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Welcome back to JamBase's friendly inquisition of the bright lights of the music world.
Last time we heard from Big Head Todd.
To look at Big
Light's Fred Torphy on the street you might not see what a natural born rocker
he is. But, stick him beneath hot stage lights with an electric guitar and he looks just
too right. Surround him with three equally primed-for-launch guys overflowing with talent
- Bradley Bifulco (drums), Jeremy Korpas (guitar) and Steve Adams
(bass) – and you've got a classic four-piece that off-handedly reminds one what a joyful,
enriching thing rock 'n' roll can be.
And while their off-the-books tangents work great – they are jam band scholars – it's the
bare bones and killer smile inside their songwriting that snags you. It also doesn't hurt
that they stoke memories of Wilco, Big Star and Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians.
Perhaps more than anything else, one picks up on a hunger in this group often missing from
today's too-cool-for-school bands. Big Light positively salivates at the chance to wreck
and ride rock for all it's worth. And they ain't half bad at pretty stuff, too. 2010 has
been a banner year for this young San Francisco-based band, with regular touring on both
coasts, a flurry of new composing and the release of their bang-up debut album, Animals
In Bloom (JamBase review). Yet, this all feels
like the tip of the iceberg with Big Light, whose potential may well surpass even their
wide, eager eyes ability to envision just yet. (Dennis Cook)
Here's what Fred had to say to our inquiries.
 Fred Torphy – Big Light by Dave Vann |
Nicknames: Torph, Tiz, Vortex
Instrument of choice: Gibson SG standard
1. Great music rarely happens without…
Lots of hard work
2. The first album I bought was…
Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy
3. The last song or album to really flip my wig was…
Dawes' North Hills (JamBase review)
4. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be…
A musician or archaeologist
5. My favorite sort of gig is…
Intimate, DIY, party/guerrilla festival set
6. One thing I wish people knew about me is…
I dislike capers (as in the food) intensely.
7. I love the sound of…
Ukulele
8. One day I hope to make an album as fantastic as…
The Slip's Eisenhower
9. The best meal I ever had on tour was at…
At our guitar player Jeremy's parents' house on tour in New Jersey, March 2010. Best
home-cooked Italian food I've ever had. Thank you, Dianne & Tom Korpas.
10. I always find the coolest audiences in…
California
11. The worst habit I've picked up being on the road all the time is…
Not eating well
12. The Beatles or the Stones? Por qué?
The Beatles. They wrote better songs and made better albums.
13. The craziest thing I ever saw was…
A friend do a perfect double back flip off of a 60-plus-foot cliff into Lake Champlain in
Burlington, VT.
Big Light plays the grand re-opening of SF's The Independent next
Wednesday, August 4, with kissin' cousins Apollo Sunshine
before winging it back east later in the month for a string of shows in Boston, NYC,
Asbury Park, Rockville and Baltimore.
Big Light Tour Dates ::
Big Light News :: Big Light Concert
Reviews
JamBase | Blooming
Go See Live Music!
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