Big Wu bassist Andy Miller.This year marks the 20 year anniversary of Minneapolis band The Big Wu's formation at St. Olaf College. Bassist Andy Miller lovingly refers to the band's aesthetic as "Whit

Thanks in part to the H.O.R.D.E. Tour the mid to late '90s could easily be looked at as the golden age of jambands, with regional bands turning into national touring acts thanks to an open-minded and enthusiastic fan base that where eager to discover the next big thing. Among the crop of bands that sprang up during this boom was The Big Wu , who formed at St. Olaf College in 1992 and earned a fervent following around the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Minnesota-based act , who hold the distinction of being the first band on at [...]

There was a time in the early '00s when Minnesota-based jamband The Big Wu were filling small clubs throughout the Midwest and seemed poised for big things. After a couple of lineup changes and a record deal gone bad, the group retired from the road in 2006 and only get together for sporadic gigs in and around their home state. This summer the group celebrates its 20th anniversary by headlining their own festival, The Big Wu Family Reunion , in Harmony Park, MN on July 2 and 3. [...]

Ray Charles Can See-The Big Wu Hit the Road Jack-The Shantee What I Say-Natural Breakdown I Don't Need No Doctor-John Mayer
Songs spun on today's Mischke broadcast.
Local tracks spun on the Mischke broadcast today, including Baby Guts and the Big Wu.

Let's face the facts about rock and roll in the year 2009. Everybody sounds like somebody. The best bands sound like somebody, somebody and somebody else but always like themselves. The very idea of describing a band as "so-and-so meets whomever" or as being "somebody-esque" is insulting to the musicians (who usually work their fingers off for no money to create something original and simply can't help but be influenced by SOMEBODY) and to the reader (who SHOULD expect something a little more insightful for their time and energy). I can't say I haven't succumbed too [...]
Words are overrated. From Little Richard to Rihanna, sometimes a song can say more with random sounds than any coherent content. So to celebrate the inanity of catchy hooks that don't mean a thing Queen - Tutti Frutti (Little Richard) Rocking out one of the most famous phrases in rock and roll, Freddie Mercury "wop bop a lu bop, a wop bam boom"s his ass off with some crowd participation. And – big shock – Brian May is very good at guitar. [ Buy ] [...]

I leave for school on Monday, and I'm not going to get into Ohio until Friday night, so I have a long trip ahead of me. I'm flying up to Seattle to stay with a friend of mine, and then I'm going to drive across the country with him. Right now, I'm packing all my clothes into two suitcases, and then I have to make a 36 hour play list to keep us entertained while we're driving. As such, posts might be few and far between, between now and then, but I'll try keep the updates rolling [...]