Rock & Crowe - (from 'The Gold Coast Bulletin' December 31st 1998)


In spite of his ever growing popularity as an actor, Russell Crowe prefers to take a back seat when it comes to his band, Thirty Odd Foot Of Grunts. But he admits, albeit begrudgingly, it was inevitable his name would be used to promote the outfit, which pulls into the Gold Coast this week. His reason for such reluctance is simple.

"It's virtually impossible for the band to be listened to objectively," he says.
"There seems to be a political level to it when I'm associated with it because of what I do for a day job." "I don't begrudge people their cynicism when you know what's happened to popular music in the last few years; of course people will be a bit dodgy about things."

Crowe's 'day job' is his successful movie career which spans 19 films, with another three in the pipeline, and two AFI awards. Crowe and fellow guitarist Dean Cochran formed Thirty Odd Foot Of Grunts in 1994, producing a unique blend of folk/rock music which encompasses the raw songwriting talents of both men. Their latest album, Gaslight, offers 11 tracks (plus three unlisted bonus tracks) featuring a variety of sounds from the gritty opening number Circus to the Bowie-esque She's Not Impressed. There's the bluesy What You Want Me To Forget, and The Legend Of Barry Kable, which tells the story of a man forced to live on the streets of Sydney. Even rap gets a workout with the funky Nowhere.