Big City Rock
Encyclopedia
Big City Rock is a pop rock
band based in Los Angeles, California
who are signed to Atlantic Records
. Their music type is self-described as "energetic, anthemic pop" with "an uplifting sound"http://www.bigcityrock.net/bio/, with keyboards
, guitar
, and drums
. Due to recent shifts in the band's membership, the members of the band left over have created a new band called The Remainers.
started a ska
-punk
band in eighth grade
named Stinkfish. Bott, Conrad and Staniszewski later started another band, The Siren Six!
, when they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota
. Siren Six! broke up in 2000 after they moved to California to try to get signed to a music label. Big City Rock started when Resudek was asked to join Staniszewski, Conrad and Bott in Los Angeles, California
. In 2003, drummer Jeff Conrad left to join the band Phantom Planet
, and was replaced by Kaumyar. In March 2004 guitarist Andy Barr, who had played with Kaumyar before, joined also in 2004. Signed to Atlantic in late 2004 after having opened for Gratitude
, Rooney
, Phoenix
, and Maroon 5
, in 2005, the band relocated to New York City to record their debut album at Stratosphere Studios.
Big City Rock's debut album was released on Atlantic Records in March 2006 and generated critical acclaim. Blender magazine gave the album 3.5 stars proclaiming it "... like the Killers without the self-consciousness, powered by exquisitely engineered hooks that are nearly impossible to forget." And placing the song "All of the Above" at the number 10 slot of their annual Top 100 Singles chart.
Throughout 2006 Big City Rock toured across the country, supporting acts like Morningwood
, Rock Kills Kid
, Under The Influence of Giants
, Sugarcult
, Head Automatica
, Diamond Nights
, The Rocket Summer
, Jason Mraz
, and The Click Five
.
In 2008, Big City Rock underwent personnel changes and began writing their follow-up album to "Big City Rock".
In August 2009, Big City Rock's left over members created a new band with a new Facebook page. The new band is titled The Remainers.
and Yamaha
S90 as well as using Hammond
B3 organs and various grand pianos in the studio.
Nate Bott uses Fender Deville amplifiers with no effects pedals. He uses Fender Stratocaster
and Fender Jaguar
guitars.
Jason Lautenschleger uses Ampeg
amplifiers and Ampeg cabinets and plays Fender Precision and Music Man
Stingray basses
Kaumyar plays Pearl
Drums and Zildjian
cymbals with the exception of his Paiste
Hi-Hats.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band based in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
who are signed to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. Their music type is self-described as "energetic, anthemic pop" with "an uplifting sound"http://www.bigcityrock.net/bio/, with keyboards
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. Due to recent shifts in the band's membership, the members of the band left over have created a new band called The Remainers.
History
Tim Resudek, Frank Staniszewski, Jeff Conrad and Nate Bott, who grew up together in Madison, WisconsinMadison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
started a ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
-punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band in eighth grade
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
named Stinkfish. Bott, Conrad and Staniszewski later started another band, The Siren Six!
The Siren Six!
The Siren Six! were an American ska band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who were active from 1994 to 2000.-Biography:The Siren Six! initially formed under the name Stinkfish in Minneapolis around 1994, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Nate Bott, keyboardist Frank Staniszewski, drummer Jeff...
, when they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. Siren Six! broke up in 2000 after they moved to California to try to get signed to a music label. Big City Rock started when Resudek was asked to join Staniszewski, Conrad and Bott in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. In 2003, drummer Jeff Conrad left to join the band Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
, and was replaced by Kaumyar. In March 2004 guitarist Andy Barr, who had played with Kaumyar before, joined also in 2004. Signed to Atlantic in late 2004 after having opened for Gratitude
Gratitude
Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. The experience of gratitude has historically been a focus of several world religions, and has been considered extensively by moral...
, Rooney
Rooney
Rooney may refer to:People*Rooney , the forename of various people*Rooney , the surname of various people*The Rooney family, of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise...
, Phoenix
Phoenix (band)
Phoenix is a Grammy Award winning French indie rock band from Versailles, founded by Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz.-Formation and early years:...
, and Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
, in 2005, the band relocated to New York City to record their debut album at Stratosphere Studios.
Big City Rock's debut album was released on Atlantic Records in March 2006 and generated critical acclaim. Blender magazine gave the album 3.5 stars proclaiming it "... like the Killers without the self-consciousness, powered by exquisitely engineered hooks that are nearly impossible to forget." And placing the song "All of the Above" at the number 10 slot of their annual Top 100 Singles chart.
Throughout 2006 Big City Rock toured across the country, supporting acts like Morningwood
Morningwood
Morningwood is an alternative rock band from New York City, USA, founded in 2001 by Pedro Yanowitz and Chantal Claret. Morningwood was signed to Capitol Records.-Career:...
