February 2005 - BIG YELLOW MAMA
BIG YELLOW MAMA is a relatively new sludge rock band from the south of the USA. Clearly that the the blues has left its footprints in their sound, but that's not all. Unfortunately this band had only released two very rough demos, which has been recorded live, but due to its naturalness both cd-r's are very authentic and unspent. But singer Eric Crowe is an extremely creative musician, and has some other bands and projects on the run, which go partially into completely different direction. Thus we maintained about the life in the Southern States, his other musical activities, electric chairs and everything which life make otherwise still worth living...
Hello Eric, due to the reason that maybe only 5% of the readers will know Big Yellow Mama, would you be so kind to give a short biography to those who are interested! And is it true that members of Molehill are part of the line-up?
Well Klaus, if there is even 5% of readers that know anything about us, I am impressed and very happy. Big Yellow Mama originally began 2 years ago, but was called Pork Rind, which was an idea I had sat on since 1995. At that time it was a 4 piece and lasted through that summer, till tension and thought processes collided, so I hung it up after the "Pride of Dixie" demo. I still wanted to continue the project and was nowhere close to being finished, so I contacted Patrick and we started writing and practicing, without a drummer.
During that time, I was living in Alabama so I would make trips every other weekend to Georgia just to practice. In October 2003 I moved back to GA, found Caleb as the new drummer and started playing shows in the local area and building a small fan base. In September of 2004, Caleb quit and we are still in search of a replacement. It seems as though drummers are hard to find. As far as the rumor of Molehill members, that is true, I am the only ex-member of Molehill in Big Yellow Mama. I played with them while I lived in Birmingham, right before they went down for the final count and called it quits.
A few weeks ago you've sent me both demos. I was surprised about the fact that both were recorded live. "Pride Of Dixie" had been recorded in a living room while the second one has been recorded during a show. Please, tell us something about the sessions and why have you done live recordings? Is this the band's policy or what's the reason for it?
It's definitely not a policy with the band, it's just the cheapest way to get our music out there. With "Pride of Dixie" we hung a mic from a light fixture into a 4 track. The tracks were shitty, but it was raw and dirty as hell, so we went with it. The s/t demo was taken from a live show, I hoped to capture the live feel of our music, the thickness and energy we put out.
I would love to hear you sound with a good and thick production. Have you any plans to release a full-length or a split in the future? Any good label offerings?
You and me both! As a band, we are strapped for cash, so recording isn't all that easy, but talks have progressed with John Ehlders and Chief (ex-Nile) to record in their studios in South Carolina for a reasonable price. We are looking at a full length and hope things work out, with them and a replacement drummer. We haven't had any label interest, mainly cause no one has really heard of us, and the labels I have spoken with aren't looking to add new bands to their roster and/or are busy with other projects.
The tasteful cover artwork of both demos have religious motifs. Are you a person with a strong belief or what do you want to express with them?
I do have strong religious beliefs, but I'm not trying to express that in the covers, that's just something that I have within myself. The artwork were things I pieced together and either found humor in, like the "Pride of Dixie" cover, or just impressed with the image of Christ with the children. It wasn't intentional, at first, but after working with the piece it made sense and just felt right.
