Big City Rock
is a rock band based in Los Angeles, California who are signed to Atlantic Records. Their music type is self-described as "energetic, anthemic pop" with "an uplifting sound", with keyboards, guitar, and drums.
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BIG CITY ROCK TICKETS
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History
Tim Resudek, Frank Staniszewski,
Jeff Conrad and Nate Bott, who grew up together in
Madison, Wisconsin started a
ska-
punk band in
eighth grade named Stinkfish. Bott, Conrad and Staniszewski later started another band, Siren Six!, when they moved to
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Siren Six! broke up in 2000 after they moved to California to try to get signed to a
music label. Big City Rock started when Resudek was asked to join Staniszewski, Conrad and Bott in
Los Angeles, California. In 2003, drummer Jeff Conrad left to join the band
Phantom Planet, and was replaced by Kaumyar. In March 2004 guitarist Andy Barr, who had played with Kaumyar before, joined also in 2004. Becker also joined in 2004. Signed to Atlantic in late 2004 after having opened for
Gratitude,
Rooney,
Phoenix, and
Maroon 5, in 2005, the band relocated to
New York City to record their debut album at
Stratosphere Studios.
Big City Rock's debut album was released on Atlantic Records in March 2006 and generated critical acclaim. Blender magazine gave the album 3.5 stars proclaiming it "... like
the Killers without the self-consciousness, powered by exquisitely engineered hooks that are nearly impossible to forget." And placing the song "All of the Above" at the number 10 slot of their annual Top 100 Singles chart.
Throughout 2006 Big City Rock toured across the country, supporting acts like
Morningwood,
Rock Kills Kid,
Under The Influence of Giants,
Sugarcult,
Head Automatica,
Diamond Nights,
The Rocket Summer,
Jason Mraz, and
The Click Five.
In 2008, Big City Rock underwent personnel changes and began writing their follow-up album to "Big City Rock".
Band members
- Nate Bott - Vocals, Guitar
- Frank Staniszewski - Keyboards, Vocals
- Jason Lautenschleger - Bass Guitar
- Kaumyar - Drums, Percussion
Previous members
- Jeff Conrad: Drums, Percussion
- Tim Resudek: bass guitar, vocals
- Andy Barr: guitar, vocals
Discography
- Big City Rock (2003) [1]
- #Do You Know What You Want
- #Here for Each Other
- #Human
- #Only If You Want Me To
- #Better Place
- Big City Rock (2004) [2]
- #Do You Know What You Want
- #Human
- #Here for Each Other
- #Better Place
- #All the Way [Acoustic]
- #Sink
- #They Won't Mind
- #Different Face
- Big City Rock (2006) [3]
- #Sink
- #All of the Above
- #As Soon As I Find Out
- #I Believe In You
- #Human
- #Kind
- #Better Place
- #Shelter
- #They Won't Mind
- #Touch The Horizon
Trivia
- The band recorded a cover of the song "Black Betty" for the 2007 film TMNT. [4]
- The band also recorded a cover of Silent Night during the 2007 holiday season and released it as a single. [4]
- "All of the Above" from Big City Rock was featured on the 2006 Bionicle: Free the Band website, as well as songs from Undertones, Over It, Carbon Leaf, and a few others.
- "Human" was used in the 2006 Warren Miller Movie "Off The Grid" - It was used in a section about 2 skiers (Kevin Bramble and Monte Meier) with disabilities (one paralyzed from the waist down, and one missing one leg) Heliskiing in the Alaskan Cugache mountain range. [6]
- Made a video for "Do you know what you want" Hard to find
Equipment
Frank Staniszewski uses a
Nord Lead 2 synth,
MicroKORG and
Yamaha S90 as well as using
Hammond B3 organs and various grand pianos in the studio.
Nate Bott uses
Fender Deville amplifiers with no effects pedals. He uses
Fender Stratocaster and
Fender Jaguar guitars.
Jason Lautenschleger uses
Ampeg amplifiers and Ampeg cabinets and plays
Fender Precision and
Music Man Stingray basses
Kaumyar plays
Pearl Drums and
Zildjian cymbals with the exception of his
Paiste Hi-Hats.