, Rock Kills Kid
Rock Kills Kid
Rock Kills Kid is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California that consists of Jeff Tucker , Shawn Dailey , Sean Stopnik , Reed Calhoun , and Mike Balboa . Their music often draws comparison to The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran Duran and U2, as well as new bands such as The...
, Under The Influence of Giants
Under the Influence of Giants
Under the Influence of Giants is a musical group from Los Angeles, California. They released their major label debut album in August 2006, which was a number one hit on the Top Heatseekers chart. Among their influences are the Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, the Bee Gees, Prince, WHAM!, Chicago...
, Sugarcult
Sugarcult
Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1998. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta , Airin Older , Marko DeSantis , and Kenny Livingston .-Formation :Tim Pagnotta met ex-drummer Ben Davis during a cigarette break at school...
, Head Automatica
Head Automatica
Head Automatica is a Dance Rock band, formed by Glassjaw frontman Daryl Palumbo with Jarvis Holden, formerly of Give Up the Ghost or American Nightmare, Jim Greer, and Brandon Arnovick.-History:...
, Diamond Nights
Diamond Nights
Diamond Nights is a hard rock/indie rock band whose influences include Thin Lizzy, Queen, and Cheap Trick. They formed in New York City in 2003, and released their debut album Popsicle in 2005...
, The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary who is based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Avary is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them....
, Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
, and The Click Five
The Click Five
The Click Five is an American power pop band from Boston, Massachusetts. The original members, most of them students at Berklee College of Music, started on January 1, 2003 and played in various local venues. They then quickly got the attention of talent scout Wayne Sharp...
.
In 2008, Big City Rock underwent personnel changes and began writing their follow-up album to "Big City Rock".
In August 2009, Big City Rock's left over members created a new band with a new Facebook page. The new band is titled The Remainers.
Band members
- Nate Bott - Vocals, GuitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Frank Staniszewski - KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, VocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Jason Lautenschleger - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Kaumyar - Drums, PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Discography
- Big City Rock (2003)
- Do You Know What You Want
- Here for Each Other
- Human
- Only If You Want Me To
- Better Place
- Big City Rock (2004)
- Do You Know What You Want
- Human
- Here for Each Other
- Better Place
- All the Way [Acoustic]
- Sink
- They Won't Mind
- Different Face
- Big City Rock (2006)
- Sink
- All of the Above
- As Soon As I Find Out
- I Believe In You
- Human
- Kind
- Better Place
- Shelter
- They Won't Mind
- Touch The Horizon
Trivia
- The band recorded a cover of the song "Black BettyBlack Betty"Black Betty" is a 20th century African-American work song often credited to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter as the author, though the earliest recordings are not by him. Some sources claim it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material; in this case an 18th century marching...
" for the 2007 film TMNT.
- The band also recorded a cover of Silent NightSilent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
during the 2007 holiday season and released it as a single.
- "All of the Above" from Big City Rock was featured on the 2006 Bionicle: Free the Band website, as well as songs from Undertones, Over It, Carbon Leaf, and a few others.
- "Human" was used in the 2006 Warren Miller Movie "Off The Grid" - It was used in a section about 2 skiers (Kevin Bramble and Monte Meier) with disabilities (one paralyzed from the waist down, and one missing one leg) Heliskiing in the Alaskan Cugache mountain range.
Equipment
Frank Staniszewski uses a Nord Lead 2 synth, MicroKORGMicroKORG
The microKORG is a MIDI-capable virtual analog synthesizer/vocoder from Korg featuring high-quality DSP analog modelling. The synth/keyboard is built in such a way that it is essentially a Korg MS-2000 with programmable step arpeggiator , a less advanced vocoder , lack of motion sequencing The...
and Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
S90 as well as using Hammond
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
B3 organs and various grand pianos in the studio.
Nate Bott uses Fender Deville amplifiers with no effects pedals. He uses Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
and Fender Jaguar
Fender Jaguar
The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar introduced in 1962. A descendant of the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar quickly caught on in the emerging Surf music scene...
guitars.
Jason Lautenschleger uses Ampeg
Ampeg
Ampeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent...
amplifiers and Ampeg cabinets and plays Fender Precision and Music Man
Music Man (company)
Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
Stingray basses
Kaumyar plays Pearl
Pearl Drums
Founded in 1952, the is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominately percussion instruments.-History:Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa, who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, Tokyo on April 2, 1946...
Drums and Zildjian
Avedis Zildjian Company
The Avedis Zildjian Company is a cymbal manufacturer founded in Istanbul by Armenian Avedis Zildjian in the 17th century during the Ottoman Empire. At nearly 400 years old, Zildjian is one of the oldest companies in the world...
cymbals with the exception of his Paiste
Paiste
Paiste, a Swiss manufacturer and designer, is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian/Finnish word which means "shine"...
Hi-Hats.