Monty Colvin was the bass player in the band Galactic Cowboy's . They were a little ahead of the game .. musically if you ask me, they had tons of vocals going on, and had a little funk, rock, pop, hard rock, and some acoustic guitar on top of it all... Monty has gone on to front his own band, and basically does everything on the cd's... he's still kickin out some great music, so make sure you check them out...

Check out the talent of Monty Colvin..

Interview by Bay Breez

 Who influenced you to pick up the guitar / bass and want to venture into this crazy world of rock n roll music?
 It was too things...or 2 people. When I saw Peter Frampton holding that black Les Paul on the cover of Frampton Comes Alive, I knew I had to learn how to play. It was around that same time I saw some friends of mine playing in the high school auditorium. When I saw them actually playing rock n roll, I knew it could be done..and I knew I had to do this!
 
 
Which did you start playing first, guitar or bass and which do you prefer to play more?
 I started on an old piece of crap guitar and I thought I would never learn how to play. I stayed in my bedroom for a few years and when I finally came out I was playing along with all my albums and writing songs. I switched over to bass later when I got the chance to play with an artist who was on tour. I became known as a bass player, but I've always loved writing on guitar.
 
 
Tell us a little of what early days of Monty's musical struggles were like.......Tell us about your time in Awful Truth?
 I went through cover bands...Christian bands.. playing in all kinds of bars and churches...traveling around in vans and sleeping on people's living room floors. The Awful Truth was fun at times, but mainly just a good learning experience. We played almost every week somewhere in Houston. We played for our manager and our wives some nights, because they were the only people in the club. I'd leave my house in the morning...go rent a van...haul my cabinets up a flight of stairs... set up...play..and get home at 6am the next day. And we never got paid for any of those gigs. We did it for the love...and for the hope we would get signed someday. It was weird, but after all that..we didn't get signed until we broke up. Metal Blade actually took our demos and put out the Awful Truth cd when I was in the studio making the first GC album.
 
 How'd the Galactic Cowboys form and what were some of the things you guys did to help you get signed.
 I started GC after leaving Awful Truth. Just a few months after we got together we got an opening slot with King's X. We did that tour in a station wagon, and by the end of the tour we had some label interest. Our manager set up a showcase after we got home, and Geffen offered us a huge deal based on a demo we had done.
 
 
What was it like once you got signed to Geffen records, especially since at the time, Geffen was at it's peak, being the home of Guns n Roses.
 Well...it was great and exciting at first. They told us we were going to be the next huge band in the world. They had big plans, but nothing ever really happened. They waited a year before they put our cd out, but never really promoted it the way they said they would.
 
 
How do you feel Geffen treated the band? Do you think they put enough time & effort into the band?
 I'm not sure they knew what to do with us. We were a hard sell to radio. Our songs were long and went in all kinds of directions. We always got put on the back burner for Guns and Roses, and we never got the push we needed. They spent 90 grand on our first video, but it only got limited play on MTV. In the meantime, they signed Nirvana and when Teen Spirit came out, they had no time for us at all.
 

 
 

Did you think once the band was signed, that we've made it, and you would be a huge rock star with a ton of cash & the movie star girlfriends?
 It was kind of "dream-like" at first. It had always been my goal to get signed and make a record. I didn't really know if we'd get rich or not, but everyone was saying we would. As it turned out, most of the money went to recording, touring, managers, lawyers, accountants, equipment, etc. We got enough to pay our rent and we pretty much broke after a few months of signing the deal.
 
 
The Galactic Cowboys did 2 albums with Geffen, then you ended up with Metal Blade Records, what happened here during this transition between record labels?
 We had just gotten off tour with Dream Theater promoting our 2nd Geffen cd, and we found out Geffen had dropped us. I went home and started writing and just stayed focused on getting resigned. We did new demos, but we didn't have a lot of interest from labels. Guys in the band started losing faith in what we were doing and things started falling apart. We basically broke up for awhile, but  Brian from Metal Blade called me one day and said he'd like to sign us.
 
 
How was your time with Metal Blade records?
 It was really good for the most part.  I was just happy to be making records again, and they put us on tour and really liked what we did musically. We didn't have as much financially backing, but Brian kept us alive for along time...and I will always be grateful to him for that.
 
 
Out of all of the albums, Galactic Cowboys recorded, which are you most proud of, and what song or songs are your favorites.
That's a hard question.. because there are things on all of them that I like..and don't like. I'm still proud of Space In Your Face. I thought it sounded really good and had some great stuff on it. I'm also really proud of the stuff I wrote for At The End Of The Day. My favorite songs are still Stress and T.I.M. I still play those live with my new band, Crunchy.
 
 
 

Any crazy memories or stories while recording any of the Galactic Cowboys albums?
 Things were usually stressful in the studio on the first 2 albums. We sometimes broke the tension by playing wiffle ball in the main recording area.. or football out in the parking lot. We joked around a lot. There was something special about the comedic chemistry we had.
 

 
Touring, did the band tour a lot through the years, and what bands did you share the stage with?
We never did one of those "gone for 2 years" kind of tours, but we did do a lot of really good tours with King's X. It seemed like a good fit, and we were always going out with them and even sharing the same bus. We toured in Europe with Anthrax and that was awesome. We also did some bad tours. We opened for Overkill for about 2 months. We got booed..thrown at..and flipped off every night. However, Dream Theater was a great tour and probably the most fun we ever had.
 
