DEADWOOD BLOG

It's time to put your dancin' boots on, boys!

This Saturday night, November 5th, the bands Sacred Cowboys and King Straggler are playing in what they affectionately call "The Deadwood Quilting Bee" at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood.

Take a double shot of Hank Williams and a double shot of AC DC, shake it up, serve it over the rocks, and drink it from a mason jar – therein lies the musical recipe for Sacred Cowboys.

Country, Bluegrass, Gospel, Blues -- the origin or influence of a tune doesn’t matter to the Cowboys, as long it is played with heart, passion, and usually with loud guitars. Sometimes a song calls for pedal steel, piano, mandolin, banjo, autoharp, or fiddle. If that is the case, Sacred Cowboys are not reigned in by genre limitations. They use whatever is necessary to reach the heart of a song, be it one of their own or one of their carefully selected cover tunes.

The first seed of the band was planted in 2001 when Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker, Peter Spirer hired actor W. Earl Brown for a role in his first dramatic feature. What began as trading songs and guitar licks on a Florida film set, graduated to jam sessions at their respective homes in Los Angeles, and evolved into a four piece version of the Cowboys that included Jeff Robertson and Stephen Quadros.

In 2005, Mike Johnstone booked an acting gig on HBO’s Deadwood television series where he met Earl who plays “Dan Dority” on the show. When Earl realized Mike has played with everyone from Duane Allman to Charley Pride to the Riders of the Purple Sage, Mike was invited to play with Sacred Cowboys at an upcoming House of Blues show.

Drummer Quadros recruited his former Snow band-mate, Tony Cavazo, to round out the rhythm section, allowing multi-instrumentalist Robertson to move to guitar and any variety of other instruments. About the same time, Ralph Stevens, at the urging of Earl, developed an appreciation for loud guitars and decided to throw his keyboard in the car, and mosey over to the House of Blues.

The gig was an astounding success with the wallop of heavy rock and roll, the moan of delta blues, and the heartbreak of hard country.

(From Sacred Cowboys Website / Photography by Carrie Brown)

King Straggler is Rodney Eastman, Brentley Gore, and John Hawkes. Eastman and Hawkes met playing brothers on an independent film. Eastman and Gore had begun to write songs together. In the spring of 2003, in Los Angeles, they formed King Straggler.

From the outset the group has derived their unique sound by taking equal share in singing and songwriting duties, becoming three frontman with contrasting styles that dovetail into rich musical textures and colorful vocal blends. Their songs range from the hopeful to the haunted, from tattered folk to noisy rock to tear-it-up country and beyond. Music for dirty saints and wide-eyed wanderers.

After adding a rhythm section (Douglas Grean: bass and Danny Thompson: drums) they gained a loyal following playing at venues such as the Knitting Factory, Hotel Cafe, and Spaceland -- culminating in a standing-room-only residency at Highland Grounds in Los Angeles. Championed by Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), they recorded a full-length CD at his headquarters, Lavish Studios, with Grean engineering and co-producing. Most recently, the group recorded songs with Ima Robot guitarist (and independent producer) Timmy Anderson.

King Straggler has had songs featured in several films. Among them is the closing credits theme for "The Moguls", starring Jeff Bridges, due for release later this year. King Straggler's self-titled debut was released in February 2005. It continues to impress and has received steady play on L.A.'s Indie 103.1fm.

(From King Straggler Website)

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