Galactic Cowboys

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Galactic Cowboys
Galactic Cowboys, 1991
Galactic Cowboys, 1991
Background information
OriginHouston, Texas, U.S.
GenresHeavy metal, progressive metal
Years active
  • 1989–2000
  • 2009
  • 2013
  • 2016–present
Labels
MembersMonty Colvin
Ben Huggins
Alan Doss
Dane Sonnier
Past membersWally Farkas
Websitegalacticcowboys.com

Galactic Cowboys are an American heavy metal band based in Houston, Texas. They combine progressive metal with a vocal style influenced by The Beatles and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as Anthrax. They have been described as "possibly the most melodic metal band ever to exist in Christian or general markets."[1] Although the band members are Christians, they did not consider Galactic Cowboys to be a Christian band.[2] The band has toured with prominent hard rock and metal acts such as Anthrax, Dream Theater, King's X and Overkill.[3]

Galactic Cowboys first gained attention through their association with producer/manager Sam Taylor and tours with King's X, and were subsequently offered a major label record contract by DGC Records. Despite being warmly received, the band's debut album, Galactic Cowboys (1991), was overshadowed by the surprise success of Nirvana's Nevermind shortly after its release; this resulted in DGC promotionally neglecting the album, which subsequently undersold expectations. Following the release of the band's similarly unsuccessful follow-up album Space In Your Face (1993), DGC dropped the band from the label and Galactic Cowboys subsequently embarked on a brief hiatus in 1994. After signing to Metal Blade Records in 1995, Galactic Cowboys would issue four more albums before breaking up shortly after the release of the band's sixth studio album, Let Go, in 2000.[3][4][5][6] Following a number of reunion shows in 2009 and 2013, Galactic Cowboys was reformed in 2016 with the original line-up, and released their first studio album in seventeen years, Long Way Back to the Moon, in 2017 through Mascot Records.

History

Galactic Cowboys was formed in 1989 in Houston, Texas by bassist Monty Colvin and drummer Alan Doss of the band The Awful Truth. When The Awful Truth broke up, Colvin and Doss joined singer Ben Huggins and guitarist Dane Sonnier to form Galactic Cowboys.

In 1990, the band was signed to DGC and released their self-titled debut album in 1991. Despite some favorable criticism, the band was ignored by the label due to the success of Nirvana's Nevermind during that same time. After poor sales and some touring, they returned to the studio and released Space in Your Face in 1993. Space... was the band's break into the general market.[1] The album featured two minor hits for the band with "If I Were A Killer" and "I Do What I Do", both of which received regular airplay at MTV and the now-defunct radio station ZROCK. DGC released Galactic Cowboys from their recording contract, and the band parted ways with manager Sam Taylor and guitarist Dane Sonnier.

The band appeared in the 1994 movie Airheads, under the name "Sons of Thunder".[1][2] The one original song they performed for that movie, "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful", is not available anywhere, and only a short excerpt is heard in the movie.[7]

After briefly breaking up, the band reorganized with Wally Farkas on guitars and a new recording contract with Metal Blade Records. The band released a third album, Machine Fish, and an EP titled Feel the Rage in 1996. The album The Horse That Bud Bought followed in 1997, departing from the band's metal sound into a toned-down style.[1]

The band recorded At the End of the Day in 1998, a concept album regarded by fans as the band's peak effort.[1] Two weeks before the album's release, drummer Alan Doss left the band. Session drummer Erick Tatuaka performed drums on the subsequent tour.

Let It Go, was released in 2000 and featured lead vocal performances by each band member. King's X drummer Jerry Gaskill, a friend of the band, performed drums on the album.

Besides original songs, Galactic Cowboys have recorded cover versions of songs by KISS, Petra and Wings.[2]

As of 2009, the former members of the band continue to be active in the music scene. The band performed 3 reunion shows in August 2009 in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.[8] They also reunited for a special, one-off performance at Acadia Bar and Grill in Houston, Texas on September 13, 2013.[9]

On July 4, 2016, they announced via bassist Monty's Rockcast podcast (No. 176) that they had signed with a progressive record label and were working on a new album with the original lineup (Colvin, Huggins, Doss, Sonnier).[10] On November 17, 2017, Mascot Label Group released the new album, titled Long Way Back to the Moon.[11]

Members

Monty Colvin

Bassist and backing vocalist for Galactic Cowboys from 1991 until 2000, Monty Colvin embarked on a solo career in 2000 with his band project Crunchy. The first album, All Day Sucker, released in 2001, defined the Crunchy sound as fun, pop punk with a slight heavy guitar edge. On Crunchy's second album, Clown School Dropout, the band was stripped down to Colvin playing most of the instruments and bringing in a hired drummer; here Colvin added a bit more crunch to the formula. Band influences include the Wildhearts, Cheap Trick, Foo Fighters, and the Ramones, in addition to the aforementioned Galactic Cowboys. The third Crunchy album, Loserville (2007), includes a contribution by Kerry Livgren of Kansas. Colvin contributed to Livgren's 2021 solo release The Resurrection Of Lazarus: A Cantata though his part had been recorded 20 years earlier.[12][13]

Colvin currently hosts an irregular hour-long Internet podcast called "Monty's Rockcast" on his personal web site. He also sells his paintings on his web site; some of the Galactic Cowboys album covers featured Colvin's artwork.

