The Story of Cowgrinder
The Cowgrinder saga begins at the turn of the last century. As the world prepared for armageddon at the hands of the Y2K bug, Robert Irving and Steve Frith were at a musical crossroads. Both had been in various musical projects and bands throughout the nineties. Although these were successful endeavors, often resulting in packed-house gigs and enthusiastic fans, being based in Fairbanks Alaska was a significant hurdle to overcome. That didn't stop them from creating some great music, and opening for some pretty big names like Cracker and Flogging Molly. Despite these successes, band members would come and go, and the music scene in Alaska is limited by the state's low population density and large area.
Robert Irving plays bass guitar, upright bass (on occasion) and slide guitar. His projects typically involved funky slap-bass and powerful vocals, and always had the crowds dancing. During one of Fairbanks' signature long dark winters he was house sitting for his parents and took a look at the antique Windsor zither banjo that had been hanging on the wall as a decoration throughout his childhood. His father bought it in Ireland in the early 50's and played it in his youth, but it had long since been relegated to a place on the wall as a conversation piece. Out of curiosity and boredom Robert took it down, tuned it up, and tried some experimental strumming. To his amazement it sounded fantastic even though it had been hanging there for decades. Robert spent the next couple of months learning his way around playing banjo, and composed a few songs based on the riffs and runs he had come up with.
Steve Frith plays piano, organ, accordion and synthesizer, and having been a teen in the late '80's was enamored with bands like Depech Mode, Devo and Howard Jones. His focus throughout the nineties was on learning the technical ins and outs of electronica and producing cutting-edge keyboard sounds that could be performed live. Somewhere in the late nineties he visited a fellow keyboard player at his house and picked up an accordion that was tucked away in it's case under a table, and immediately fell in love with the instrument.
Toward the end of the winter of '99 Robert went over to Steve's house and brought the banjo he had been experimenting with. He played the two or three songs he had written on it and asked Steve if he thought he could play something on the accordion that would work. This was where Cowgrinder was born. Over the next few years Cowgrinder played gigs in Fairbanks and the surrounding area to enthusiastic crowds and both Robert and Steve decided that the music they were playing together was unique and ultimately, much more fun to play than anything they had been involved with before.
Sometime during the summer of 2003 Robert left the state for work-related reasons and, as often happens, life went on. In the Winter of 2023, 20 YEARS after falling out of touch with each other, Robert and Steve ran into each other at a mutual friend's house. Both immediately suggested resurrecting Cowgrinder.
