Big Head Todd Headlines At Ride Festival

08 Jul Big Head Todd Headlines At Ride Festival

Big Head Todd, C. Taylor Crothers

Three words that instantly brighten up any dark associations with the Colorado town named “Columbine”: Former Columbine locals, Big Head Todd (& The Monsters).

Over nearly three decades  – college-town concerts in the 1980s to national festival and tours in the 1990s into 2000s – Big Head Todd & the Monsters were able to cultivate a devoted fan base by following a simple formula at all their live performances. The band’s sets feature a now familiar smorgasbord of music ranging from reggae to blues to pop-rock (and whatever else tickles the group’s fancy) laced with extended improvisational riffs that include hard-driving axe solos. The no-miss recipe for success has an inevitable effect of follow the bouncing ball: a chorus of sing-alongs from the rapt crowd for nearly every tune on the set list.

Big Head Todd  & The Monsters  returns to Telluride to headline at the 2nd annual Ride Festival, so named because musical event followed the Telluride leg (last year, August 20) of U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge. This year, the Ride’s rootsy, rocking line-up also includes David Byrne & St. Vincent,  Rodrigo y Gabriella, Cake, Drive-By Truckers, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Son Volt, The Revivalists, Brown Bird, Brothers & Bones, The Whiskey Sisters, Matthew Curry, and the Hazel Miller Gospel Brunch.

(Go here to find the weekend line up.)

Big Head Todd was formed in 1986 with Todd Park Mohr on guitar and vocals, Brian Nevin on drums and vocals and Rob Squires on bass and vocals, a trio who had attended the now infamous Columbine High School. It all came together after Mohr transferred from Colorado State University to the University of Colorado to join up with his friends. The threesome began by touring clubs in 1987, at first sticking close to home: Denver, Fort Collins and Boulder. Just six short years later, by 1993, the territory the group conquered opened way up: the Monsters had developed a major league following all across the country. After issuing two popular independent releases on their Big imprint, the band hooked up with Irving Azoff’s Giant Records for the platinum album Sister Sweetly (1993). The Monsters then issued four chart albums on Giant and Warner Bros.

The Monsters’ two most recent releases are the 2010 Rocksteady, featuring original tunes plus “Beast of Burden” written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and “Smokestack Lightning” by Chester Burnett. In 2011, the now foursome (backup vocalist Jeremy Lawton joined the band in 2004) returned to the studio to record an all new project under the name Big Head Blues Club. The recording, 100 Years of Robert Johnson, celebrates the songs of the late blues singer and musician Robert Johnson. Members of Big Head Todd & the Monsters were accompanied by B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Cedric Burnside, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Hubert Sumlin, Ruthie Foster and Lightnin’ Malcolm. A third album scheduled for release in 2014, was recently produced by Steve Jordan (Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens) and engineer Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Warren Zevon.)

Last month, The Monsters celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Sister Sweetly with a headline show at Red Rocks. After The Ride Festival, everyone hits the road for the inaugural LP Tour: four incredible groups will play their most celebrated albums live front to back. This year, the featured groups touring with the Monsters includes Soul Asylum, The Wailers, and Matthew Sweet.

At KOTO’s Ride, the Monsters are guaranteed to rock steady as always. The group knows never forgets where its bread is buttered:
“The quality of the relationship between the band and the fan is the most important aspect of our career. We’ve always realized that. That’s why we do cruises with fans and we sign autographs after shows. We still try to play every request. We listen to our audience and do whatever we can to acknowledge that relationship,” Mohr concluded.

For more – or should I say Mohr? – click the “play” button and listen to my chat with Todd, recorded last year before the inaugural Ride. He talks about his career, when he knew the Monsters had a shot,  and his fellow band members.