Finally, Two Cow Garage is really hitting its stride

Vocalist/guitarist Micah Schnabel laughs when he talks about how his band, Two Cow Garage, got its name.

"We were young and naive," Schnabel said during a phone call from his home in Columbus, Ohio.

"We were trying to think of a name for the band, which is always so hard. And our bass player (Shane Sweeney) was talking to someone and they said, 'You are a two cow garage.'

"Well, that was kind of funny, so one night we said that live, and for some strange and disturbing reason, the name stuck. And we've had that stupid name ever since."

Stupid names aside, the band — Schnabel, Sweeney, guitarist Chris Flint, keyboardist Andy Schell and drummer Cody Smith — have been hitting the road, grass-roots style, for a little less than seven years.

"We knew when we started being serious that it would take a lot of work to get the band going," said Schnabel.

"We all knew we wanted to make the band a career. We knew it was going to be hard. We knew there would be a lot of sacrifices. But we also knew that we could do it. And we were always career oriented, because we wanted to be in a band and not have regular jobs."

Schnabel said he grew up listening to a lot of folk music.

"My dad had all the folk albums and there were guitars all over the house," he said. "And my appreciation for music came from my old man."

Once Two Cow Garage, which plays a blend of Midwest Americana blues rock, started on the long road to a career, there were some bumps that, according to Schnabel, made the band stronger.

"First off, we learned we had to approach the music honestly," he said. "We learned to write and play songs through experiences we know. There is no writing songs about something we don't have any idea about. Because people pick up on it when you are dishonest.

"Secondly, we're not the coolest looking guys from Ohio," said Schnabel with a laugh. "So we had to make sure the music had some substance.

"And lastly, we had to learn to get tough real quick, because it's a continual challenge to do what we do. We fight and scrape our way sometimes and play in really (dirty) places and do our best."

However, through those experiences, Two Cow Garage has finally hit its stride.

"We just signed to an independent label, and they have been great working with us," said Schnabel. "We're at the point where we really only have to focus on our music and touring.