A couple of years ago I was standing in a parking lot in Las Vegas late at night outside of a restaurant/bar where I had just hung out with my friends in Big Bad Zero. I was asked by Dave Meeks if I had ever heard of a band called Big Wreck, to which I replied no. Dave proceeded to play a song called Ladylike from their second album “The Pleasure and the Greed“. I really didn’t know what to expect but from the moment that open banjo riff melded with a really off-kilter bass line I was hooked. Now it’s my displeasure to offer them up as a Fallen Friday – unfortunately they fit the bill to a ‘T’.
Actually, I have to admit that Dave and one of our other good friends Brian Festone (Festen) end up turning me on to a lot of music. Or at least they did when I was passing through Vegas more often. I don’t get out that way as much anymore. Though I did get to sit a nice dinner at Dave’s house on Tuesday night on my way back from Utah. If there’s one place on earth that I could move to and have an instant posse to hang with, it would be Vegas.
Getting back to Big Wreck, I was torn as to which song I should have posted. I think that “Ladylike” wouldn’t work for most people because it is very progressive in it’s rhythmic structure. In fact there’s at least 6 songs across both albums that should be a Single of the Day. I arrived at The Oaf for the sheer fact that it is the very first song on their first album. It’s got that single feel and has a more commercially mesmorizing sound. Its a tragic tale in the music industry. Big Wreck had some decent success with this album and then when it came time to push the second album, the label dropped the ball and the marketing fell short. Depsite the sophomore album being brilliant it didn’t manage to sell well and Big Wreck became exactly what their name described.
I think one of the reasons I was so enamored with the sound is that you can tell these gents know how to rip on their instruments. After doing a little diggin into their background I discovered they all met at Berklee College of Music (a school of which I’m also an alumnus). Which to someone outside of the music education circle might not mean much, but to me it generally means that a student there knows how to handle their music and their instrument. John Mayer is another prime example. I think you can hear the finesse and control coming out in this song, without it beating you over the head.
Ian Thornley picked up the pieces and started another band called Thornley which was produced by Chad of Nickelback fame. I may pick one of their songs in the future. Even though Big Wreck has been towed to the junkyard by the music industry, I highly recommend that you pull out your tools and salvage it. Part with some duckets and buy both CD’s, you can’t go wrong with either one.
(** Disclaimer: Should the industry junkyard bulldogs decide to sick balls like chopper, I’ll be running for the fence and ditching the audio. If that happens the words will remain to make fun of chopper. **)