Body Of Singer Barry Cowsill Found (Katrina Victim)

[K8-EEE]

RIP Barry -- a lovely and talented man, his family has been frantic since the storm.

http://et.tv.yahoo.com/newslink/13545/

I wonder if this will even be in the mainstream news, and how many people they continue to find.

There are thousands of Katrina victims still unaccounted for!

[saigon68]

1. Nice clean up effort

Still finding Bodies

[K8-EEE]

6. Not Clear To Me....

When he died if he was found Dec. 27th? I am not familiar with NoLA...could he have been swept away trying to flee the Convention Center?

We saw him on the Convention Center video AFTER he had called his sister, so there was a lot of hope, and then people were hoping that he was incapacitated somewhere, but I still keep hearing about people searching houses EVEN NOW and finding people after the authorities have already searched etc!!

[babylonsister]

36. I'm very sorry to hear this, K8-EEE. Was

he a friend of yours? There was someone on DU looking for resources after Katrina hit who was trying to locate him.

[K8-EEE]

37. That was me looking for him..

Not a friend but a fan. I saw him peform a few times and love his (solo) CDs. I do know some members of his family here in CA. They have been frantic as you can imagine -- never knowing if he would just walk in the door, or what. And his kids having to go through the holidays like that, just a sad situation.

[babylonsister]

38. I thought that might have been you. My

condolences go out to you and his family. It's a travesty the way our government handled Katrina all around. :(

[K8-EEE]

44. Picture Of Me Looking Goofy And Barry Looking Cool

I used to not like this picture because I look so goofy...I believe I was drunk, can't remember, LOL, but Barry always looked cool! I am borrowing his hat...he always wore hats.

http://cowsill.com/cowsills/gallery/pub2003oct25/satfans_vls01

[saigon68]

57. Sorry I forgot to put the SARCASM tag on that post

Some great search they have conducted </sarcasm>

There are still thousands missing apparently.

Using bulldozers to push rubble into piles hides a lot of bodies.

[gulfcoastliberal]

7. They are!

I took my grandmother (who lost everything when Waveland, MS was wiped out) back to Mississippi Dec. 27 to see a lawyer and open her safe deposit box - which was under 12 ft of water on hwy 90. We drove on 90 down to Long Beach and Pass Christian and they are churning up the beaches - must be to look for remains. And behind the destroyed Long beach Wal Mart there were 2 white vans and people wearing the white bio suits. I'm going to post the pictures soon.

[malaise]

71. This is too sad

I can't help remembering the reaction of MSM to the post tsunami coverage the missing Western bodies. Neitehr Busco nor MSM care.

[Bubba Zanetti]

2. Very sad.

What a crappy way to start my day. and my first post.

:(

[tatertop]

9. and he was only 51

[timber84]

11. Welcome to DU Bubba

:hi:

[merwin]

12. Welcome to DU. I hope the rest of your stay is not quite as depressing.

[lavenderdiva]

35. Welcome to DU, Bubba Zanetti!

:hi:

[HeeBGBz]

46. Welcome to DU, Bubba

Yeah, it is sad news. I was hoping he would be okay. I remember when all my teen magazines were full of Cowsills back in the day. Barry was the same age as me.

[henslee]

3. Cowsill's good folks. I used to see Susan sing with Dwight Twilly.

[K8-EEE]

8. Susan Is Back In NOLA, Has A New Song About Katrina

You can download it from her site at susancowsill.com

It is not on her new album as the album was released pre-Katrina.

It's called "Crescent City Snow" and live it just totally kills. She says that the Christmas before Katrina it snowed in NOLA and was so lovely and strange, but also, a hint of the horrors to come....of the changing weather.

She lost everything in the Katrina, but was able to evacuate her family & kids thank God.

[tatertop]

16. I believe Barry was the bass player, by the way

[K8-EEE]

19. He Was In The Old Family Band Days But...

As an adult he played guitar....he rocked...I saw him play bars, in Newport RI and when he visited family here in L.A., he was sweet and funny and he ROCKED. He really could get people out of their chairs.

[Brotherjohn]

29. I couldn't find it there, but found it on her label's site: Blue Corn...

... Music.

http://www.bluecornmusic.com/site/artists/susan_cowsill/

It's a free "bonus" download below the picture of the album (which is for sale).

I used to cover N.O. music for a regional zine and a Baton Rouge radio station, and the Continental Drifters music gave me a renewed appreciation for both the Susan Cowsill's songwriting, and Vicki Peterson's (from the Bangles).

