 Powderfinger were formed in 1989 by Steven Bishop ( ex @-@ The Eternal ) on drums , John Collins ( The Eternal ) on bass guitar and Ian Haug ( The <unk> , The Fossils ) on guitar and vocals . The Eternal , The <unk> and The Fossils were other Brisbane @-@ based outfits . All three members of Powderfinger were students at Brisbane Grammar School – a private school in Spring Hill – and they started as a cover band playing pub rock classics by The Rolling Stones , The Doors , Led Zeppelin , Steppenwolf , Rodriguez and Neil Young . The band 's name is from Young 's song of the same name . Despite their popularity in Brisbane , when playing a heavy metal gig in Newcastle in 1990 , Powderfinger were booed off stage . 
