Americana, country-rock, roots rock 'n' roll

5 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Rockabilly, ROCK: Americana



Details:
The Brooklyn Cowboys unite elements of the best country - rock of the 1960's with todays alt-country and americana sounds. The band is centered around the songs of band members Walter Egan and Fredro Perry. Steeped in influences by Hank Williams and Gram Parsons, The Brooklyn Cowboys made a left turn through Rockpile and The Rolling Stones and wound up here- Doin' Time On Planet Earth. The band creates music that is somehow both familiar and refreshingly new, featuring melodic songs with cutting lyrics and a hard rockin' beat!

The band was born in 1996 when singer, writer and guitarist Walter Egan met writer and drummer Fredro Perry in that hotbed of roots and alt-country known as Brooklyn, New York. Egan (best known for his five solo albums, his mega-smash hit Magnet and Steel, and his song Hearts on Fire, which was recorded by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris), was engaged by Perry to help him record some of his award-winning songs. The sessions went so well that they began rehearsing weekly to prepare material for public performance. When Egan jokingly suggested they call themselves the Flatbush Cowboys Fredro shot back "No, The Brooklyn Cowboys!"

Such is the stuff of which legends are made. Soon the Brooklyn Cowboys were making waves on the country rock circuit throughout the Northeast, with their newest member Buddy Cage, legendary pedal steel player from The New Riders of the Purple Sage. Their rise was short-circuited in the summer of '97 when Egan departed for Nashville, Tennessee. But the sounds were too strong to be kept down!

The Brooklyn Cowboys reformed in Music City with an expanded lineup of all-stars. On bass guitar: Supe Granda of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils; on acoustic rhythm guitar and vocals: Americana sweetheart, Joy Lynn White; on keyboards: session ace,Michael Webb, doing what he's done so well for the likes of Stacey Earle, Allison Moorer, Pinmonkey, and Fugitive Glue. The Cowboys were joined in the studio (incidentally the same one Roy Orbison used to record in) by the consummate fiddle player Vassar Clements; hot picker from Merle Haggard, Redd Volkaert; and the stunning young vocalist from the 5 Bucks, Brian Waldschlager. On top of all this, revered picker and producer Al Perkins (Burrito Bros., Gram Parsons, Manassas, Rolling Stones) manned the board. As if all this firepower wasn't enough, included on their debut disc is the last song of the patron saint of alt-country, Gram Parsons. It is a co-write between Parsons and Egan dating from the days just before Gram's death, and is called Carolina Calypso.

The Cowboy's latest release, an EP called "The Other Man in Black", was inspired by the untimely death of NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt. The 'boys are all fans of fast driving and excellence, and Number 3 was the fastest and the best. To fill out the rest of the CD, some live tracks were included from 2001's Doin' Time Tour, recorded live at Atlanta's Star Bar. For the touring band, Supe Granda was replaced by Jeff 'Stick' Davis of the Grammy winning Amazing Rhythm Aces and Brian Waldschlager was invited to become a permanent member, relacing Joy Lynn White. Both Supe and Joy continue to be closely associated with the band, and both have played a role in susequent studio recordings.