This is BIG: North Carolinian sextet brings lively performance to Bozeman
A six-piece powerhouse with a sound that’s both unique and timeless, North Carolina-based BIG Something fuses elements of rock, pop, funk, and improvisation to take listeners on a journey through a myriad of musical styles. It’s no secret why this group has quickly become one of the most exciting new bands to emerge from the Southeast. Soaring guitars, synths, horns and alluring vocal hooks rise to the top of their infectious collection of songs and represent a sound that has caught the ears of such revered summer circuit stalwarts as Umphrey’s McGee, Galactic, moe., Robert Randolph, and even The B52s who’ve all tapped BIG Something as direct support.
In anticipation of their upcoming Bozeman performance, The Rolling Zone hopped on the phone with BIG Something frontman Nick MacDaniels to talk the band’s new album and spirited live show.
RZ: Hey Nick. BIG Something is gearing up to hit the road for a spring tour of sorts, coming to Bozeman’s Eagles Ballroom early next month. What can concertgoers expect to experience at the April 3rd show?
NM: We’re a six-piece rock band and we have all kinds of different influences as musicians. We like to dabble in funk, rock, reggae, soul, even a little bit of hip-hop. We like to put on a fun show and make people dance. And there’s a lot of cool musical interaction between band members happening. We have one member that plays an electronic wind instrument, which we call the ‘EWI’ for short. It’s like an electronic sax. That’s a really cool part of the show. We’ve got a great light show as well. It’s just a fun time, a big loud rock show with a lot of energy.
RZ: Because BIG Something borrows from assorted genres to create its distinct sound and style, how does this band of performers like to identify itself?
NM: That’s kind of why we named the band BIG Something – it’s hard to describe our sound and what it is we’re doing because we like to pull from so many different genres of music. You never really know from one song to the next what you’re gonna get. We’ve got one song that’s got a bluegrass feel to it, and we’ve even got a heavy metal feel at times, so it’s all over the map. That’s a big part of our show and our identity as a band.
RZ: BIG Something will be touring in support of its recently announced new album, The Otherside, to be released this spring. What can you tell us about the new material?
NM: This is our fifth album. We recorded it over a couple weeks in Asheville, NC, at a really cool studio called Echo Mountain Recording. The album’s got a little bit more of a soulful, heavier, darker feel to it. We’re dedicating it to the memory of our lyricist Paul [Interdonato] who recently passed away. It’s my favorite album we’ve recorded so far. I think it’s a really great snapshot of the band and what our sound entails. We recorded it perfectly on a vinyl record, so there’s a planned-out side A and side B that complement each other. The new songs are really great vehicles to take to the live setting, to stretch out and really dig in. It’s fun material to play live.
RZ: Thus far, you’ve worked almost exclusively with producer John Custer. Has the collaboration continued with this new record?
NM: Yes! We’ve had Custer on every album.
RZ: He’s got to be an honorary band member by now.
NM: He pretty much is. It’s almost like [having] a coach in a way. It’s great to have that voice in the studio because he can really guide the band. And he’s got such great history and experience. He’s recorded at Muscle Shoals, he’s been nominated for a Grammy, and is a Carolina Music Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient. He’s worked with a bunch of great bands, one in particular called Corrosion of Conformity. They’re more of a Southern metal band. He brings this edge to our sound – he’s got this rock star persona that brings out the best in our music. It’s great working with him.
RZ: When the band decided to make this new album, were revisions made, so to speak, that have allowed BIG Something to retain its signature sound, while also bringing the music to the next level
NM: Yes, definitely. It’s kind of hard to put into words. We were all in the studio listening back to this album and we were just like, ‘Wow. We’ve never put out an album that’s this heavy before.’ There’s a little bit more of a depth than we’ve had in our previous recordings. I’m excited for people to hear it. I think people will hear the difference, but they’ll also know it’s BIG Something.
RZ: This may be an unfair question, but is there any one standout track you’re really eager for people to hear? What’s the story behind it?
