Damian Cowell

Damian Joseph Cowell^[1], also known by his former stage names Humphrey B. Flaubert and DC Root, is an Australian musician who is best known as the frontman for TISM, Root!, The DC3, Damian Cowell's Disco Machine and Arseless Chaps.

Damian Cowell
Also known as	Humphrey B. Flaubert DC Root
Born	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Alternative rock
Instrument(s)	Vocals, drums, drum machine, keyboards
Years active	1970s–present
Labels	Elvis, Musicland, Phonogram, Shock, FMR, Madman, Meek Joe, Museum of Old and New Art
Member of	TISM, Arseless Chaps
Formerly of	I Can Run, Root!, The DC3, Damian Cowell's Disco Machine

History

Cowell was born and schooled in Melbourne. His musical output began in the 1970s, when he played in various high school bands, such as Abroz and Kestrel Hawk. In the early 1980s, he was part of a little-known group called I Can Run, featuring future TISM bandmate Eugene Cester. In December 1982, TISM formed and Cowell adopted the pseudonym "Humphrey B. Flaubert", a play on Australian children's television character Humphrey B. Bear and French author Gustave Flaubert. The group enjoyed underground success in the late 1980s and reached the ARIA top 10 in 1995 with their album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons. From late 2004, TISM began an almost 18-year hiatus, reforming in June 2022.^[2]

TISM remained largely anonymous throughout their career. In 2010, Cowell publicly acknowledged his involvement in TISM via the debut single of his band The DC3 – a song titled "I Was The Guy In TISM".^[3]

Even though much of Cowell's work uses programmed drums, he has played live drums at times, most notably during some songs in TISM's performance at Homebake 1998.

Post-TISM

Cowell returned to the stage in 2007 under the moniker DC Root, fronting a band called Root!^[4] During this period he was commissioned by David Walsh to create a soundtrack for his Museum of Old and New Art. The soundtrack was titled Vs Art.

In 2010, Root! disbanded and quickly re-formed as a three-piece, The DC3.^[5][6] This group would continue on until 2013.

Between 2014 and 2021, Cowell performed in the band Damian Cowell's Disco Machine, with Tony Martin as a recurring guest. The Disco Machine released three albums. In 2024, Cowell and Martin formed the duo Arseless Chaps.^[7]

Album discography

TISM

• Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance (1988)
• Hot Dogma (1990)
• Machiavelli and the Four Seasons (1995)
• www.tism.wanker.com (1998)
• De RigueurMortis (2001)
• The White Albun (2004)
• Death to Art (2024)

Root!

• Root Supposed He Was Out of the Question... (2007)
• Surface Paradise (2009)

Damian Cowell

• Vs Art (2010)
• Damian Cowell (2023) - post-TISM career retrospective^[8]

The DC3

• The Future Sound of Nostalgia (2011)
• May Contain Traces of Nut (2013)

Damian Cowell's Disco Machine

• Damian Cowell's Disco Machine (2015)^[9]
• Get Yer Dag On! (2017)^[3][10]
• Only The Shit You Love (2021)^[11]