 Big Brother and the Holding Company was a prime example of a band right where
whole was greater than the of its parts. You cannot buy or
manufacture the natural feeling that was in that band. Big Brother played from
the heart and soul with the goal achieving a direct connection
with the innermost feelings of the audience." Sam Andrew
Evolving out of the San Francisco rock scene of the 1960s, Big Brother was in
the forefront of the psychedelic music movement.
The band was formed by Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, James Gurley and Chuck Jones in
San Francisco, in a Victorian mansion/boarding house owned by Peter's uncle at
1090 Page Street in the Haight-Ashbury. That house became the site of Wednesday
night jam sessions which were organized by Chet Helms who was the real "Big
Brother," naming the band, bringing James Gurley into the fold and later seeing
that his old friend Janis Joplin came to sing with them.The first official Big
Brother gig was at the Open Theater in Berkeley, January 1966. Within a short
time they became the house band for Chet at the Avalon Ballroom and began to
develop a loyal following, largely due to the charismatic, pioneering guitarwork
of James Gurley. The band had what Sam Andrew callled a "progressive-regressive
hurricane blues style," playing such tunes as Hall of the Mountain King, Coo
Coo, That's How Strong My Love Is, and Down On Me.
During the winter of 1966, Chuck Jones left the band and was replaced by Dave
Getz who played his first gig with the band on 12 March at the Matrix on
Fillmore Street. Peter Albin was the main vocalist at this time, and although
Sam Andrew helped out with the singing, both men knew that the band needed a
singer who could match the group's instrumental energies. Chet Helms remembered
a friend from his University of Texas days, Janis Joplin, and proposed that he
bring her back to San Francisco, where she had tried to launch a singing career
in 1963-1964. Janis came to town, sang a couple of tunes with the band at their
Henry Street studio, and was enthusiastically welcomed into the group, playing
her first Big Brother engagement at the Avalon Ball room on 10 June 1966. Big
Brother had been a loose, ramshackle,experimenting ensemble and now, with Janis,
the music became more sturctured, and the band became a family. They moved out
of San Francisco, north to Lagunitas in Marin County, found a beautiful house
where they could all live and rehearse and settled down to some serious music
making.
In August 1966, Big Brother went to Chicago, their first real on the road
experience, and they played a month at Mother Blues, a club in Old Town, and
recorded their first album at Mainstream Records. It was to be a year before
this effort was released and the band went through the winter of 1966 and the
spring of 1967 becoming a more professional unit and building an audience. June
of 1967 brought the Monterey Pop Festival, a big shift for Big Brother. Janis
had learned how to sing in front of an electric band, she became larger than
life and her "screamingly mournful vocals and potently sexual stage act," had,
as a reviewer noted, propelled Big Brother into the national spotlight. Peter,
Sam, Dave and James, strong personalities in their own right, were wise enough
to give Janis the freedom truly to be herself, and people responded to the power
of the band and to Janis' truly unique voice.
Big Brother acquired a new manager at Monterey, Albert Grossman, who brought
them to Columbia Records.where they made their second album Cheap Thrills which
was number one on the charts for eight weeks. The music on the album was
energetic and driving, the perfect match for Joplin's voice. Guitar Player
magazine called James Gurley the "Father of the Psychedelic Guitar," and Rick
Clark in the All Music Book wrote "Anyone who thinks Guns N'Roses mastered hard
electric blues-grunge hasn't heard Big Brother's James Gurley and Sam Houston
Andrew duke it out on tracks like 'Ball and Chain,' 'Summertime,' and
'Combination of the Two.' "
Janis Joplin left Big Brother in December 1968 and Sam Andrew went with her,
while Peter Albin and Dave Getz joined Country Joe and the Fish. In the fall of
1969, Peter, Sam, Dave and James resurrected Big Brother with the help of Dave
Schallock (guitar), Nick Gravenites(vocals and great songwriting), and Kathi
McDonald. one of the best singers ever. The band released two albums Be A
Brother (1970) and How Hard It Is (1971), toured for a couple of years and then
decided to rest for a while.
In October 1978, Big Brother and the Holding Company played for old friend Chet
Helms at The Greek Theatre in Berkeley, but it was not to be until almost a
decade later (1987) that they reunited, adding Michel Bastian on vocals. Since
that time, Big Brother have played all over the world and have become, in the
process, better musicians than they ever were. This is partly because they have
played with some wonderful players and vocalists over the years. On guitar, Tom
Finch,Chad Quist, Joel Hoekstra and Kate Russo on violin have been superb, while
on vocals, outstanding singers have been Lisa Battle, Lisa Mills and the
redoubtable Sophia Ramos.
Recent Big Brother and the Holding Company CD releases have been Do What You
Love, the Janis Joplin boxed set on Sony, Live At Winterland and now (2006) the
band is preparing a new offering, a live recording of a concert in Burg Herzberg,
Germany, with Sophia Ramos and Chad Quist, and containing such tunes as Hold Me,
Piece of My Heart, Ball & Chain, Down On Me, Summertime and Turtle Blues. This
CD will be the soundtrack for a Big Brother 40th Anniversary tour of the world.
Through a dear friend of the band, Catherine Cavalieri, Sam Andrew met Tim
Murphy who has been a godsend. Tim has kept the band working and he goes far
beyond the call of duty in handling the somewhat tempestuous and emotional
aspects of the artists' lives. There is a renewed sense of excitement and hope
with Big Brother today largely due to Tim's help and support.
Come hear the band and you will realize that they are recreating themselves and
delivering a dynamic show.
|