Having just listened to the song, the image I got (re the snow) wasn't so foreboding. It was more a wishful desire that the wind and rain would return to the peaceful snow of the year before (in addition to all the wonderful pre-Katrina traditions that hopefully will return... I've already been back to the Cafe du Monde!).

I've had the same thought about the snow. I remember when my brother (who used to live 4 houses from the 17th St. Canal breech) called me on Christmas Day 2004 and told me they had snow! I've wished more than once that N.O. could retrieve some of that magic, and that that were the only unusual weather event to hit my hometown in the past year.

[K8-EEE]

32. thanks for the link...

I think the song is both sad and hopeful...a tour de force performance live! I saw her do it at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica...

[Beaverhausen]

39. Was he in the Continental Drifters, too?

I saw them a few times at SXSW back in 2000. They were amazing.

This is so sad.

[K8-EEE]

54. No, His Sister, Current SIL and ex BIL were Drifters...

Wow does that sound confusing! Susan Cowsill (who's new CD is amazing too!) was a drifter along with ex husband Peter Holsapple, and Vicki Petersen from the Bangles, who is now married to Barry's brother John.

The drifters were great...I friend sent me a bootleg CD of them playing at the World Trade Center in 2000, it's so good and so haunting to listen to now! What times we live in...

[Frank Cannon]

27. I am jealous of you. I love Dwight Twilley.

I'd heard that Susan was one of his back-up singers. I keep waiting for Twilley to show up out west, but he never seems to come out this way, the bum.

[henslee]

34. This was 25 years ago. I remember a cover of Black is Black they sang to

gether. Lots of talent those two.

[progressivebydesign]

45. I used to date Dwight's bass player back then, Susan is very cool.

She was very quiet, as is Dwight. They're both extremely talented. Dwight Twilley is an amazing visual artist as well as songwriter and musician. I was so sad to read about Barry Cowsill. I didn't know much of him after the Cowsills, but know that they are a tight-knit family. Very sad.

[Frank Cannon]

48. Dwight's also a well-respected author

He came out with a book many years ago called "Letters from Dad", which discussed letters he used to send to his daughter when he was out on the road for months at a time. He would ask her all kinds of questions ("What is your favorite dinner?", etc.) and she would answer the questions and send the letters back. It was a neat book and a great guide for parents that have to spend a lot of time away from their kids.

I was also a fan of Dwight's drummer Phil Seymour. He and Dwight had voices that were almost alike, and so they always harmonized perfectly. Phil came out with his own solo album in the late '80s, which is just fantastic, if you can find it. It had that same timeless Twilleyish power-pop sense to it. Shortly after his "debut", though, Phil died from lymphatic cancer. He was still just a young guy, in his late 20s or early 30s. I was pretty sad.

[laylah]

4. So very sad!

[johnnie]

5. That's sad

I was wondering if they ever found him. I can't imagine how many more they will find and how many more will never be found.

[K8-EEE]

10. Swamp Rat Knew Barry

They both played in the French Quarter. I will have to email Swamp Rat this thread...

[Acryliccalico]

13. Very sad to hear n/t

:kick:

[xultar]

14. The offical death count will never be published. Why....?!?!

Bush can't have it on his record that he allowed more Americans to die in a preventable disaster than were killed on 9/11.

Simple.

The fuckers.

Took away levee funds.
Effed up the resuce by putting a croonie asshole in charge with no experience.
Ignored the plight of millions while he was on vacation.

The fuckers. I HATE GEORGE W. BUSH and his ENTIRE ADMINISTRATION.

[K8-EEE]

18. That Was My First Reaction When I Heard

Because if there had been the National Guard at that Convention Center escorting people out of there -- he was there THURSDAY MORNING and the buses didn't start coming until Saturday....WHY?? You know what? I don't even think it was a fuck up...I think it was on purpose...I think BushCo let those people die, and they let them sit there, and they don't want them to come back either which is why they are not getting the infrastructure back up.

[Gemini Cat]

67. I wonder the same.

He can't have the death toll rise past his shining jewel 9-11.
He can't get people to rally 'round the flag when the flag is under water, because of his incompetency

[BiggJawn]

70. How will they explain the missing?

"Well, y'know, some people just wanna drop out an' disappear, so I guess this was as good a chance as any. Mebbe they're living in Tucumcari or sumpthin'....It's hard work! Hard, tryin' to put polish on this turd..."

Yeah, that's the ticket...:sarcasm:

[keith the dem]

15. Sad News

I remember seeing the Cowsills at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City as a child in the 60's. (You paid $.50 extra for front row seats.) Younger readers should try to find and listen to "Indian Lake" or "hair", they had incredibly tight harmonies that sounded just as good in concert as the recordings. Oh, and did I ever have a crush on Susan.

