Sacred Cowboys
| Sacred Cowboys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, post-punk |
| Years active | 1982–1985, 1987–1991, 1994–1997, 2006–2008 |
| Labels | White, Mushroom, New Rose, Festival, Man Made, Citadel, Siren, Greasy Pole, Shock, Bang! |
| Associated acts | JAB, Models, The Slaughtermen, Beasts of Bourbon |
| Website | sacredcowboys |
| Past members | Terry Doolan Janis Friedenfelds (aka Johnny Crash) Mark Ferrie Ian Forrest Garry Gray Andrew Picouleau Chris Whelan Nick Rischbieth Stephan Fidock Ash Wednesday Penny Ikinger Spencer P. Jones |
Sacred Cowboys are an Australian post-punk and rock band formed by mainstay Garry Gray, as lead singer-songwriter, in 1982. The line-up has changed as the group splintered and reformed several times, being active from 1982 to 1985, 1987 to 1991, 1994 to 1997 and 2006 to 2008. The August 2006 line-up was Gray with Stephan Fidock on drums; Penny Ikinger on guitar; Spencer P. Jones on guitar; Nick Rischbieth on bass guitar; and Ash Wednesday on keyboards. Past members include: Johnny Crash (aka Janis Friedenfelds) on drums and Mark Ferrie on bass guitar, who were both ex-Models; Terry Doolan on guitar; Andrew Picouleau on bass guitar; and Ian Forrest on keyboards.
The group have issued six albums: Sacred Cowboys (1984), We Love You ... Of Course We Do (1985), Trouble from Providence (August 1988), Things to Come (July 1996), Cold Harvest (January 2007) and 1982–85: Nailed to the Cross (February 2008). Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described them as "one of the most confrontational live outfits" with their music as "mixed post-punk moodiness and country raunch over a mutant swamp-blues backbeat".
Sacred Cowboys formed in early 1982 in Melbourne with Terry Doolan on guitar (ex-Fizztops), Janis Friedenfelds (aka Johnny Crash) on drums, Mark Ferrie on guitar (both ex-Models), Ian Forrest on keyboards (ex-True Wheels), Garry Gray on lead vocals (ex-The Reals, The Negatives) and Andrew Picouleau on bass guitar (ex-Metronomes, Popgun Men, X-Ray-Z). Gray and Ferrie based the name from watching "The Groovy Guru", an episode of the United States TV comedy series, Get Smart. In it, the Groovy Guru and his rock band, the Sacred Cows, use psychedelic music to control the minds of young people. (The same episode was the inspiration for a Hoodoo Gurus song, "In the Echo Chamber", while Painters and Dockers covered Groovy Guru's track, "Kill Kill Kill"). Initially the group were a covers band playing The Doors, Alex Chilton, The Velvet Underground, The Stranglers, Suicide and Bob Dylan. They built a reputation as "one of the most confrontational live outfits" in the local scene.
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