Colvin is also a cousin of Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Glenn Colvin), formerly of the Ramones.[14]

Alan Doss

Since leaving the music industry for a while, Doss has involved himself with managing and producing. Most recently, he has served in that capacity for the bands Ashbury Keys, Toy Subs and Jambi's Revenge, also contributing instrumental work (on keyboards and bass) to the outputs of those bands.

Ben Huggins

Huggins' musical activities following the Galactic Cowboys breakup in 2000 included recording and playing with his band Gristle, in addition to guest appearances with artists such as The Phlegmatics. Gristle's first album, Cold Blue Sky, was released in downloadable format on July 17, 2010.

Wally Farkas

Farkas has worked as a distributor for hip hop artists in the Houston area. He teamed with Ty Tabor of King's X to release two ambient albums under the name Xenuphobe ("1.0", released in 2006 and "2.0: Electrolux", released in 2007). Also, he established a record label, Molken Music for a handful of artists with which he has had prior connections.

Farkas co-produced and played guitar on the Doug Pinnick album Strum Sum Up. He announced a forthcoming solo album, Past Due, but that is unreleased as of yet.

Recently, he has been part of dUg Pinnick's touring band, Texas Poundation. He also has toured as part of the Houston band Peace and the Chaos.[15][16]

Dane Sonnier

After leaving Galactic Cowboys, Sonnier kept involved in the music world, most notably in The Sonnier Brothers Band, the band he formed with his brother Len,[17] who also plays lead guitar in Gristle. Sonnier also served as lead guitarist for a Houston-based modern rock band, Sevenfold.[18] Like Farkas, he has also been part of Texas Poundation, and continues to do so even after rejoining Galactic Cowboys.[19]

Band members

  • Monty Colvin - bass guitar, vocals (1991–2000, 2009, 2013, 2016–present)
  • Alan Doss - drums, vocals, keyboards (1991–1998, 2009, 2013, 2016–present)
  • Wally Farkas - guitar, vocals, keyboards, drums (1995–2000, 2009)
  • Ben Huggins - lead vocals, guitar, blues harp (1991–2000, 2009, 2013, 2016–present)
  • Dane Sonnier - guitar, vocals (1991–1995, 2013, 2016–present)

Timeline

Discography

Music videos

Music videos were produced for the following songs:[2]

  • "Evil Twin"
  • "Fear Not"
  • "Feel the Rage"
  • "I'm Not Amused"
  • "If I Were a Killer"
  • "Nothing to Say"
  • "Internal Masquerade"
  • "Zombies"

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Powell, Mark Allan (2002). "Galactic Cowboys". Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 353–354. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.
  2. ^ a b c d "Galactic Cowboys FAQ item No. 23". Archived from the original on February 5, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Breez, Bay (January 2008). "Monty Colvin (interview)". Music Mayhem. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  4. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (April 20, 1996). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Rowland, Hobart. "The Resurrection of Sam Taylor". Houston Press. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Hart, Frank (July–August 2000). "Galactic Cowboys: The last Ride?". HM Magazine (84): 42. ISSN 1066-6923. Archived from the original on September 18, 2000. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
  7. ^ van Pelt, Doug. "Airheads (review)". HM. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  8. ^ "Blabbermouth.net:GALACTIC COWBOYS To Reunite For Three Texas Performances". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "GALACTIC COWBOYS To Reunite For One-Off Hometown Concert". Roadrunnerrecords.com. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  10. ^ Colvin, Monty (2016). Monty's Rockcast #176.
  11. ^ "Galactic Cowboys - Artists - Mascot Label Group - Provogue - Mascot Records - Music Theories Recordings - Cool Green Recordings". Mascotlabelgroup.com. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  12. ^ Callaway, Chris (November 1, 2007). "Mini Reviews". Westworld (Denver). Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  13. ^ Monty's Rockcast episode 243
  14. ^ Olson, Chad (2003). "Crunchy - Monty Colvin interview". HM. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  15. ^ "Peace and The Chaos". Chrissmithauthor.com. May 16, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "Peace and the Chaos "Live from the Astroturf" @ Good Records, Dallas [1 December]". Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "Sonnier Brothers Band: Dane Sonnier biography". Archived from the original on January 28, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  18. ^ Anthony Mariani (May 11, 2000). "In Good Company - Page 1 - Music - Houston". Houston Press. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  19. ^ "dUg Pinnick/Texas Poundation". NAMM.org. Retrieved January 3, 2019.

Further reading

External links

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