30 Odd Foot of Grunts

30 Odd Foot of Grunts and The Ordinary Fear of God are bands formed by actor Russell Crowe and friends.

Beginnings

In the '80s Russell Crowe and friend Billy Dean Cochran formed a band, "Roman Antix", which later evolved into the Australian rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts (TOFOG for short). Crowe performed lead vocals and guitar for the band, which formed in 1992.

Success

The band released 1995's The Photograph Kills EP as well as three full length records: 1998's Gaslight, 2001's Bastard Life or Clarity and 2003's Other Ways of Speaking, all of which are all available at iTunes worldwide. Bastard Life or Clarity and Other Ways of Speaking were both mixed by Mike Fraser. In 2000 TOFOG performed shows in London, Los Angeles and the now famous run of shows at Stubbs in Austin, TX which became a live DVD that was released in 2001 called Texas. In 2001 the band came to the US for major press, radio and TV appearances for the Bastard Life or Clarity release and returned Stubbs in Austin, TX to kick off a sold out US tour with dates in Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City and the last show at the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. In 2003 the band and Crowe were infamously parodied by fellow Australian band Frenzal Rhomb on their track "Russel Crowe's Band". The subsequent film clip of the single featured animated portrayals of both bands and some well-documented Russell Crowe incidents.

The Ordinary Fear of God

In early 2005, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts as a group has "dissolved/evolved" with Russell Crowe feeling his future music would take a new direction and he began a collaboration with Alan Doyle of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, and with it a new band: The Ordinary Fear of God which also involved some members of the previous TOFOG lineup. A new single, "Raewyn", was released in April 2005 and an album entitled My Hand, My Heart which was released for download on iTunes. The album includes a tribute song to actor Richard Harris, who became Crowe's friend during the making of Gladiator. Russell Crowe & the Ordinary Fear of God set out to break the new band in by performing a successful sold out series of dates of Australia in 2005 and then in 2006 returned to the US to promote their new release My Hand, My Heart with another sold out US Tour and major press, radio and television appearances.

Recent events

• In March 2010 Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God's version of the John Williamson song "Winter Green" was included on a new compilation album The Absolute Best of John Williamson: 40 Years True Blue, commemorating the singer/songwriter's milestone of 40 years in the Australian music industry.

• In May 2011 there were plans to release a new Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God record (co-written with Alan Doyle) and for a US tour, which would be the band's first live dates in the US since 2006.

Band members

30 Odd Foot of Grunts

• Russell Crowe – vocals, guitar
• Dean Cochran – lead guitar
• Dave Kelly – drums, background vocals
• Stewart Kirwan – trumpet, flugelhorn, background vocals
• Garth Adam – bass
• Dave Wilkins – guitar, background vocals

Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God

• Russell Crowe – vocals, guitar
• Alan Doyle – guitar, vocals
• Dave Kelly – drums, background vocals
• Stewart Kirwan – trumpet, flugelhorn, background vocals
• Bones Hillman – bass
• Stuart Hunter – keys
• Paul Berton – guitar

Discography

30 Odd Foot of Grunts

• The Photograph Kills EP (1995)
• Gaslight (1998)
• Bastard Life or Clarity (2001)
• Texas DVD (2001)
• Other Ways of Speaking (2003)

Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God

• "Raewyn" iTunes single (2005)
• My Hand, My Heart (2005)

References

External links

• Official Russell Crowe & TOFOG MySpace page
• Official Russell Crowe & TOFOG Facebook page
• Russell Crowe's official Twitter page
• Official Russell Crowe news page
• Official Russell Crowe Facebook fan page