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The year 2003 is shaping up to be a big one for The Big Wu. Following a tumultuous 2002, the Wu are just about set (as the song says) to “Take the World By Storm.”
 Last year saw several ups and downs for The Big Wu. There were many great moments, including a series of triumphant 10th anniversary shows in January and February in the band’s hometown of Minneapolis and adopted hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. The Wu were the very first band to play at the very first Bonnaroo Music Festival. And finally, the Wu released its third and most acclaimed studio album, Spring Reverb. As bassist Andy “Padre Pienbique” Miller says, “We went after the coolest and tightest song arrangements possible. Our approach was to make a great, classic rock-sounding rock album. The drums are huge. The bass is huge. The guitars are right up there. And the singing is done right into old microphones. This is vintage rock and roll the way we've all forgotten it was intended to be heard.”
It was also a year of change and transition for The Big Wu. A long, drawn-out legal battle with their now defunct label, Phoenix Records, was finally resolved, giving the band control over its name and music again and allowing the Wu to release material on its own label, Bivco Records. In September, one of its founding members, guitarist Jason Fladager, left the band to spend more time with his family. Rather than hastily replace Jason with another guitar player, the remaining members decided to give it a go as a four-piece band. This signaled a significant change in the sound of the band, from dual to single guitar. And although it was met with some skepticism from the Wu's loyal fan base, the band seems to be hitting its stride as a quartet. The growing consensus is that The Big Wu sound different, not necessarily better or worse, just different. But The Big Wu has always been about its songs and, other than the four original songs for which Jason sang lead vocals, the songs remain. Plus several new songs, written specifically for the four-piece, are starting to emerge in the repertoire. Keyboarist Al Oikari and guitarist Chris Castino have had to assume much larger and more prominent roles in the band. As far as talent goes, both are more than capable of handling the increased workload, and the adjustment seems to finally have become more comfortable for them.
This year already started with a bang. The band spent much of January playing close to home, hitting up several college campuses in the Midwest. The word from the Wusters during this stretch was the band was starting to really fire on all cylinders. A successful tour of the West Coast, Colorado, Arizona and Texas took up most of the month of February and created more positive buzz about the band's current direction. March has seen some much needed time off, especially for new first-time daddy, drummer Terry VanDewalker. They will spend this coming weekend in Illinois, playing the Rock Island Brewing Company on March 21st and Park West in Chicago on March 22nd.
After another couple of weeks off The Big Wu will begin the next big tour, which will take the band through Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan, then to the East Coast and down South before they return home to cap off final preparations for the sixth annual Big Wu Family Reunion. As always, the festival is to be held over Memorial Day weekend at NCN-North Campground (formerly Jamboree Campground) in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. This event has a reputation as the "kindest" festival of the year. It is small enough that it has an intimate feel to it, but big enough that it is one helluva party. Besides all the great music, there is an amazingly positive vibe that permeates the campground all weekend. The local Chamber of Commerce runs the beer concession as a fundraiser and seems to love the folks who come to their community every year. The food drive sponsored by the Wu and their street cru, the House of Wu, has contributed so much food to the local county in the last two years that they’ve been able to share the bounty with neighboring counties.
Following their own festival, the Wu will be playing many more festivals during the summer including the first annual 10,000 Lakes Festival in Minnesota, featuring such dignitaries as the Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, moe. and Gov't Mule. The Big Wu will also play both Summerfest (with Dark Star Orchestra) and Rainbow Summer in Milwaukee, the Great Blue Heron Music Festival in New York, Green Man Festival in Duluth, MN, and Salipuedes in Ensanada, Mexico. Other festivals and individual shows will be announced in the coming weeks.
Known for their solid songwriting (as indicated by a recent online poll about best lyrics among jambands), catchy grooves and friendly fan base, The Big Wu is primed to make some noise in the jam world. If you haven't yet, catch a show when they come to your town. Check out TheBigWu.com for tour schedule, other useful information and merchandise, including Spring Reverb.
Hey you: see The Big Wu!
Daniel Gutof
JamBase | Chicago
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