NM: There’s a track on this album we took to the studio but had never played live before. That’s the first time that’s ever happened with us. Usually we’ll have a batch of songs we’ve played live and tweaked over a long span of time before we go and record so when the album comes out, everybody is familiar if they’ve seen us live. We have a song on this album coming out called “Smoke Signal.” We collaborated with Custer in the studio, and it’s the first time we ever wrote and finished a song in the studio. The lyrics are actually the last our lyricist ever wrote for the band. It’s kind of haunting and cryptic, but also really soulful and special for us.
RZ: And I’m sure that much more meaningful. So, creatively, when do you decide something will make a good song?
NM: It’s different with every song. It’s always very organic. A lot of times the band will have a piece of music we’ve started the seed for – we’ll have a concept, musically, that we started in the practice room or we jammed at a sound check and took that recording. Then when we’re writing songs, I would take those recordings to Paul and he would just close his eyes and daydream up different ideas. A lot of times we weren’t even writing stuff down. He would just sing stuff that he was brainstorming and I would record what he was singing. If something caught my ear, I’d be like, ‘Ok, stop. Let’s go in that direction, let’s go with that.’ It was different for every song, but oftentimes the music came first. We would use it as a foundation and try to come up with a lyrical concept that either fit the music or took it in an interesting direction.
RZ: What artists might we be surprised to hear you’re inspired by? What have you been listening to recently?
NM: Inspiration is a funny thing for me. I’m oftentimes inspired, at least lyrically, by cool movies and TV shows, you know, even visual art can be inspiring. It’s not always music, it’s not always singular. There are a lot of great bands and artists I’ve been listening to lately, and I think they come out in our music. Pink Floyd is a classic band we’re definitely inspired by, and I’d say there’s probably some Talking Heads in there as well. But I find inspiration in a lot of different things – conversations with other artists, other musicians, and just day-to-day life stuff.
RZ: BIG Something is a festival favorite, even hosting one of its own. Over the last decade, you’ve surely seen crowds of all shapes and sizes. What does your preferred audience look like? Who do you like to play for?
NM: We like to say we don’t discriminate. I love looking out into the audience and seeing all kinds of different people. One thing I love about our band and our fan base is that it’s very eclectic. We have kids out in the audience screaming the words to the songs, and we have older hippies, too, that used to follow the Dead that come out and catch as many shows as they can, and then we’ve got everything in between. All races, creeds, genders, religions – we welcome anybody. We’re just trying to play the best music we can and put on the best show we can. My ideal crowd is anyone that’s really into the music. We feed off the energy of the audience.
RZ: You’ve got this new record coming out and your previous album, Tumbleweed, released only a year ago. Can we look forward to BIG Something doling out new material on the regular for years to come?
NM: That’s the idea. We’ve already talked about working on some new stuff, so we’re going to keep trying to put out as much new music as possible. It definitely keeps the band on its toes, keeps us fresh and thinking about new ideas. What’s cool about this new album is that it’s almost like a follow-up to Tumbleweed. The first track kind of finishes the story of the character from the last album, then maybe jumps into a new direction. We like to have characters and concepts and stories built into the songs. It creates this universe of lyrics and music to play inside.
RZ: Well we’re excited for the show!
NM: It will actually be our first time playing shows in the great state of Montana. It’s rare when we get a chance to tour that far west, so we’re very much looking forward to that. Hopefully there’s some people excited for the show out there as well. We’re just some North Carolina boys. We can’t wait to share our music with everyone.
BIG Something takes the stage Tuesday, April 3rd at the Eagles Lodge Ballroom beginning at 10pm. Advance tickets are $12 at www.1111presents.com, $14 in store at Cactus Records, and available at the door. Doors at 9pm.
For those who might be west of the divide, BIG Something will bring a show to Missoula’s Top Hat Lounge the following evening, Wednesday, April 4th, at 9pm. Find ticketing and further information at www.logjampresents.com.
Jamming since 2009, BIG Something is Nick MacDaniels (guitar, vocals), Doug Marshall (bass), Josh Kagel (keys, trumpet), Casey Cranford (sax, EWI), Jesse Hensley (lead guitar), and Ben Vinograd (drums).
Check out BIG Something at www.bigsomething.net or find them on Facebook for updated tour details and band announcements, @theBIGsomething. Their new single, “Sundown Nomad,” is now available on Spotify and iTunes. BIG Something’s fifth LP, The Otherside, is set to release on April 20th. •
