Mantra Das Presents: 90’s CowPunk Revival

90’s Cowpunk Revival @ Rumba Cafe

90’s CowPunk Revival featuring Mantra Das, Sonic Skyway, Oddjob Policy, Zachary Polk, and the whole CowPunk posse.

Coming out of a drama-filled COVID hibernation, 90’s Revivalists Mantra Das, Sonic Skyway, Oddjob Policy, and Zachary Polk will be jamming out in front of a bunch of college kids on July 6th. The 90’s was about more than just the Classic Rock you hear these days at Kroger. There was a spirit behind them that has been lost and NOW rediscovered.

Think Weezer/Nirvana/Sonic Youth but with randomly wearing Cowboy Hats and having and more fun, casual jam session.

Mantra Das + The Beatpoets is a collaborative of musicians who are working to restore unity to our nation through the power of CowPunk. People on both sides of the political spectrum are equally bothered by the idea of grungy 1990’s-sounding guitars, stream of consciousness lyrics, hypnotic 3-chord hooks, and hippies pretending to be cowboys just for fun. The music is so polarizing that only fans of of Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Uncle Tupelo, Flying Burrito Brothers, Hank Williams, or the 1990’s grunge scene will be able to appreciate it. Others should keep far, far, away or be at risk for spontaneous foot tapping and politely moshing with other fans.  

Mantra Das was initiated into songwriting 15 years ago during a trip to San Francisco, where he was inspired by the beat poetry of Alan Ginsburg. He fell in love with the San Francisco music scene during his whirlwind misadventures through the Haight/Ashbury district and the surrounding Bay Area. After a visit to the Grateful Dead House and an ill-fated journey to Golden Gate Park’s Hippie Hill, Mantra Das felt a connection to the scene and a responsibility to bring the 1960s psychedelic sound and spirit back into the public eye.

Around the time of the 2020 presidentail election, Mantra Das felt motivated to discard the trappings of western society, recording album of traditional Indian mantras with guitar accompaniment. After absorbing the energy of the mantras, he became obsessed with the recreating the sacred sound of Om on 5-string bass. The subsequent album, Black Bass, was heavily influenced by Syd Barrett, and has been described as “paint splatter art music”. Numerous people expressed serious concerns about his manic spree of posting groovy but unfocused jams and music videos. Discouraged, Mantra Das embarked on a life-changing Spirit Quest to Serpent Mound (the world’s largest snake effigy) for three days of mediation and wandering around. Grounded by the experience and renewed with a sense of purpose (playing gigs), Mantra Das set out to record a full album of CowPunk songs as a return to his roots of alternative country in an attempt to keep regular people interested at live shows. 

Inspired by the authenticity of country blues and and the dispassionate attitude of 1990s alternative rock, Mantra Das + the Beatpoets is an eclectic and memorable musical experience. They are a reincarnation of authentic hippie spirituality with dreamy jam-filled original songs that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days. The purpose of the music is to bring mellowness and unity to a reactionary world because everyone can relate to the archetype of the noble but misunderstood CowPunk. Fans are encouraged to wear punk/cowboy clothes to every show and to party like it’s 1999.