Who is Big Head Todd & the Monsters?

Big Head Todd and the Monsters
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Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Origin Boulder, Colorado, USA
Years active 1986-present
Label(s) Big, Giant
Website Official Site of Big Head Todd & the Monsters
Members
Todd Park Mohr
Brian Nevin
Rob Squires
Jeremy Lawton
Big Head Todd & the Monsters is a rock band formed in 1986 in Colorado. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album Sister Sweetly going platinum in the United States. The band has developed a sizable live following especially in the Mountain States of the United States.

Contents [hide]
1 Band history
2 Line up
3 Discography
4 Chart Success
4.1 Charting singles
5 References
6 External links



[edit] Band history
The band was formed in 1986 with Todd Park Mohr on guitar and vocals, Brian Nevin drums and vocals and Rob Squires on bass and vocals. The trio had attended Columbine High School together and formed a band at the University of Colorado. The band name is a tribute to legendary blues/jazz "heads" (eg. Eddy Clean-head Vincent, etc.) It was actually just a fluke--they were scheduled to perform their first gig, but had no name...Todd came up with that at the spur of the moment and it stuck.[1]

The band soon built up a following in Denver and Boulder. They toured extensively throughout the Mountain States and West Coast of the United States in their van dubbed "The Colonel", which clocked up over 400,000 miles.

In 1989, the band formed Big Records and released their first album Another Mayberry in 1989. Midnight Radio was released the following year. By 1993, Big Head Todd and the Monsters had developed a considerable live following across the United States. Their first live album Big Head Todd and the Monsters Live was recorded at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1993.

The group signed with Giant Records in 1993 and recorded Sister Sweetly with Prince associate David Z. producing. This album went platinum and spawned three singles that made the rock charts including "Bittersweet", "Circle" and "Brokenhearted Saviour".

Mohr produced the next album Strategem released in 1994. It reached #30 on the Billboard album charts but did not sell as well as its predecessors due to the lack of a hit single from the album.

The band contributed the song Tangerine to the 1995 Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin.

Jerry Harrison, formerly of the Talking Heads, produced the next album released in 1997. Blues legend John Lee Hooker was recording an album in the same studio and played with the band on a version of his best-known song "Boom Boom". Rob Squires described the recording of the track on the band's website. "Hooker has just this incredible presence. He walked into the room and literally everyone was intimidated including our producer and the people who work in the studio." (1) Bernie Worrell, formerly of P-Funk, played keyboards on the albums title track "Beautiful World". The album spawned two hit singles on the rock charts namely "Boom Boom" and "Resignation Superman". The Live Monsters album followed in 1998.

In 2002, the group released the follow up studio album Riviera. As Giant Records had closed its doors, the self-produced album was released through Big Records with distribution through Warner Music. Crimes of Passion was released in 2004 with Sanctuary Records distributing it. Another live album Live at the Fillmore was released in 2004.

In 2005, the group joined the throng of Internet-based music sales by releasing the single "Blue Sky" exclusively on iTunes. This single was written at the request of crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Discovery for their STS-114 Return to Flight mission in 2005, the first mission after the Columbia disaster. "Blue Sky" was written and performed as a tribute to the men and women of the American space program, from the people keeping the space shuttle flying to the astronauts doing the flying.

As of November 4 2007 they are offering an advance copy of their next record free to anyone who signs up via their official website listed below.


[edit] Line up
Todd Park Mohr - lead vocals/guitars/keyboards/saxophone
Brian Nevin - drums/percussion/vocals
Rob Squires - bass/vocals
Jeremy Lawton - keyboards/pedal steel guitar/vocals

[edit] Discography
Another Mayberry 1989
Midnight Radio 1990
Sister Sweetly 1993
Strategem 1994
Beautiful World 1997
Live Monsters 1998
Riviera 2002
Crimes of Passion 2004
Live at the Fillmore 2004
From The Archives 2007

[edit] Chart Success
The following albums have charted on the Billboard album charts:

Sister Sweetly #1 Billboard Heatseeker, #117 Billboard Album Chart 1993
Strategem #30 Billboard Album Chart 1994
Beautiful World #54 Billboard Album Chart 1997
Riviera #166 Billboard Album Chart #2 Internet Chart
Crimes of Passion #253 Internet albums

[edit] Charting singles
Year Title Chart Positions[2] Album
US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock
1993 "Bittersweet" - #14 Sister Sweetly
1993 "Broken Hearted Savior" - #9 Sister Sweetly
1993 "Circle" - #21 Sister Sweetly
1997 "Resignation Superman" #38 #13 Beautiful World
1998 "Boom Boom" - #29 Beautiful World


[edit] References
^ FAQ. BigHeadTodd.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
^ Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com

[edit] External links
Official Site of Big Head Todd & the Monsters
Allmusic.com Big Head Todd and The Monsters
Podcast.net with downloadable Big Head Todd & the Monsters tunes
Todd Park Mohr's philosophy podcasts on Podcast.net
Big Head Todd and the Monsters collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
"Big Head Todd & the Monsters" article in Contemporary Musicians Volume 20 1997 cited on Galenet Biography Research Centre
"Rock favourites Big Head Todd & the Monsters Set to Release New Album Riviera Set to Release New Album on Warner Bros Distributed Big Records" PR Newswire January 28 2002
Management: Alex Brahl for Brahl Management
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Head_Todd_and_the_Monsters"
Categories: Music in Denver | American rock music groups | Colorado musical groups | Taper-friendly musical groups | Columbine High School alumni | Musical groups established in 1986

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