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In 2004, the Lazy Cowgirls, long one of the best-kept secrets in American rock & roll, finally called it quits after nearly 25 years of inspiring music, but lead singer and principal songwriter Pat Todd clearly isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. Todd has formed a new band, the Rankoutsiders, who follow a similar path to the latter-era Cowgirls -- fast and loud old-school punk on one hand, and hard but heartfelt honky tonk on the other. However, unlike the Lazy Cowgirls, the Rankoutsiders can handle the quieter country material with the same sure hand as the louder, frantic rock stuff, and Todd's first album with the band, The Outskirts of Your Heart, is his most impressive melding to date of his two great (musical) loves. The Outskirts of Your Heart is an ambitious two-disc set, with the first CD primarily devoted to raw, four-on-the-floor rock and the second featuring Todd's acoustic-oriented music, but there's plenty of crosstalk between the two -- "I Wonder Why" has enough swagger to fuel a major city even without drums, and "November 11th" generates a high, lonesome mood despite the Marshall amps. This album features Todd's strongest lineup of musicians since the Ragged Soul-era Cowgirls -- guitarists Nick Alexander and Tony Hannaford, bassist Rick Johnson, and drummer Bob Deagle are tight, grooving, and emphatic regardless of volume -- but the star of this show is Pat Todd, and he's in stellar form here. Lots of rockers talk about passion and commitment, but for Todd those aren't words, they're as necessary to life as water and oxygen, and he has no fear in letting the deepest and most painful secrets of love, life, and survival take the center stage in his songs. Todd can sing with roughhouse fury or smoky sweetness depending on the song, but there isn't a moment on any of these 28 songs where he puts less than a hundred percent of his soul on plastic, and he's rarely had as powerful and diverse a vehicle for his music as he's given himself on The Outskirts of Your Heart. This is a superior work from an estimable and underappreciated talent, and if you love rock & roll that comes from the heart, the soul, and the gut, you owe it to yourself to hear this album. ~Mark Deming, All Music Guide
"Pat Todd is a true American Original. His voice is capable of delivering the most heartfelt melodies and yet retain the toughness of his spirit. Raw, real and passionate - that's what I think of when I hear the name, Pat Todd. The Rankoutsiders project continues his tradition of delivering the goods to the people who need 'em! And boy do we need Mr. Todd and his Rank Outsiders, now more than ever." -Eddie Spaghetti, The Supersuckers
“In Pat Todd’s voice, I hear several lifetimes’ worth of hope and heartache, of lovin’ and losin’ – and also of resolve and redemption, the kind that may be hard-won, but all the sweeter because of the effort and experience that went into the whole package.”
-Fred Mills
Magnet Magazine Associate Ed.
“Pat Todd is the most sincere Rock ‘n’ Roll singer/songwriter on the planet. He makes the rest of us look like a bunch of fakers.”
-Blaine Cartwright,
Nashville Pussy, Nine Pound Hammer
"Payin' dues gives you more than the blues. It also gives you timeless Rock and Roll. Pat Todd has been busting his ass for years, living his life to make music and the school of hard knocks has graduated him magnum cum laud with a thesis of love found, love lost, sins lived and a life redeemed. Pat Todd & the Rank Outsiders' The Outskirts of Your Heart is the Carmina Burana of the 21st century." - The Mighty Manfred, The Woggles; DJ Sirius' "Little Steven's Underground Garage
For over twenty years, the LAZY COWGIRLS were the undisputed kings of Los Angeles Underground Rock 'n' Roll, releasing countless singles and albums for labels such as Sympathy For the Record Industry, Bomp!, and Gearhead. Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips fame has even called them an "American Institution". The Cowgirls may be no more, but their founder, vocalist and songwriter, Pat Todd, has released a two CD set with his new band, PAT TODD & THE RANKOUTSIDERS entitled "The Outskirts of Your Heart". The album is nothing less than the culmination of two years of hard work, love and determination. Produced and engineered by former Sparks guitarist, Earle Mankey (The Cramps, Concrete Blonde, The Beach Boys, Possum Dixon), the album reflects the diversity of American Rock 'n' Roll, from raunchy rockers like "Alive as Yesterday" to heartfelt laments, "Christmas Day”.
