The Big Nekkid is a four piece rock act whose sound is the culmination of all four members' upbringing on classic rock, blues, and improvisational music. In addition to their regular schedule, The Big Nekkid headlined the first annual Sewaneroo Music Festival at The University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and were finalists in the Red Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands at Zydeco in Birmingham, AL, in 2009. The Birmingham based band has spent 2010 playing colleges/clubs, recording their first full-length album, and opening up for national acts such as Cowboy Mouth, Moon Taxi, Tonic & Coolio. During the course of a Big Nekkid set, one can expect inspired solos from all four members and an original four-piece sound that stems from their collaborative song-writing process.
Lead singer and guitarist Ben Brooks, bassist Will Sommerville, and drummer Roger Jones formed The Big Nekkid as a trio in Selma, AL. Taylor Garrett joined The Big Nekkid in 2009. Ben Brooks' playing is heavily inspired by the sounds of Neil Young, John Fogerty, Jimmy Page, and more recent guitarists who have carried the classic rock guitar sound into the twenty-first century. Taylor Garrett's lead guitar sound has developed out of his mutual affinity with Brooks for classic rock guitarists such as David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton as well as guitarists such as Umphrey's McGee's Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss, Phish's Trey Anastasio, and John Scofield. Will Sommerville's appreciation for the work of bass players such as Les Claypool of Primus, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin compliments Brooks' and Garrett's sound. Drummer Roger Jones takes cues from Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin, and Wood, and jazz great Bill Stewart, among countless other percussionists in a variety of genres.
The Big Nekkid's demo has been circulating around the Southeast since 2006. Their touring schedule consists of year-round dates in bars, clubs, and at universities across the Southeast. Currently unsigned to a record label, The Big Nekkid's first full-length album, "Cosmic Baby," is scheduled to be released in June 2010.
