Big Ass Truck (BAT) is an American rock band from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

which incorporates elements of hip-hop, rock, funk and psychedelia in their music. The band includes a DJ spinning records, that provides beats, loops, and samples during recordings and live performances. The group disbanded sometime after the release of the 2001 album, ''The Rug'', but as of 2021 has been playing live shows again.

Lineup

The founding members of Big Ass Truck included drummer Robert Barnett, DJ Colin Butler, bassist Joe Boone, keyboardist Alex Greene, singer/guitarist Robby Grant and singer/guitarist Steve Selvidge. The line-up changed throughout the 90s, including bass players such as Lucero's/Jello 1-2-3's John C. Stubblefield, Grayson Grant and Dros Liposack, as well as keyboard player Chris Parker. At times, the band also included producer Ross Rice.

History

In 1995, Big Ass Truck released their self-titled debut album. Soon after, the group toured with

311 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

throughout the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, among others. In 1996, they released the album ''Kent'' in 1996. The band also released an E.P. on

Yep Roc Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul W ...

entitled ''Sack Lunch''. Under the name "Big Angelic Truck" the band recorded two Christmas songs, "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" for a local charity. Later these songs were released as a limited edition single. The band's 2000 release, ''Who Let You In Here?'', was described by one reviewer as "a clunky junk-shop mixture of sounds and styles". In 2001, the group released the album ''The Rug'', and appeared on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' Oddville'' and ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...

''.Vending Machine’s Robby Grant On Music, Family
''Memphis Flyer'', February 1, 2007. Band member Robby Grant was involved in a solo project under the name Vending Machine but now performs under his own name. He also plays guitar in the band MouseRocket with former Big Ass Truck bandmate Robert Barnett and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Alicja Trout of The Lost Sounds and River City Tanlines. In 2019 he released Mellotron Variations with

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

Pat Sansone Patrick Anthony "Pat" Sansone (born June 21, 1969) is an American multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense. Early bands Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Upon entering college at The University of Souther ...

and Jonathan Kirskcey. Steve Selvidge has recorded and toured with

The Bloodthirsty Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

along with Dave Shouse who is the former member of Memphis lo-fi rockers Grifters and

Those Bastard Souls Those Bastard Souls were an independent rock band formed in 1995 as a solo side project by David Shouse of The Grifters. The name, somewhat of a nod to These Immortal Souls, was one that David Shouse coined as a replacement for A Band Called Bud ...

. In 2006, Selvidge produced, co-wrote, and released "The Service is Spectacular" by The Secret Service . From 2007 to 2010 he recorded and toured wit
Amy Lavere
He now plays guitar with

The Hold Steady The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...

. Joe Boone owned and ran the Other Door Studio in

Birmingham, AL Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fro ...

, but moved back to Memphis in 2007, where he has been a writer for many Memphis publications and websites, writing especially about music. Boone was the music editor for

The Memphis Flyer The ''Memphis Flyer'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper serving the greater Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along th ...

from 2013-2015. The band held a reunion show February 13, 2014 at The 1884 Lounge at Minglewood Hall in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. They got back together once more on June 4, 2016 at Memphis' Levitt Shell with Ross Rice.

Discography

* ''Big Ass Truck'' 1995 Upstart * ''Kent'' 1996 Upstart * ''Sack Lunch'' 1997 Yep Roc * ''Who Let You in Here?'' 1998 Peabody * ''The Rug'' 2001 Terminus * ''All You Can Handle'' 2023 Terminus Compilations * ''On Air: Live Music From The WEVL Archives'' 1996 SCV * ''Memphis in the Meantime'' 1995 Gravelsauce Records

References

External links

* Big Ass Truck Biobr>Big Ass Truck on myspace.com
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee American funk musical groups Yep Roc Records artists