Alien Cowboys - freaky name you might think. Instrumental Rock - we had that before you might think, go tell it to someone else. That's the moment someone should take you hostage for a few minutes and force you to listen to their new album 'Lift' - just the first few tracks. Once you are free again you will order their album(s) and be happy ever after. It's amazing, from time to time (Bay Area) bands come along and although they do what many did before them they are able to give it a new twist. Alien Cowboys, that's four guys from San Francisco, do just that. The band was founded in 1997 and with four albums under their wings they prove that instrumental rock can be fun again. So far this only seems to be noticed by the band's small (but growing) fan base and several positive reviews in guitar player magazines. These magazines especially praise Alien Cowboys' lead guitarist Perucci who really plays a mean guitar. This observation - by the way - also proves once again that the Bay Area must be a special place because it generates/inspires so many great guitarists. Magazines compare Perucci to several know guitar players but that's bla bla for insiders. Best idea is to follow the link at the bottom of this page to the Alien Cowboys' official website and listen to some of the tracks - that's just as good as dropping names people hardly remember. But it's not only Perucci who makes the music so special. Alien Cowboys' music involves all four guys. Greg Jones on bass, Ian Thomson on drums and Bruce Stevenson on rhythm guitar, all of them add their talent to create those magical moments - instumental rock with a raw power that hits you like a truck or an alien spaceship if you will and in the next moment rhythmic patterns let you mind cruise somewhere above the sky. No dope needed to do that, just a CD. What all this has to do with aliens and cowboys? The answer to that lies somewhere in the music - try to figure it out yourself :) A good way to start to listen to Alien Cowboys' music is their 2003 album "Lift". Although this album includes four covers - "Telestar", "Hey, Bulldog" (Beatles), "Spanish Castle Magic" (Hendrix) and "Bondage" - all of them get the bands 'big guitar treatment'. Most of the tracks are written by the band though and none of their original tracks sounds like a filler, thus the covers are a nice addition. Another fine addition to the limited edition of this album is a DVD which includes an outstanding animated video for "Escape From Onlyon". "Lift" really helped to create some buzz for the Alien Cowboys and they managed to sign several music publishing agreements worldwide.

Ralph Perucci Greg Jones Ian Thomson Bruce Stevenson

Alien Cowboys Ian, Ralph, Hugh and Bruce

"Zero Gravity" was released at the end of 2005 and is another cornerstone in the Alien Cowboys' development. Not only does the album feature several guest musicians, the Alien Cowboys play better than ever. Although all the tracks are instrumentals again you never miss lyrics and it never gets boring. There is quite an uplifting spirit to this album and tracks like "King Of Kingston" just make you feel good. The Alien Cowboys even created a refreshing Beatles medley even though we have heard these songs so many times before. No wonder that the Alien Cowboys manage to get international recognition for their music. After five rock instrumental albums the Alien Cowboys decided to release their first album that features lyrics. Subsequently their latest release in 2008 is entitled "WORdS". There are still all those huge guitar riffs and in case there are thoughts that lyrics might destroy an Alien Cowboys album ... well, this didn't happen. Actually one wonders why they haven't done that before as the Alien Cowboys sound better than ever. By the way, Ralph and Bruce are sharing the vocals with new band member Hugh Mason who is replacing Greg Jones on bass. Right now the album "WORdS" is only available as digital download from several sources on the internet. Please follow the link at the bottom of this page and support this outstanding band.

Discography