Brisbane's cowboy band The Silver Spurs, who blend sounds of indie-rock and funk, have launched into the local music scene in recent months. We had a chat to the cowboys themselves about all things Brisbane!
You formed in early 2022 at a dining table in an old Queenslander, tell us about that moment
"Couple beers sitting round the table, both us and a number of our close cowguys and cowgirls. Obviously we are the ones that play the instruments, but we were all talking about the idea of creating the band. It was almost like a realisation, we'd look at each other and question "wait what instrument do you play", "wait what do you do?". Initially it was just for a bit of fun, but we got hooked onto the idea of making this band a real thing."
You have a blend of genres in your music, who are you influenced by most, as individuals and as a band?
"As individuals we draw from a lot of genres, Curtis tries to influence some indie and funk into the songs. We are probably most influenced by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, songs like 'Eyes like the Sky' and 'Sam Cherry's Last Shot' and other songs that are real theme/story heavy. The showmanship and theatrics of Orville Peck shows inspires a lot of the thematics for our live performances and his 'cowboy style'. Talking Heads for their voiceovers and overall sound. Our music blends genres because we're aiming to match our unique style of music to our ideal band image, new-age cowboys."
The question that divides the city… Northside or Southside, and why?
"Southside…. No brainer. As Cowboys we're obviously from the deep south."
You played Black Bear Lodge on April 22nd in support of your latest track ‘The Silver Spurs’. Is Black Bear Lodge one of your favourite local venues? "This will be our second time playing to Black Bear Lodge with Mt Nadir & Big Dinner coming along for the ride! This is our return after our first show ever where we headlined with Bonsai Bay & The Avenews last August. Black Bear just feels like the ideal place for a gig, with a good stage space, audience area, lighting and ambience, it makes for a great show."
Speaking of locals, who are some of your favourite local bands at the moment? Billy - "Red Hill Band" Ryan - "Bonsai Bay" Lachlan - "The Baby Breaks" Curtis - "Platonic Sex"
You have a night off to go and see live music in Brisbane. Which music venue are you going to first? "Well there's so many, you can always cop a good show at The Bearded Lady, even Black Bear Lodge there are always killer acts on the stage on any night of the week. For quieter nights Can You Keep A Secret and It's Still A Secret always have vibey gigs on too."
Time to give some local businesses some love. What are your go-to restaurants or bars in Brisbane?
"The Burrow! We love the vibe and the people who work there, always making a great night out."
Do you have a favourite cafe? "Blue Poppy in Morningside, Epilo in Woolloongabba."
If you could create a tour with yourself and two other Brisbane based artists/bands, who would they be and why? "SAIK would be awesome, we’ve been lucky enough to have them support us at our first single launch and the juxtaposition of our styles made such a cool show. Bean Magazine, their stage presence and music catalog would also make for an awesome lineup. Outside of Brisbane, the ideal act for us would be King Gizz / Orville Peck."
From photographers to visual artists, videographers or booking agents, do you have any Brisbane creatives that you’d like to give a shout out to?
"First off our killer manager Jade Schroeter for all of her help with the back end of the band, whether it be organising our distribution, gigs, social media content or taking photos.
Lara and Maeve for our fantastic single artworks, Lara painted our first single cover of the cowboy lost in a sea of his own thoughts, and Maeve created a lino-print of the signature balaclava horse whose identity still remains anonymous.
Taylor Scott for taking our first gig photos at Black Bear and Bearded Lady, Gabi Rankine for our gig at Black Bear, and Peter Carroll for his wonderful photography.
Of course you wonderful people at Starving Kids, Artful Heads Magazine creator Hamish Wilson, and GYROstream for the mega support."
The Silver Spurs self titled single is out now!
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