Bio

Hillbilly yuckster by day, Saturday-morning-cartoon hero by night, Cowboy Dave and his band of honky-tonk all-stars are poised to put the western back in country and western. Known to many as the deadpanned FortyTwenty frontman and fiddle player, Cowboy Dave Wilson has spent the better part of this decade honing his craft throughout the honky-tonks of the Midwest and South.

The debut Cowboy Dave recording, a six-song EP, was released on Slackjaw Records in May. With the help and guidance of Emmy-nominated producer Greg Kincheloe, the album features an array of gritty, country-flavored cowbilly songs penned by Wilson.

The group brings a plethora of experience to its high-energy live show, drawing on influences ranging from the Bakersfield sound to straight-up Western Swing. In its short existence, the Cowboy Dave Band has been touring regionally, sharing the stage with such acts as David Allan Coe, Junior Brown and Split Lip Rayfield. The veteran lineup includes Guitar George Laughery on guitar and Hawaiian steel, Troy Johnson on the doghouse bass, Vince Krysl / Shane Mason on drums, Sam Packard on fiddle, and Cowboy Dave on acoustic guitar and fiddle. In addition to Wilson’s original songs, the Cowboy Dave Band rounds out its shows with classic cowboy material primarily from the 1950s and ’60s.

Guest musicians on the album include Col. J.D. Wilkes (of the Legendary Shack*Shakers), who plays the villian in the Cowboy Dave Theme Song, Steve “Fuzzy” Blazek (pedal and lap steel), Charlie Johnson (upright bass), Tony Robertson (electric guitar), Tony Hillhouse (drums), Kincheloe (banjo), Shaun Sparks (harmony and co-writer on Baptist Church Blues) and Lern T. (harmony on Friend In A Bottle and Drug Around).

The EP is being supported by a healthy string of tour dates, so look for the Cowboy Dave Band in a honky-tonk near you. And when there is trouble, rest assured, Cowboy Dave will be there.