[K8-EEE]

20. You Must Go To susancowsill.com!

She's still great as ever...

The Cowsills were a really underrated band IMO, but, their lesser known work as adults individually, wow, what a talented family.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. What? Still talking about Katrina? How 2005!

We're supposed to move on, doncha know.

I remember the Cowsills.

How sad.

[uppityperson]

21. RIP Barry and all the rest.

I really really really wish

[BraveDave]

22. Shouldn't this be in the Louisiana State & Country Forum?

[K8-EEE]

24. No

It should be where the most people see it -- like all Katrina news should be....I can't remember the last time I saw a NOLA story on National news or heard Bush talk about it for that matter.

[HeeBGBz]

47. Yeah, and Mississippi is forgotten

It sucks that people think everything is just fine down south. I get asked if everything is cleaned up down there. How stupid is that?

[aquart]

25. no, dear. this is a national tragedy.

[K8-EEE]

28. The RESPONSE To It Is A National Tragedy AND

a national shame!! Like most people who died there, Barry survived the STORM...but not the negligence that followed. I will never hear his story of surviving that night on a warehouse roof...and then to make it to the Convention Center and then...nothing...I want to know how he ended up where he did and how long he was there and how many of those 6,000 missing people remain in similar tragic circumstances.

[MountainLaurel]

72. And why it's a national issue

Is that it could be any one of us next: a chemical car exploding as it passes through DC, flooding in WV, an earthquake in CA, tornados in the Midwest. It could be our dead loved ones who are being bulldozed over to fudge the body count, our grandmothers who dies of dehydration two days after the storm because the government was restricting humanitarian aid and rescue teams, our town that is decimated because a dam hasn't been properly maintained in 50 years. The infrastructure of this country is crumbling because the financial elites in New York decided ages ago that they got a better return on investments outside of the country, and built in loopholes (e.g., off-shore branches of U.S. banks used to funnel loans) to make it happen: roads, public transportation, power grids, locks and dams, et al., are in a critical state of disrepair, and it's not the people who created the situation who are going to pay the price.

[Patchuli]

66. This subject is important enought to us in California

for it to be right where it is. The failure of the Feds is ALL of our problem.

[K8-EEE]

77. God -- Can You Imagine "The Big One" Happening Under BushCo?

I don't even want to think about it **shudder**! And our disasters have no warning...I have EQ supplies and all, but how many homeless people are there in L.A. right now, like a million? I mean can you imagine that situation. I was in the thick of the 94 quake here in the SF Valley -- the National Guard were out on Ventura Blvd. almost immediately as all the store windows were broken, and jeez, FEMA really came through for a lot of people here, we bounced right back. That is the first world response to a disaster, what you saw after NOLA was a crappy banana republic military dictatorship's response. They are gutting our public agencies and dragging us down to 3rd world status....bastards....

[Patchuli]

81. I lived in North Hollywood

and worked in Encino on Ventura Blvd. My apartment and stuff survived OK but I had friends who lost a lot. FEMA was great back then under, guess who? A DEMOCRAT. My neighbors in the apartment building I lived in all gathered by the pool and brought out all their booze! We were having shots in the a.m. that a.m.!

My office was by some of the totally squished apartments with those cars that were trapped underneath them in carports. The cars were like four feet high. My friend lived down the street from the Meadows Apartments and saw the bags being carried out. It was a really weird time. Aftershocks when you're up 17 floors are pretty freaky!

[K8-EEE]

82. Howdy Ex Neighbor!

Yeah I didn't need FEMA but all the destruction got cleaned up pretty quickly. It shocks me to see those pix in NOLA & Gulf Coast like the cars in the trees etc WEEKS AND MONTHS LATER! WTF IS GOING ON??

And 6,000 missing......SIX FUCKING THOUSAND MISSING....TWICE AS MANY AS THE WTC VICTIMS, WHY DO THEY IGNORE IT?

[Patchuli]

83. I miss the Northridge Mall

but at least where I live now the quake threat is very very small. I kind of noticed the opposite in the area I worked in and some other areas of the Valley. We seemed to have piles of debris in the streets for months and months. But people were well taken care of. Our government had its act together in those days, sigh...

I think these criminals in charge are going to have answer for all of this. I really believe that.

BTW, where I do live now in Northern Cal we have flood worries!! We were on flood warning last week with the torrential rains and storms. "If it's not one thing, it's another!" Rosanna Danna (sp?) once said.

