The Space Cossacks are Washington, DC's premier all-instrumental surf combo! After forming in early '96, we had our first show in June of that year. Since then we have played from Boston down to Atlanta, Seattle to Huntington Beach, CA and everywhere in between. Our debut album "Interstellar Stomp" was released on MuSick Recordings , a foremost instrumental rock 'n' roll label, in April of 1998, and quickly garnered much acclaim as one of the top surf/instro albums of the year.

Our second album "Tsar Wars" was released in May, once again on MuSick, and this time it is an enhanced CD with a "Tsar Wars" novella by Jamie Miles (with illustrations by Steve Blickenstaff). We believe it picks up right where "Interstellar Stomp" left off, but gets much closer in achieving that Cossack perfection, and we are all really excited about it! If you liked the first one, you're gonna love this one! Check out the incredible reviews below.

Since the universe has been a quiet and peaceful place of late, the Space Cossacks are taking the opportunity of the lull to pursue some other musical projects that you might find interesting.

• Catherine has started a new band in the NoVA area by the name of SuperSwank. The music is an unholy combination of rockabilly, trash, and garage, and Catherine is the lead yeller.. umm, I mean, singer, as well as the bottom end! Check them out online or see them when they're playing live in the DC area.
• Doug is still omnipresent with his rockabilly band Jumpin' Jupiter, and you can catch them live almost every week somewhere around DC.
• Mark has been moonlighting with DC's the Gadget White Band, who have recently been getting the opening spots for Styx, REO, and Chicago, with a CD available at Best Buy.
• Ivan played most of the lead guitar for the tribute CD to a '60s Spanish instro band Los Relampagos which also features Dusty Watson on drums (Dick Dale, Slacktone, Jon & the Nightriders) and Sam Bolle on bass (Agent Orange, the Deoras), plus a plethora of other notable musicians. The CD will be released in the winter of 2001 (find more info at http://www.losrelampagos.com). He's also been playing in the Troubadors, the Shadows cover band also featuring his dad, and has started a side-project by the name of the Madeira for MuSick's Monster Party 2000 and Instrumental Fire 2 CDs. The Madeira also features Catherine on bass and the Troubadours' drummer Dane Carter.

Some of the reviews of Tsar Wars:

The best new guitar instrumental disc I've heard this year... consistently delivers the goods... an A+ instro disc!

Cool And Strange Music

No sophomore jinx here... what's so amazing, and one of the things that sets the Space Cossacks apart from other bands, is that every song drips with class... they are the best there is, plain and simple... the difference between them and the other excellent bands in the surf scene is the difference between a classic and a good movie - the Space Cossacks are the Casablanca of surf.

Cosmik Debris

Tsar Wars reaffirms the Space Cossacks position as one of the top surf-instro groups on the planet... they really stoke the instrumental fires on this master-stroke of reverb and twang... a sure to be classic of surf-instro... the group is rewriting the script for the surf music community to follow... could be the greatest instro album ever made... it just doesn't get better than this.

MuzikMan @ Music Dish

Worth the wait... Packed with great tunes and playing of quite extraordinary virtuosity... buy yourself a copy now!

HangNine

This is a stunning release... the writing and musicianship are excellent, and the unique blend of Russian and Spanish influences with surf and space make this a standalone disc... recommended... four stars.

Phil Dirt @ Reverb Central

Tsar Wars will surely be among the top five of the year... features a modern power edge and cool melodies/hooks along with stunning guitar tones and slick fretboard work... In many respects a stronger effort than their first CD... very entertaining and strongly recommended.

John Blair @ Discoveries

Tsar Wars carries on the Space Cossacks' impressive work... a gelled and cohesive platform from which are launched imaginative adventures into the galaxy... there seems to be an amazing amount of top notch new instro bands around right now, but there's no doubt that the Space Cossacks deserve to be counted amongst the very best.

Pipeline

"If you buy one instrumental rock album this year, let it be the Space Cossacks’ debut on MuSick Recordings... The Space Cossacks are in an elite class of their own."

"...Simply incredible. A vital and important genre release... If you buy no other genre recordings this year, do not pass this one up. It may very well end up being the surf instro album of 1998!"

"Heady, exciting stuff... The Cossacks are undoubtedly top-drawer... If you like surf, or just exciting guitar playing, then do not miss this."

"If you can only afford one surf record this year, it really should be Interstellar Stomp... In 20 years, this will be remembered as one of the most important recordings of the 3^rd wave... It blows everyone else out of the water."

"The Space Cossacks debut CD provides a nostalgic look back at the heyday of guitar instrumentals, while clearly breaking new ground for the entire instro genre."

"The Space Cossacks are among the best of the trad-based surf bands... This is high-intensity, melodic, infectious surf instrumental music.

"...A fine debut collection... Their brand of upbeat guitar twanging is likely to get them one of this year’s best received CDs... Astonishing first set."

"Fantastic debut album... The Space Cossacks have taken the surf music scene by storm with their originality...This is a ‘must’ CD to have..."

"The Space Cossacks play surf music with a Dick Dale fury... While they may draw stylistically from the giants of the genre, ‘Interstellar Stomp’ is an intense and melodic wave of surf instrumentals."

"...Packed with tone and memorable melodies..."

"I’ve collected surf records for 20 years and will vouch for the fact that only an elite handful, including this one, have raised gooseflesh on my arms after 15 beers."