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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHowl Owl Howl is a collaboration between Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish, Mike Mills of R.E.M., and Steve Gorman of the Black Crowes. The group grew from a friendship and a school fundraiser into a songwriting project. Its first single, “My Cologne,” arrived in 2025. A 59-minute Rolling Stone Music Now interview hosted by Brian Hiatt, published November 16, 2025, discusses the band’s new music and the members’ past work.
Who is in Howl Owl Howl?
The trio joins musicians best known for three established bands: singer Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish, bassist Mike Mills of R.E.M., and drummer Steve Gorman of the Black Crowes. The Rolling Stone Music Now episode presents the project as a chance to hear about both the new collaboration and the members’ histories with those groups.
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“Supergroup” is a handy press label for the combination. But the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Mills and Gorman described it more simply as friends making music together. Gorman put it this way: “This is just some old friends making music that we believe people will enjoy.”
How did the musicians get together?
The story begins with a school performing-arts fundraiser organized by Gorman in 2019. Rucker joined the event; the musicians later developed their connection into a project in which they wrote and recorded songs together. In a 2026 SPIN profile, Gorman recalled inviting Rucker: “Hey man, do you want to come up to Nashville next month and sing at my kid’s school?”
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The fundraiser was the starting point, not the finished band. The profile says that by fall 2024 the musicians had enough material for an album. That reported milestone establishes that they had recorded a substantial body of work, not that an album was subsequently released.
What is “My Cologne” about?
“My Cologne,” Howl Owl Howl’s first single, was released around Halloween 2025. The song makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to Ariana Grande’s R.E.M. fragrance branding; coverage describes the joke as playful rather than hostile. The fragrance reference is part of the song’s premise, not evidence that Grande is a member or collaborator.
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Rolling Stone Australia’s report discusses the single and its reference. The title also creates an easy point of confusion: the group’s name is Howl Owl Howl, not “How Owl Howl.”
What happened after the first single?
In 2025, Howl Owl Howl announced a U.S. tour planned for November. The Pollstar announcement records those historical dates; it does not establish current ticket availability. The AJC’s November 2025 coverage also quoted Mills saying, “The tour is going really well.”
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SPIN’s 2026 profile reported plans for more music and touring that year, alongside the earlier album’s-worth-of-material milestone. The sources cited here do not verify whether those plans later happened, so they do not establish a released full-length album or current tour dates.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the interview cover?
The Rolling Stone Music Now conversation is a useful introduction to the trio: who the musicians are, how their collaboration took shape, and how their earlier bands relate to this new project. For anyone coming from one member’s back catalog, it helps to keep the distinction clear: R.E.M., Hootie & the Blowfish, and the Black Crowes are the members’ previous bands, not alternate names for Howl Owl Howl.
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