 
Any good road stories you can share with us?
 My favorite day on tour was when we played Paris, France. I woke up on a tour bus in the middle of Paris, and the first thing I heard was our drummer, Alan saying, "Man! This SUCKS!" Yes...he was serious, but you'd have to know Alan back then. We went to all the sites that day, and then that night played for a packed house that was ROCKIN'! I saw the Mona Lisa and opened for Anthrax all in the same day, and it didn't suck!
 
 
 Who were your favorite bands & least favorite bands to tour with?
 Oh..I guess I already answered that...but, King's X and Dream Theater were both great to us. They are still friends to this day. The Overkill guys didn't care for us much. I don't think they thought we were "metal" enough. I'm sure we weren't. We should have never been on that tour in the first place.
 
 
What was the reason for the breakup of Galactic Cowboys?
 After 10 years, I just thought it was time to let it go. We struggled to keep it going for a long time, but we just never could get over the hump. We kept getting less and less support from the labels and from fans. One of the last shows we played in our home town of Houston, there was nobody there. I just felt like I was beating a dead horse. My wife and I moved to Kansas City and I decided to just do some solo stuff.
 
 
After The Galactic Cowboys, you went on to form your solo project "Crunchy", how'd that come about, and how did you come up with the name, were you eating a bowl of cereal?
 I was actually writing for my solo career while I was still in GC. All the songs I wrote for our last GC cd were intended to be my first solo album, but I ended up giving them to GC. I picked the name Crunchy, because the label I signed with wanted me to have a band name. I thought it had a certain humor to it..and it's easy to remember. It also reminds me of the sound a guitar makes. But yeah...when you have a name like Crunchy, you have to put up with a certain amount of smart-ass comments.
 
 
I thought I had read on your website, or myspace page, that you don't actually have an official lineup, that you gather musicians for your Crunchy shows, why is that.......why not put together a steady lineup?
 I pretty much do have a steady line-up at the moment. I love the guys in my band, but I record my cd's by myself.
 
 
You have just released the 3rd Crunchy cd earlier this year, and recorded all guitars, basses & vocals.....did you do that for all 3 releases?
 I tried to make the first cd, All Day Sucker, kind of a "band" cd. I thought it would be cool, but it turned into a nightmare. It was always intended to be a "solo" project, but it really got tainted. After that, I just decided I would do everything myself. I've hired drummers, and people like Kerry Livgren from Kansas have made guest appearances, but for the most part it's all me. I have my own home studio, so it's easy to write the songs and then just lay all the parts down.
 
 
 What are your upcoming plans for yourself & Crunchy?
 I'm making some music videos for Crunchy so people can see what it looks like live. I don't plan on touring that much, and I don't think people have an idea of who you are until they see you live. Hopefully I'll keep pumping out the music for years to come. I love the stuff I play and I hope more people will find out about it.
 
 
It seems not only are you talented musically, but you are also an artist, with a lot of your artwork displayed on your websites. How long have you been painting for? And why is it, that it seems more & more musicians have been picking up the paintbrush lately?
 I've painted my whole life. I started when I was really young for some reason. I'm not sure why. My parents weren't artists, but I bought a set of paints when I was just a kid. I went to college and got a degree in painting and drawing and I still do it. I just got through doing a couple cd covers and I also do a lot of commission paintings for people.
 
 
What are the 3 highest points of your musical career?
Hmmm...I guess getting signed to Geffen would be the first one. That was a dream come true.
#2 would probably be the time I was on Headbanger's Ball on MTV. I watched that show every week for years, and suddenly I was sitting on the set talking to the host.
#3 was meeting Kerry Livgren and singing on one of his songs. He was my hero when I was just getting into music. I had even done a painting of him when I was about 18 years old. To actually find out that he liked what I did was a great thrill. To top things off, he played a guitar solo on my new cd. Total dream come true!
 
 
What are the 3 lowest Points?
Wow...there have been SO many it's hard to pick just 3. I guess getting dropped by Geffen would be right up there. We had such high hopes. Another thing was when the label I signed a solo deal with went bankrupt. It killed my first Crunchy cd, and left me financially devastated. I had poured so much of my own money into that project and the label never paid me. The 3rd thing also had to do with my first Crunchy cd. A guy who I thought was my friend ended up suing me. That kind of thing is worse than losing a record deal. That's the kind of stuff that hurts a person to the core.
 
 
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
 Ahh...how the hell should I know? I'll be somewhere getting some stuff done. I've always worked hard at whatever I do. I'll probably still be writing and recording and rocking out on some stage. But who knows.
 
 
Looking back on your almost 20 years of musical career, what are some things, you wish you did differently?
 Oh...just about everything! I wish I had written the stuff I'm writing NOW back when I was with Geffen...cause we would have probably been huge. I also wouldn't have signed several of the deals I did. GC got screwed over so bad from some of those contracts. There are also several people I wish I would have never met.
 
 
Lastly with a lot of the music scene recently mourning the sudden passing of Quiet Riot frontman Kevin Dubrow, did you know Kevin and can you share your feelings or memories?
 I never met him. Can't really say I cared much for his music either. But it's always a shame when something like that happens. I didn't really hear what happened to him. All I know about him is what I have heard about him...and that is he was a crazy guy.
 
 
Monty, thanks again for your time, and here your chance to plug what you want.
 Thanks for doing this interview. I appreciate the pub. Anyone who reads this can reach me at www.myspace.com/MontyColvin   My website is www.MontyColvin.com   and you can email me there too. I'm not your typical "rock star" guy. I actually try write people back and I'm pretty nice...unless they are a jerk to me, and then I just ignore them and write to the people who are cool! And oh...thanks for not asking me about a GC reunion! I get asked that all the time and I'm just sick of it!

Galactic Cowboys "I'm Not Amused" video from back in the day.

Crunchy "Freakboy" video.