or graduated from West Rowan High School.
The September issue of Teen People features the band and the other semifinalists and goes on sale on Aug. 4, the same day Chinese Cowboy will be playing at the Dan Nicholas Park amphitheater.
Readers can vote for their favorite — online or by phone — and the top three bands will compete in a battle-of-the-bands contest at the Apollo Theater in New York City.
After hearing a 15-second bit of each band’s music on the phone or online, fans can choose their favorite group.
Fans can vote for Chinese Cowboy over the phone when the phone lines go into effect on Aug. 4. America Online members — only AOL members — can vote online at www.teenpeople.com. AOL members can also vote by following the link on the web page for Chinese Cowboy at www.chinesecowboy.8m.com.
Even if the band doesn’t make it to the finals, the contest looks like it can definitely spread the band’s popularity.
The contest had a total of 25,000 voters last year, 15,000 voting online, according to Dawn Baxter, entertainment marketing editor for Teen People.
“So this will give a whole lot of exposure,”Jonathan Armada explained.
Steele calls Chinese Cowboy’s sound “folk funk.” The members credit The Dave Matthews Band and Pearl Jam as influences.
The band’s stylized sound also includes a unique look thanks to Steele’s violin, which throws off some people. Jonathan Armada explained: “He got self-conscious about playing the violin, but (I was like), ‘Allyn, next time you pull out your violin to start playing, look at the crowd.’ ”
What Steele saw was a look of surprise that helped him get over his self-consciousness and stay with the instrument. “Everybody is like, ‘He’s playing the violin!’ And he starts playing and they’re like, ‘He’s actually playing it!,’ ”Armada added with a laugh.
The four core members also use a selection of guest players, which add different styles of sound to their live music.
Allyn’s sister, Lydia Steele, 22, sings the song “Brink of Living”with her brother on the CD and at some shows, while Brian Armada, Jonathan and Richard’s 16-year-old brother, is the band’s technician and guest guitarist.
Trumpet player Jim Rabon, 19, and guitarist Graham Rabon also join the band occasionally.
David Lazaro, 21, is also a lead guitarist when he makes an appearance with the band.
With a rotating cast of players, the band has played at such diverse places as the Daily Grind, Sacred Heart Church and Las Palmas.
Even if the band doesn’t make it as one of the top three finalists, Allyn Steele believes their time in Teen People can only further their musical careers.
“If we want to play anywhere the...stuff, even just making it to the top five, that ought to look good on our resume and show that we are a quality band,” Steele said.
With a quality name, he added.
“We were trying to think of a name for like a month and we were running down Highway 29 to a swim meet and were trying to figure out a name like, ‘McDonald’s Band,’ basically going down the road, reading road signs,”Steele explained, adding one other possibility with a laugh: Slow, children at play. “That’d been a great one!”
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