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| Galactic Cowboys |
Recently Monty was able to stop by the Glacially Musical Orbiting Space Station, 2nd Moon of Jupiter, Hallway On The Left Hand Side of the Lunchroom on the second leg of his round trip on the way back home from the moon.
If you think a layover in Atlanta is bad...try one on Io.
GM: Talk me through how you guys decided to get it back together.
Monty: I actually got a call from my friend, Bill Evans, and he told me there might be a label interested in signing us.
I'd worked with Bill in the past on some solo stuff, and so I knew he had some connections, and I told him I thought it sounded interesting.
Bill got me in touch with Mascot Records and I talked to the guys in GC about doing another album, and we eventually ended up doing a deal with Mascot.
As a band, we had talked for years about recording again with the original line-up, and this seemed like a great opportunity to do just that.
GM: Now that the band is back together, are you going to be taking the show on the road?
Monty: I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but we definitely would like to play some shows.
I doubt if we will be doing any long tours like we did in the past, but we'd love to play this new stuff live.
GM: What have you been doing in your time apart?
Monty: Well, I did 3 solo albums under the name Crunchy.
I've also been doing a podcast for the last 9 years called Monty's Rockcast. I also sell paintings...and I have a family that keeps me busy.
The other guys have also had various projects and played with other bands. We've all stayed musically active.
GM: Big cheers for coming back with a new album. Was it hard to write it or did it just go like it always did?
Monty: We actually had a lot of stuff to pick from. I had a bunch of songs I had written during our time apart, and about 8 years ago Ben and I were email-writing together.
I'd send him some music and he'd record some vocal ideas on it and then email it back to me. We also had some older songs from when the band got together back in the late 80's, and we also had brand new songs we worked up for this CD.
So, well had a nice pool of material before we ever started recording.
GM: What's your favorite tune off the new record?
Monty: I'm partial to the title track, Long Way Back To The Moon. It's kind of a personal reflection on the last 17 or 18 years.
When we decided to break up after our last album for Metal Blade, I think we were all burned out. We'd struggled for 10 years as a band and I just felt like I had nothing left in the tank for GC.
But as time when on, I think I realized we had a lot of chemistry as a band that was really special. And when we got a chance to do it again, I knew it was time to get back to what we used to do....which was make Galactic Cowboys music.
GM: Speaking of the new disc, how do you compare it to your previous efforts?
Monty: I think it ranks up there with our best. We didn't try to recreate the past, but I think we re-found some of the original vision that we had in the beginning.
I think this CD has some great tunes on it, and so far the response from our fans has be amazing. It's just got a great blend of heaviness and melody, and it's very consistent.
GM: When you're not playing music, what do you do to while way the hours?
Monty: Well, like I said, I do podcasts...I do my art, and make paintings, and I love photographing my beautiful wife.
I spend probably way too much time on social media. and I'm also writing a book. So, I'm basically never bored.
GM: What are the five most important albums of all time?
Monty: Hmm...well, TO ME....one of them would be Metallica, Master Of Puppets. Pretty much changed the way I thought about Metal, and music in general.
Frampton Comes Alive is one of the big reasons why I decided to buy a guitar. Hard Days Night by the Beatles gave me an early lesson on how to write melodies.
Live And Dangerous by Thin Lizzy gave me lessons on how to rock. And Earth Vs. The Wildhearts by The Wildhearts is still one of my favorite albums ever.
They took everything I just listed and put it into one blender....kind of like Galactic Cowboys do!
GM: What else do we need to know about Galactic Cowboys?
Monty: We are the most underrated band in the history of mankind!! We're so underrated, we're overrated!
There's never been anything like us, and if you don't agree, we will crush your skull! We also have a pretty good sense of humor, and try not to take ourselves too seriously.
After all...It's only rock-n-roll.
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