[Dervill Crow]

23. Oh, that's sad. RIP Barry. n/t

[Frank Cannon]

26. OH NO!!

I'd heard he was missing. I hoped for the best. This just sucks.

The Cowsills were the total shizznit back in the day. They were just awesome, and they were among my musical heroes as a kid. Even today I have "Hair", "The Rain, The Park, The Girl, and Other Things..." and "Indian Lake" on my MP-3 player.

(For all of you youngsters, the Cowsills were a talented musical family sort of like the Osmonds, except that their mom and sister were in the group and they weren't Mormon. The popular ABC television show "The Partridge Family" was based on the Cowsills.)

This is terrible news. I know they also lost their mother a few years ago. God bless the Cowsill family in this time of loss.

[K8-EEE]

30. You Can Post Condolences Here (Cowsill Family Site Memorial Page)

http://cowsill.com/cowsills/Guestbook/barrymemorial.html

[Frank Cannon]

31. Thanks for that (n/t)

[catmandu57]

33. It kust keeps on coming

I'm so sorry to hear this, damn nothing to say but rest in peace.

[lebkuchen]

40. Didn't the Cowsills perform in Vietnam, for the troops?

I recall, as a child, seeing Susan Cowsill sing a campy solo song that the troops really responded to...don't remember the name. I think she had a brother in Vietnam.

[K8-EEE]

43. Brother Richard Was In Vietnam

He wrote this about Barry, from the cowsill.com site.

hello everyone...i wish that i had some good news to report to you in our seach for Barry...the search has ended...with...with heartbreaking news...we,the family, have learned that as of today that with 999.9 % surity Barry Steven Cowsill is no longer with us...we truly know that he is alreadyin the arms of our Mother Barbara...he is safe...regardless of how he died (which will come in an update)all of us know that Barry had issues...but they did not factor in his death...katrina did...and being in vietnam myself...i realized that he was in a jungle...not of his own accord...and Bee just couldnot find the right trail out and was consumed...we realize that all of you being true friends will allow us to put things in order take final care of our beloved friend and brother...please respect our feelings and wishes...we decided to let you know what we know...so please..let us tell you...inclosing we have to say that we are extremly appreciate your love...devotion and most of all your continued friendship...so lets all of us say a pray that he finally got a license...good night..God bless..be in touch asap

[NVMojo]

41. A tradegy among many ...how sad ...

[oregonindy]

42. 6000+ still missing.

[Bluerthanblue]

53. this is so unbelievable...

... how can America not be outraged?????? I'm outraged. And so ashamed.

[pitohui]

49. identified from dental records, dead for "some time"

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/news-22/113649926699790.xml&storylist=louisiana

what a sad ending to the search for barry cowsill

not clear if he died of exposure or dehydration or what, but it is admitted to be katrina related

[Fiendish Thingy]

50. the Cowsills were my first "Rock" concert...

In addition to their own tunes they used to do pretty rockin' covers of Beatles and STones tunes too...

[Megahurtz]

51. Wow. The Cowsills.

Holy shit.:o

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

52. I'm a late baby boomer

and really don't qualify because Woodstock happened when I was 10 and Vietnam ended 2 years before I graduated highschool but as a small child I remember them pitching milk much like today we've got the Got Milk campaign. Anybody remember that? It was probably 64 or 65. I'm sorry to hear this. RIP

[K8-EEE]

55. Here's A Vintage "Milk" Ad From The Fab Cowsills Site

That CS site is like the Library of Congress, they have a gazillion images, LOL...check it out!

http://cowsill.com/cowsills/gallery/ada/mixedupmilk1

I'm about your age too...but I was into pop radio a little early cuz I had an older sister. Cowsills was one of my first ever bought-with-my allowance 45s in first grade! Wish I had it now...

[KamaAina]

56. I have never heard of the "Charles Street Wharf"

lived in NOLA for a couple of years. Neither, it turns out, has Yahoo! Search, except for the one in Parramatta, Australia, which somehow I don't think is it.

There are several places called (some other street name) Street Wharf behind the Convention Center, though. :(

[K8-EEE]

78. I Think It Is A Mistake

a new story I read says Chartres...

[KamaAina]

79. That's making a bit more sense

although that would be all the way down where the Industrial Canal meets the river, not near the Convention Center, I seem to recall reading that Barry lived in that area, called Bywater.

Upon reflection, I suspect that Barry may well have been the first Cowsill to make the long journey (not just geographically) from Newport to New Orleans. NOLA is well known to exert a powerful attraction over those of us who fall outside the "norms" of the psychiatric profession. Trust me. I was astonished to find myself one of the most "normal" people I knew down there. Alas, none of the others had jobs, either, and so it was off into exile after only two years...

