Big Trouble's Years and Beers

Big Trouble's Years And Beers

Bruce Von Stiers

Hair bands have their place in rock history. And some fans just can't let go of those days of bands like Poison and Ratt. A few bands are well remembered while others are only fondly recalled by a select bunch of fans.

There is one particular band that falls into the latter category. They were a regional hit around the Atlanta area in the early ‘90's. The band opened for headliners like Skid Row and Jackyl. The name of the band was Big Trouble. But they started to get name recognition just as grunge became the new wave in rock music. So the band slowly slid into rock oblivion and its members went on to various other musical projects.

Now there is resurgence in the hair band rock sound. So much so that bands are dusting off their old recordings and attempting to find audiences once again. That's what happened with Big Trouble. They got back together and not only digitally remastered their old recordings, but wrote and recorded a brand new song.

The result of the band getting back together, recording new material and sifting through old stuff is an album that's called 20 Years and a Million Beers Ago. The subtitle is The Very Best of Big Trouble. It is being released on the Retrospect Records label.

The members of Big Trouble are James “Master of Ceremonies” Schmidt, Mike “Well Strung” Wilkes, Dan “Low End Rumble” Call and Chuck “Skin Pounder” Strawhand. Schmidt is the lead vocalist and Strawhand is the drummer. Wilkes plays guitar and Call is on bass.

As this was a band that was in the midst of the hair band movement, their music has the same sound and feel of a lot of the major bands. As you listen to the album you'll hear the influence of Poison, Ratt, a bit of Whitesnake and a touch or two of southern rock. You'll even get a vibe of a possible Van Halen influence, even though that band was never really tagged as being a hair band.

But enough about all that. You probably really want to know about the songs on the album.

Circus is short and a little strange. But that is followed by a Poison sounding tune called No Stopping Now.

Rocking, head bopping music can be found in You Might Get Lucky.

Rough and tough guitar is in the love lament Falling Out of Love.

Another Poison like tune is Take Me.

A little harsher and darker tone can be found in Now You See Me.

Heel bouncing, head banging guitar is what Way Out is all about.

Another heavy rocker is Upside Down.

Other songs on the album include Accidental Angel, Seeing Is Believing and Lost In Your Love. Accidental Angel is a slow and gentle love ballad.

Hot Shot is a kick ass rocker.

The song that the band wrote specifically for the album is Popcorn, Whiskey and Beer. It has an almost Southern Rock and blues ballad lilt to it.

There are a few other songs and material on the album that the guys decided to add. The material includes an intro by an Atlanta radio DJ for the band's August 1991 show at the Avondale Town Cinema. That is followed by three songs recorded live at that concert. The songs were Candyland, Life Rolls On and Somebody Get Me A Doctor. Candyland rocks out with some really tough guitar. Life Rolls On is a mellow ballad. And Somebody Get Me A Doctor is heat stroking, hot smoking guitar in a pretty decent cover of the Van Halen song.

Big Trouble fits right in with the resurgence of the hair band and metal music from the ‘80's and ‘90's. Hell, there are even cruises that are featuring bands from that era. Fans of old will find their favorite songs in this album. And people who like the feel and sound of the music of the hair band era will definitely like this album.

20 Years and a Million Beers Ago can be purchased at CD Baby, amazon.com, napster and on iTunes.

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