Big House is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band based in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. Grounded in the Bakersfield Sound, originally, the band consisted of

Monty Byrom Monty Byrom (born 1958) is an American rock, blues and country guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. He fronted the rock band Billy Satellite and wrote hit songs for Eddie Money. Later while leading the "soul country" band Big House, Byro ...

(

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

), David Neuhauser (

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

), Chuck Seaton (

), Tanner Byrom (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), Sonny California (

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

), and Ron Mitchell (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

). Under this lineup, Big House recorded two albums for

MCA Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...

: 1997's ''Big House'' and 1998's ''Travelin' Kind''. These two albums produced four chart singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country charts, including the No. 30 hit "Cold Outside." After the release of their second album, all of the band's members departed except for Monty Byrom and David Neuhauser. Benny Rappa was then signed as the band's new drummer, and Steve Vines assumed the role of bass guitarist. The revamped lineup recorded one album for

Dead Reckoning Records Dead Reckoning Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. The label was established in 1994 by musicians Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson produce their records withou ...

before disbanding in 2000. The six original members reunited for concerts in 2007 and 2008, and released a fourth album in 2008 ''Never Ending Train.''

Biography

Although its six members (all natives of

) had all performed together in various lineups, Big House was not officially formed until 1995, when brothers Monty and Tanner Byrom first performed with four other musicians at a venue in

Oildale, California Oildale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Oildale is located north-northwest of downtown Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 32,684 at the 2010 census, up from 27,885 at the 2000 cens ...

. After realizing that they all seemed to work well together, the six musicians decided to form a band. Monty Byrom, who had previously penned hit singles for

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including "Baby Hold On", "Two Tickets to Parad ...

, assumed the role of lead vocalist and guitarist, while Tanner served as drummer; the other four original members included harmonica player Roy Lackey (who assumed the stage name Sonny California), bass guitarist Ron Mitchell, and guitarists David Neuhauser, Billy Russell and Chuck Seaton.

Major-label debut

Throughout the 1990s, Big House played throughout their native state of California. They had also tried to make themselves known in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Big House was not well received by Nashville until Neuhauser suggested that the band submit a demo tape to Tony Brown, president of

MCA Nashville Records Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...

. A demo tape was sent to the label, and by 1997, the re-tooled demo tape was issued as the band's debut album, also titled ''Big House''. Three of the album's singles entered the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts, including "Cold Outside", which peaked at No. 30. A second album, entitled ''Travelin' Kind'', followed one year later; its lone single, "Faith", peaked at No. 63. In 1998, the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

nominated Big House for the Top New Vocal Group or Duo award, alongside

The Kinleys The Kinleys were an American country music duo composed of identical twin sisters Heather and Jennifer Kinley (born November 5, 1970). Between 1997 and 2000, they recorded two albums for Epic Records (1997's '' Just Between You and Me'' and 2000's ...

and

The Lynns The Lynns are an American country music duo, consisting of twin sisters Peggy Lynn and Patsy Lynn (born August 6, 1964), who are the youngest daughters of Mooney Lynn and singer Loretta Lynn. They recorded one album for Reprise Records, which c ...

, losing to The Kinleys.

Membership changes and disbanding

After the release of their second album, however, most of Big House's members parted ways; Tanner Byrom, Ron Mitchell and Chuck Seaton returned home and joined with Billy Russell to form the band "Hot Taco". See: https://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/blues-in-bakersfield/article_5c234d97-9041-5920-aacc-02377b7041ca.html Monty Byrom and Neuhauser then recruited Benny Rappa and Steve Vines, who took over on bass guitar and drums, respectively. The four-piece lineup recorded one album, ''Woodstock Nation'', which was issued in 2000 on

, an independent label owned by songwriters

Kieran Kane Kieran Kane (born October 7, 1949) is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven si ...

and

Kevin Welch Kevin Stephen Welch (August 17, 1955) is an American country music artist. He has charted five singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts and released eight studio albums. He is also one of the cofounders of the Dead Reckoning Reco ...

. Big House disbanded shortly afterward. The six original members reunited in 2007 and 2008 for concerts in Bakersfield at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace, and released a fourth album in 2008, ''Never Ending Train.'' In April 2017, Sonny California died in Las Vegas following a brief illness.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Byrom Brothers official website
{{Authority control Country music groups from California MCA Records artists Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in California