bigwig

Check Out Other Great Bands on !, , , , , , , , , and ! Hailing from the Garden State of New Jersey, Bigwig was a band started on a simple premise... they just wanted to play a unique brand of fast, melodic punk rock mixed with politics, and have it be heard. And heard it has been since they broke on to the scene in 1995. Their influences range from Jawbreaker and Weezer, to the Descendents, NOFX, and even Slayer. Although some of people have compared them to Propaghandi, Bigwig’s sound isn’t that easy to pin down. Their career got started with a phone call. The late Jim Cherry (of Strung Out, Zero Down) caught Bigwig while he was on tour and was so impressed he had to call his friend over at Fearless Records. Shortly thereafter, Bigwig was signed and their debut album, "Unmerry Melodies," was released. By touring non-stop since their inception with bands like Pennywise, Less Than Jake, No Use For a Name, Strung Out, the Vandals, and slots on the Warped Tour, Bigwig has been able to build a dedicated fan base, and all on their own terms. Their current line-up consists of outdoors-man singer / guitarist Tom Petta, long time metal loving drummer Matt Gray, bassist and one-time Bigwig merch guy Brent Hamer, and the seafood-loving Josh Marsh on guitar and vocals. As Tom Petta explains, Bigwig is usually inspired to write songs when they are pissed off about an issue. "My friend calls us posi-negative... trying to be positive about negative subjects. We know the world is fucked up, and we aren't claiming that we are any better than anyone just because we know the world is fucked up. We just write about it, but of course it'd be nice to change something." If Bigwig keep up the pace they’ve set for themselves, change might not be out of reach. After releasing their second full length album, "Stay Asleep," on Kung Fu Records, the band returned to Fearless Records to release their latest and most exciting record to date, "Invitation to a Tragedy." Mixed by Ryan Greene (Lagwagon, NOFX, Strung Out, No Use For a Name, etc), the band finally was able to make the record they’ve wanted to make. According to Tom Petta, "It’s a little faster, a little heavier, and has better production. We got to spend more time on everything." Those improvements, coupled with years of hard work and D.I.Y. ethics are really paying off, as Bigwig is bigger now than ever before. But more importantly, they’ve set themselves up for years of success to come.