Big Business is an American heavy metal band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, founded by bassist/vocalist Jared Warren (

Karp Karp may refer to: Places * Karp, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-east Poland * Karp, Lublin Voivodeship, in east Poland People * Karp (surname) * Karp Khachvankyan (1923–1998), Armenian actor and director Other uses * KARP-FM, a radio s ...

) and drummer

Coady Willis Coady Willis is an American drummer and a member of Big Business, High on Fire, White Shit, and the Melvins. He previously played in the bands Dead Low Tide, Broadcast Oblivion, and The Murder City Devils. Willis and Big Business bandmate J ...

(

The Murder City Devils The Murder City Devils is an American garage rock band formed in 1996. History The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis, and Nate Manny, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1996. Gabe Ke ...

). They have been based out of Los Angeles since 2006. Their music is characterized by a bombastic and frantic style, and for most of their existence Big Business has been a bass-drums duo.

History

The band released its first Tour EP and the vinyl version of their first album, '' Head for the Shallow'', on January 25, 2005 through Wäntage USA. The CD version of ''Head For the Shallow'' was released by

Hydra Head Records Hydra Head Records was an independent record label that specializes in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experiment ...

, the first of a three album run. In late 2006, after relocating to Los Angeles, Jared and Coady both became members of the Melvins, first appearing on '' (A) Senile Animal''. The tour, titled "the Double-Drumming Rock for Peace tour", featured Warren and Willis playing a set as Big Business before being joined by Crover and Osborne for a set as the Melvins. While on tour, Big Business played with frequent Melvins collaborator

David Scott Stone David Scott Stone (sometimes referred to as Sir DSS and Mr. David Ascott Stone) is an American musician who has recorded and toured with artists like The Melvins, Unwound, Fantômas, The Locust, Jello Biafra, Keiji Haino, Mike Patton, Adam Jo ...

who would later play guitar and

Minimoog Voyager The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a s ...

on all songs from their 2007 release '' Here Come the Waterworks''. After releasing '' Here Come the Waterworks'' to critical acclaim, Big Business was given an opening spot on the summer leg of the

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

tour. Toshi Kasai played guitar for Big Business throughout this tour. After the fall US tour ended, Big Business started recording material for the new Melvins album, entitled '' Nude with Boots'', which was released on July 8, 2008. On March 9, 2008, guitarist/keyboardist

Toshi Kasai Toshi Kasai is a Japanense record producer, engineer, mixer and musician. He is most well known for his strong vocal production work with hard rock and metal groups such as his long standing relationship with The Melvins and his work with Tool. ...

was introduced onstage as the third member of Big Business. Both the band and Toshi verified this addition on their respective Myspace pages. Big Business released their third album ''Mind the Drift'' on May 12, 2009. The album was produced by

Phil Ek Phil Ek is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. Ek began his career in Seattle, Washington in the early 1990s recording live sound in clubs. He then moved into studio recording, recording small projects and demos for local bands. Aroun ...

who has produced both of their previous albums. In October 2010, after a year of not playing any concerts, they posted on their Myspace that they had added another guitarist, Scott Martin ( 400 Blows, Crom), officially making them a "Power Quartet". They toured the summer of 2011 with Torche and

Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary. Throne or Thrones may also mean: People * Throne (surname) Arts and entertainment *The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style") * ...

. Big Business toured with Red Fang and American Sharks in the spring of 2014. In 2016, the release ''Command Your Weather'' (2016) was issued by

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...

/ Gold Metal Records. Around 2016, Warren and Willis were no longer part of Melvins. At this same time, Big Business began touring as a two piece once again without any specific announcement or press regarding changes from the earlier trio and quartet lineups. Their latest release, ''The Beast You Are'', was issued by

/ Gold Metal Records. On April 13, 2019, drummer

appeared on the podcast ''Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal'' to discuss the making of ''The Beast You Are'' and a general career retrospective for Big Business and his other musical projects. He also appeared on an episode of ''The Vinyl Guide'' around the same time. In 2020, Jared Warren also participated in a long form career spanning interview on ''Protonic Reversal'', speaking about the ''Whip'' reissues, Big Business, his time with the Melvins and much more.

Members

Current members * Jared Warren – bass guitar, lead vocals, synthesizer (2004–present) *

– drums, backing vocals (2004–present) Former members *

– guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2008–2012) *Scott Martin – guitar, backing vocals (2010–2014) Guest guitarists *John Devoy ("O.G" and "Easter Romantic" on ''Head for the Shallow'') *

Dave Hernandez Dave Hernandez (born September 20, 1970, Guadalajara, Mexico) is a Mexican guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the American indie rock band The Shins, with whom he recorded four studio albums. Hernandez is ...

("Eis Hexe" and "Off Off Broadway" on ''Head for the Shallow'') *

(on ''Here Come the Waterworks'') * Dale Crover (live, 2007–2008)

Discography

Albums

*'' Head for the Shallow'' (2005;

Hydra Head Hydra Head Records was an independent record label that specializes in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experiment ...

(CD), Wäntage USA (LP)) *'' Here Come the Waterworks'' (2007, Hydra Head) *'' Mind the Drift'' (2009, Hydra Head) *'' Battlefields Forever'' (2013, Gold Metal Records) *''Command Your Weather'' (2016, Joyful Noise / Gold Metal Records) *''The Beast You Are'' (2019, Joyful Noise / Gold Metal Records)

EPs and singles

*''Tour EP'' (2004, Wäntage USA) *''Tour EP II'' (2006, self-released) *''Tour EP III'' (2008, self-released) *''Biz Bot Remixes'' (2009, Hydra Head) *''Quadruple Single'' (2011, Gold Metal Records) *"Battlefields" / "Into the Light" (Tour 7" single) (2012, Gold Metal Records) *"Blacker Holes" (2014, Joyful Noise) *''True Gold Digital Single'' (2015, Gold Metal Records) *''Tour EP 4'' (2018, Gold Metal Records) *''Tour EP V'' (2021)

Compilations

*''Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking in the Streets Volume Thirteen'': "You Need Surgery" (2014,

Amphetamine Reptile Records Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep Industries) is a record label founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released '' Strap It On'', the debut album by alternative metal band Helmet w ...

) *''Solid Gold Metal (2004-2009)'' (2018, Joyful Noise)

References

External links

* *http://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com/collections/big-business/
Myspace site
*Interview a
Miami New times
*Interview a
Swampfoot Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Business Rock music groups from California Musical groups established in 2004 Heavy metal musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Seattle Heavy metal duos Joyful Noise Recordings artists