No Hiding Crowe's Feat -

(from 'The Sunday Telegraph' Sydney, Australia December 6th, 1998) by Angela Saurine

In the space of a week, Russell Crowe and his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, will perform at the Ballina RSL and Johnny Depp's infamous Viper Room in L.A. Despite the incredible contrast in culture, the actor/singer/guitarist insists the two gigs won't be much different.

"Rock 'n' roll clubs are similar all over the world," he says. "The Viper Room is the same as most Aussie clubs - it's just smaller."

Crowe formed 30 Odd Foot of Grunts 14 years ago, and would been just as
happy for the band to remain anonymous. But his fame as Russell Crowe 'Äúthe
actor" meant people were constantly pointing the finger at him to push the
band. Finally, he gave in. But his passion for music will always remain his
driving force.

"There's absolutely no credibility crossing these boundaries and I get sniped at all the time" Crowe says. '"I don't do it because I enjoy punishing myself; I do it because I care about music." '"I'd never prostitute one creative outlet to drag the other one in front of people." '"I was doing music a long time before I got into acting - it's just our albums were always rocketing straight to the bottom of the charts! "

The band's latest album, Gaslight, is basically about storytelling - a factor Crowe considers a crucial part of music.

"I like anything that can get you on an emotional level. I really like lyricists, people that can use words cleverly," he says.

Much of the material for the bands songs comes from the members' varied backgrounds. Guitarist and co-founder Dean Cochran has worked for the Sydney City Mission for several years.

"He spends a lot of time pulling druggos off the streets. One of our songs, The Legend of Barry Kable, is all about that," Crowe says. "The information I gather between jobs helps with my acting and fuels my songwriting". "We've all got day jobs, and do lots of different things. It's an indescribable, indefinable thing that happens when we're together". "We play such a variety of styles on any given night at a pub - and I don't mean variety like going shopping at Big W - it's reflective of our personalities and our broad taste in music."

Although one of the band's songs was used in the movie Virtuosity, in which he starred, Crowe says he has no plans to combine his music and his acting careers.

"I've been asked a number of times to do a music bio," he says. "But they're two totally separate things for me."