After disappointing album sales in 2000, they were dropped by their label, but the band has succeeded since then by focusing on live performances and independent-label releases.

The band name "Cowboy Mouth" — taken from an early play by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith — usually means "One with a loud and raucous voice".

[2] The nucleus of the band formed in the 1990s, and they have become a powerhouse live act whose performances have been likened to "a religious experience".

[7] They also perform a version of "Born to Run" on the Light of Day tribute album to Bruce Springsteen, a version of "The Pusher" on the soundtrack to Half Baked, and several of their own songs on the soundtrack to the 1995 film The Underneath (two of which they perform onscreen in the film).

On May 14, 2011, during a performance at Bon Ton Louisianne in Houston, Texas, Cowboy Mouth was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.