My first knowledge of Galactic Cowboys came from an issue of True Tunes News (way back when it was still a printed product, i.e. pre-webularized). Being short on cash (nothing's changed) I didn't pursue this well-reviewed and highly-praised self-titled album. But some time later at my local library I noticed on the New Books shelf a big, thick, paperback guide-to-the-greatest-new-rock sort of thingie. Hmmm. I wondered whether GC would be there. Nah, couldn't be. I checked anyway. Whoa! There it was! I knew then that I was apparently miserably out of the loop. I phoned a music store of the arcane stripe to have them order it for me. My plan was to sell a couple of discs to the shop and hopefully get the GC disc for a song. When the fellow at the counter handed me my Galactic Cowboys CD, I thought that something was wrong. This wasn't the right one. What's this old man in a spacesuit doing on the cover. Wait a minute ... this is new. Woo-hoo! The guy gave me peanuts for my swaps (no snooty jazz stuff), but he had no idea what he was giving me and only charged me $5! The brand-new GC that I had no idea existed was now mine! It was a deliciously frugal and serendipitous experience. Soon thereafter I got the debut disc and quickly learned to manage my cash so that all following releases were nabbed in an acceptable time after their respective release dates ... ON their release dates!
I've been most of my life a closet headbanger, so I was, of course, drawn to the Cowboys' unique wall o' sound. And having been a Christian for many years I was enraptured with the poetic/magnetic/energetic interweaving of Faith in the music. And as brilliant as these guys appeared to be, they didn't take themselves at all seriously and regularly interjected their subtle and smart humour when one least expected it. All this and you could dance to it (sorta)!
When Alan departed I felt a foreboding. And eventually my fears were realized. Yes, I know that the guys will continue to create, but there's no more new GC to anticipate ... no more breaking the hinges off the jewel case while impatienly ripping away the cellophane. I do hope, however, that in the future I'll be enjoying and sharing whatever new thing comes around from The Artists Formerly Known As Members Of Galactic Cowboys ... and fondly remembering WHEN.