[K8-EEE]

80. GWB Falls Outside The Norm Himself

I think he gave up after being at the Convention Center for so long in those hellish conditions and nothing going on and nobody in charge and the general "heckova job" that was being done, he just figured he'd go try his old neighborhood, is what I'm guessing.

Yes the NOLA missing are different in a lot of ways from the WTC missing and they sure are being treated differently -- ignored, forgotten, the assumption that they "just decided to drop out" etc. Remember when GWB made that middle of the night trip over Terri Schiavo because he cares about LIFE so much, what about these lives....when was the last time he even mentioned the people of NOLA, the missing and the displaced?

Barry was a giant of a man, albeit with problems and no money, compared to that little shit weazel GWB with all his power and money handed to him on a plate since the day his sorry ass was born. I hope there is a hell when I think of people like GWB, Cheney, Rummy and the rest of the mafia that has taken over this country cuz if there is they would have a special hotplate turned all the way UP baby....I AM GETTING MADDER AND MADDER THE MORE I THINK ABOUT IT!

[VeniceBeat]

58. Barry? Siblings think so....

RIP, Barry.

[progressivebydesign]

64. OMG..that is such a sad photo. Can you imagine if that was your brother?

Looking at that photo, I'd say it was Barry. How sad that no one could find him.

All we seem to get are the ladida reports out of New Orleans now, about things opening up (for the rich folks) and nothing about the people still struggling on the street. And then there's Mississippi's coast, which was hit incredibly hard.. people living in tents still, and the media has gone back to sleep.

[brentspeak]

59. What was the cause of death?

Because he survived the storm.

[VeniceBeat]

60. Despair?

The authorities identified him with dental records but have not released a determination of cause of death.

Barry had "problems" but was a kind soul.

[K8-EEE]

63. IMO, Cause of Death was NOT GETTING RESCUED

I think most people who died survived the actual storm -- but they kept those people out there for days, in the sun, no water, no food, after going through that ordeal.

I really don't know about Barry, but I think a lot of people died of dehydration, exposure, or drowning AFTER the storm.

All I know is that I think that was him on that CNN tape...he made it to the Convention Center after weathering the storm in another neighborhood, he made it there, he was SITTING THERE WAITING TO BE RESCUED and that did not happen Thursday, or Friday, and I think under those conditions, it was too much for some people.

[Xenotime]

61. So sad...

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[dryan]

62. I think that....

thee is going to be a lot more announcements like this. According to an article I read in the New York Times, the coroner's office is so overwhelmed that coroners from other states are helping out.

[texpatriot2004]

65. Horrific! Just Horrific. nm

[Raine]

68. I had been wondering about him...

Right after Katrina the story wason ET and then I looked at the family's website. I was just thinking about him last week and had intended to check the website again to see if they had found him, very sad it came out this way. :cry:

[allisonthegreat]

69. I loved the cowsills...

I always wondered what happened to them, and i saw susan on a news show right after the hurricane, and she said the family was searching for her brother...
i wonder if it was suicide or a homicide. I guess the autopsy will tell more!

[K8-EEE]

73. He Wanted To Get Out....He Was Not Rescued

I think he died of not getting rescued. He survived the night on a warehouse roof, and made his way to downtown Wed; was a the convention center with everyone else waiting for a bus on Thurs. a.m., the BUSES DID NOT COME TIL SATURDAY. There was no food, no water. Have we forgotten?

[EFerrari]

75. Negligent homicide.

:cry:

[K8-EEE]

76. If They Charge Those Nursing Home Operators Then Why Not *??

This is what I don't understand!! This is what I'll NEVER understand....the Thursday a.m. that Barry was at the Convention Center was DAYS after the storm, where the fuck was the food and water? And remember that Chertoff asshole saying he was not informed there were people at the Convention Center...WHEN WE WERE ALL WATCHING IT ON TV...!!!!!

ARRRRGH!!!

There is only one person that could have saved those people, that is the commander in chief, who could have called up the National Gurard (what's left of it) and had every vehicle available to our government out to these American citizens!! Why wasn't this done...the supposed NOLA gang activity, give me a break, Baghdad is safe enough for the NG...

Fucking bastards. The more I think of it the more pissed off I get....and wasn't Thurs the day Bush was joking around about Trent Lott's house, looking wasted out of his mind btw.

NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE!!! That is what happened here and there are STILL 6,000 MISSING...

[EFerrari]

74. I should be sad for the Cowsills and for all of us.

The Cowsills were so much a part of my youth, Barry was a year or so older than I am.

All I can think is hate much I HATE this government.