Ben Huggins is best known as the lead singer of
Galactic Cowboys. I had the
pleasure of meeting Ben when he first started
touring with Galactic Cowboys. Ben is a
really cool guy. I
recently had the pleasure of interviewing him.
1.How did you come up with the name of
your band?
We played a couple times around Houston
before we became GC. The first time we called ourselves Hall
of Souls. It just didn't fit our attitude or our sense of
humor. The second time I think we played as the Houston Astros.
Between the four of us and Sam Taylor, we made a list. When we
looked down the list Galactic Cowboys stood out. We took a
vote and it became our name. The rumor is, it had been a
Dallas biker gang in the 60s. I have never looked into it to
find out if there was any truth to that. I suppose I could try
to Google it....
2.Who are some of your favorite
musicians?
I grew up in the 70's. My first introduction
to real rock was on Texas FM radio. Back in the 70's it was
unformatted. So, the DJs could play whatever they wanted, they
had no one to tell them what to play. It was merely based on
the popularity of the DJ. If the DJ got a good response they
let him do what he wanted for the most part. So, I pretty much
was an all around rock fan: Led Zeppelin, the Who, ZZ Top,
UFO, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, Frank Zappa, Thin Lizzy,
Queen, Van Halen and Kansas.... I was also a huge fan of Elton
John (I know, hard to believe, eh?) and Cat Stevens!
It wasn't till the late 80s when I met Monty Colvin that I was
introduced to thrash. The aggressiveness grew on me pretty
quickly. Before I knew it I was listening to Anthrax,
Metallica & Pantera.
But, I'm a very melodic sort of guy. When it comes to music I
really like songs I can sing along with. Anything that engages
me melodically. So, I tend to lean toward the Beatles and Tom
Petty when it comes to song structure.
3. What's your guilty musical
pleasure?
I really really like that stupid Taylor
Swift song! Yes, I want to kick my own butt, because I thought
I'd never ever ever like her!
4. Who did you idolize as a child?
That's a tough one. I carried an article
about the death of Boris Karloff in my wallet for years after
his death. He was one of my all time faves. Steve Martin was
the first person that made me believe there was hope for a
goofy weirdo like myself. So he's right up there. Billy
Gibbons was also a huge influence. But, the first time I heard
the early U2 records and Bono's passionate voice, I wanted to
be able to do the same thing. That wasn't really early in my
life. I didn't hear my first U2 record till 84, I think. I was
already married with kids. I know this is all coming as a
shock. I'm supposed to answer, Bruce Dickinson, right? I never
even heard Iron Maiden till I was in my 30's.
5. Stranded on a deserted island, what
3 cds would you have with you?
That's a tough one. I always go back to my
first few records. And when I say "records", I mean LPs. But,
I'd have to say: ZZ Top's first album, U2's October & the
Beatles, Sergeant Pepper's if given a 4th I'd add Frank
Zappa's Apostrophe.
6. The difference between today's
music and the music of the 80's?
I don't know. It's all just people with some
level of talent trying to get their music out in the world for
people to hear it. I would hope that they all have the
patience to wait around for a break. Well, at least if they
are making good music. Let the bad stuff fall away into
oblivion for all I care.
7. Favorite place to perform?
I always enjoyed playing the Houses of
Blueses. Wherever we played those venues they always treated
you right.
8. What makes a good song?
A memorable hook that doesn't become an ear
worm. Something that gets the listener emotionally involved in
the song.
9. What are your hobbies?
I work all the time now. I have no time for
hobbies.
10. Favorite food to eat on the road?
I always enjoyed a good slice when in NYC,
crabs in Baltimore, seafood in Boston & Mexican (texmex) in
Houston..
11. The first concert you ever went
to?
Van Halen at the reunion arena, Dallas
Texas, 1980
12. Who's the best person you've met
on the road?
The best? By that do you mean the most
famous? Because the fans were always the best. I met Chris
Cornell twice and he gave me the cold shoulder twice and
condescended to me twice. He is also very tall. I met Robbie
Robertson of The Band. He was a wealth of stories & seemed to
be a nice guy. Mike Portnoy is probably one of the coolest
guys in the business. And of course, it was always great to
tour with our friends from King's X. We also got to sing the
national anthem at an Orlando magic game. We got to meet Larry
Bird, Doctor J, Bo Outlaw & others.
13. If you could meet anyone, living
or dead, who would you want to meet and why?
I'd like to meet the Cohen Brothers. They
make some of the greatest movies I've ever seen. There are a
lot of people I'm afraid of meeting because I don't want them
to fall short of my expectations. It's better to think highly
of someone than to meet them and be let down.
14.Any current projects?
The last musical project I did was
Gristle. It can be found on iTunes or Amazon. It was a project
I did with Dane's brother, Len. He used to play in the Sonnier
Brother's Band and with a band called Atomic Opera who used to
be another Wilde Silas band. My son, Shane, also played bass
on the recording.
Currently I am not involved in anything musically.
