Whiskey Fueled Alt-Country, Americana, & Roots Rock from Austin, Texas
"They've got a sound akin to the Old 97's or Uncle Tupelo, but make no mistake; Big State is 100% Austin Country. Grab yourself a frosty beverage of your choice and be prepared to be entertained."
- InSite Magazine
Pulling together bar band swagger, honky-tonk stomp, and pop-rock smarts and vigor, Big State barnstormed the alternative country-rock scene in Austin in the beginning of 2016. The band immediately caught on at multiple venues as they quickly built a fanbase with their unique blend of cowpunk Americana and sweaty, high-octane sets. Within only 2 months the band was asked, and played, an Austin "music week" (SX) showcase. Big State is known for their good time, high energy shows, and their fan favorite song, Heck Yeah, Dang Right, never fails to bring the house down.
Big State got its start in 2015 as the brainchild of James Brinkman (Brink - Lead Vocals, Guitar) and Tim Brown (Tank - Drums, Vocals ) and a chance meeting after practice with other bands at the MusicLab in Austin. Early on they added Patrick Conreaux (Coleslaw - Bass, Vocals), with whom Tim had played with in the band The Men From Nantucket. The search for the right guitar player required patience, but eventually word was received that Aaron Seymour (Knucklebones - Lead Guitar, Vocals), was coming back to the states after 4 years of living upside down in Australia. Tim and Aaron had teamed up previously in bands including Nooner and Righteous Brisket, so the chemistry was instant between the 4.
In only a couple months the band had written an entire album of songs, which they would go on to record in their self-produced album Red, White, & Booze (released January 2016). Like an 18-wheeler rolling downhill with no brakes, the band was back in the studio recording an EP only one month later and another EP later in the year.
On June 9, 2017 Big State released their first full length studio album, Sure Thing, recorded at Teenie Sound Studios and mastered by Matthew Agoglia of The Ranch in Beacon, New York. The 13 song album combines new songs as well as remixed and remastered songs from their two EPs, and finds the band hitting their stride, as gated and chaotic as that stride may be. Sure Thing quickly found acceptance, receiving airplay on over 70 radio stations in the US, Canada, and Europe and remaining in the top 150 of the AMA Americana chart for 8 weeks so far and #24 on the Roots Music.
Big State's songs are irreverent, entertaining, and self-referential, equal blends biographical and pure fiction, and drawing from that story-telling gene that's inherently built into a Texan. The haywire result that is growing up and being a musician in Austin is evident, as the music is equal parts Willie and The Clash, that always present intersection of Country and Punk/Rock that exists in the Live Music Capital of the World. So let's get this rock show started - Heck Yeah, Dang Right!
