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Big Spoon - Seattle, WAby Kelley Guiney
Big Spoon is a remarkable Seattle-based band whose six members all have tremendous stage presence, highly skilled musicianship and powerful vocals (which bring to mind Crash Test Dummies, John Hiatt, Dr. John and others). Their energy level is consistently high throughout their performance and their catalogue is so diverse that any age group, and music fans of many genres should be delighted with their show. These guys truly know how to entertain, and they have a blast doing it.
I caught only one set of their show last Saturday night at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, however, within that set and in a very original fashion they covered grunge, alternative rock, bluegrass, country, rock ‘n’ roll, and as if that wasn’t enough, they threw in, before intermission, a good old fashioned a cappella rendition of “Goodbye my Coney Island Baby,” which brought down the house (I thought people were going to start throwing beer).
Every member of the band reports a passion for playing music that started either in infancy or early childhood. Rick Cranford, a Philadelphia transplant, plays drums, and his credits includes singing with the a cappella group Bison Chips. Mike Derzon plays mandolin, harmonica, trumpet and banjo. As he explains, “I picked up the trumpet in about 4th grade and played in nearly every school band I could manage for the next 12 years. In college my friend played banjo, and that grabbed me pretty hard. A donated mandolin found me a couple of years later. One summer I had a job with a long commute, so I learned a little harmonica. It's never seemed that I can handle more than a couple of instruments, it's rather that I just couldn't focus on one.” Peter Weiss plays guitar and mandolin; John Bregar wails on guitar and piano (especially piano); Jan Hasselman plays bass and Will Hewett plays guitar and hand percussion. They have an exceptional rapport together onstage, and a true passion for music and for performance that is contagious. Did I mention that they all have great vocals? Yes, these guys can sing, and lovely harmonies as well as switching solos are a signature of their sound . I particularly love Will Hewett’s description of his passion for singing, “I sing all the time. On my way to work, in the shower, while I'm walking around, in elevators. I love the combination of vowels and melody and consonants and rhythm. Love the feeling of resonance. Love words.”
I haven't had the opportunity to review their latest release The Crazy Truth, but did feel their first CD, Primordial Soup is an excellent blend of their different styles that really show their diversity. Still, it doesn't do their live performances justice. They don’t just warm up a crowd, they set it on fire! Big Spoon is definitely a band you want to catch live if you can. For more info on Big Spoon, CLICK HERE
