Arin Thompson
Daily Egyptian
They all call the same gene pool home, and it's all in the jeans.
The band Big Smith, hailing from Springfield, Mo., will bring their grassroots style to Shryock at 7 p.m. Thursday for one last romp in this years' summer Sunset Concert Series.
Early on in the band's career, someone asked what the name of the band was before they even had one. Mike Williamson, the bass player, looked down at his overalls for the answer.
"Big Smith," joked Mike, telling the brand name of his jeans.
Big Smith was a clothing manufacturer that made work clothes at the time, and the boys' grandparents wore the brand.
"It just kind of fit the spirit of the band," Bilyeu said.
The band formed professionally in 1996 and is comprised of five cousins and two sets of brothers. Since then, the group has accumulated a large following, playing raucous acoustic music that resonates from their native Ozarks.
"We have a long extended musical family," said Mark Bilyeu, guitar player and primary songwriter.
Growing up, Mark and Jody Bilyeu, Jay and Mike Williamson and Rik Thomas all spent time making music with their aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents. Big Smith is continuing the tradition of folksy, family-made music. According to Bilyeu, members of Big Smith take some of their style from their parents' love of gospel.
The music is all based around the sounds of a mandolin, an acoustic guitar, a bass fiddle and a washboard. In recent times Big Smith has broadened its horizons - just a little bit.
"The way we make our music really hasn't changed over the years," Bilyeu said. "We eventually decided to stretch out a little bit."
Big Smith now includes piano, electric guitar and brass instruments. At any given time, there have been as many as 20 different instruments on stage. But when Big Smith hits the stage, band members expect the audience to get involved.
"It's not like a Pete Seeger sing-along," Bilyeu said. "We're not aloof on stage."
Though Big Smith has "old-timey" influences, like some of the music to come out of the film "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," the band members add their own flavor to bluegrass and folk. One of their major outings was playing with Emmylou Harris, a country/folk musician, according to their Web site, www.bigsmithband.com.
"I like to rock out myself," Bilyeu said. "It really is just a big mix of all types of music."
Big Smith's new double CD, "Gig," encompasses the band members' musical careers. The album brings their style full-circle. The first CD is full of acoustic licks that are more of what the band likes to call a "strip-down" sound. The strip-down sound is derived from when the boys would all sit around with family members and just let loose with guitars and vocals, creating truly raw music. The second disk offers up their more rocking sounds with drums, electric guitars and piano. The same succession can be expected at the show Thursday night.
"Lately, we've been starting out with more tradition strip-down stuff," Bilyeu said. "Then we rock out."
Big Smith will play at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shryock Auditorium for the season's final Sunset Concert.
Reporter Arin Thompson can be reached at athompson@dailyegyptian.com.
Reporter Jared DuBach contributed to this story.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
