Hi, this is Todd Parkmore with Big Hit Todd and
the Monsters, and you're listening to my weekly
mixtape with Brian Colbert, and we just finished
incredible discussions about some of our favorite
songs of Big Hit Todd and the Monsters, and hopefully
you'll be intrigued. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape,
a podcast that takes the classic mixtape approach
to building a modern playlist. I'm your host,
Brian Colburn. Joining me tonight as guest curator
is Todd Parkmore, lead vocalist and multi -instrumentalist
for Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Todd, thank
you so much for joining me on My Weekly Mixtape.
Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. I'd
like to start by asking you the same question
I ask all of my first -time guests, and that's,
What does the word mixtape mean to you? That
means a cassette tape that is designed to impress
a girl, as it means me. Well, tonight we're going
to be trying to impress a lot of people with
our mixtape because we're going to create the
ultimate Big Head Todd and the Monsters mixtape
together. Me from a fan perspective and you from...
Well, the artist who writes all of the songs.
My question for you is, how hard is it? Because
you guys do this on a nightly basis with your
set lists. How hard is it to cull down 35 years
of music into something that's a little shorter
and digestible? Well, it's not as hard as you
think, because over those years, we learned what
works and what doesn't. And people have favorites.
We notice that certain songs, you know, push
buttons and are useful in certain ways. But having
said that, we have a lot of variety in our sets.
I write a different set every night, and we usually
include the predictable hits and successful songs
of ours, but also, you know, things that are
my favorites or stuff that I haven't heard in
a while. You know, we try to keep it fresh for
the band. That's really important. So I feel
good about having a lot of music to choose from.
Well, let's get down to business. Tonight, as
I mentioned at the top of the show, Todd and
I will be creating the ultimate Big Head Todd
and the Monsters mixtape, and we'll use the old
cassette deck approach. Todd, as my special guest,
will begin Side A with his first song choice,
and then I'll add a song that I feel best follows
up that choice. We'll then flip -flop choosing
songs until we've mapped out 10 songs for Side
A. We'll then give our mixtape a proverbial flip
and we'll map outside. Be only this time, I'll
kick things off with Todd choosing second. Our
overall goal for the episode is to craft the
best Big Head Todd and the Monsters mixtape possible
through only 20 songs. At the end of the show,
you can take our conversation to the next level
by visiting the episode page at myweeklymixtape
.com to give our final mixtape a listen via the
embedded playlist. And if you like what you're
hearing on the show, you can help me out by either
telling a friend, leaving the show a five -star
review wherever you're tuning in, or becoming
a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash
myweeklymixtape. And with that, Todd, I'm officially
pressing the record button on our mixtape and
the floor is yours. What song are you choosing
to kick off side A? Whoa. Well, I like to choose
a song called Thunderbird. And it's a new song
of ours, and we'll get it to you so you can play
it. But it's upcoming on our new release, which
is called Her Way Out. It'll be coming in the
end of May or the beginning of June, somewhere
right around there. And this is the first song
that I wrote for that album. And the way that
it came about was during COVID, I got to watch
a lot of movies since we were playing shows.
I found out that it's a really great way to write
songs. You know, Springsteen has this very cinematic
thing going on in his songs, and cinema itself
is pretty interesting because there's a story
that's really important that's rich with a lot
of dialogue. So Thunderbird is about the movie
American Graffiti. If you recall, there's a white
Thunderbird and this beautiful old lady that's
driving it, and everybody's chasing her around
through the whole movie. But, you know, I just
watched the movie and just kind of take with
my notepad. And and that's how it went down.
All right. We have an absolute first happening
here on my weekly mixtape. I am going to, thanks
to Todd, premiere the song Thunderbird for you
right now. And you're hearing it for the first
time. As am I. This is really cool. Let's check
it out. The first thing I'm going to say is my
first impressions, I 100 % see why we're kicking
off tonight's playlist with that song. It absolutely
rocks. I love it. Nice. Man, we are kicking off
2024 in style. And I get to follow up a brand
new song. So what I'm going to do is play Counterbalance
to Thunderbird. And I'm going to go all the way
back to 1993. And I loved her yet. She Has Done
Me Wrong, the opening track to Sister Sweetly,
Broken Hearted Savior. This song has meant so
much to me over the years. It's just such a brilliantly
written tune. And it's the first song that introduced
a lot of people to the band because it was the
first song on your major label debut. So people
putting in that CD for the first time, that's
their introduction. Could you talk about the
longevity of this song as well as Sister Sweetly
as a whole? Because last year it turned 30 years
old. Yeah. Well, yeah. Broken Heart Savior, as
you said, is the first song on that album. We
still play it every single night. It's probably
our most popular rock song. It's my favorite
rock song to play of ours. And I would say the
success of that album, Sister Sweetly, I think
it came out in 1993. really a special thing because
i'm still proud of the record i still think it's
a really great record and we still love playing
all the all that material but to have fans have
it be their favorite record or an important part
of their life i mean that's an honor for us uh
it's been a really great life for me to play
that record over the last you know couple decades
or whatever Has there ever been a moment where
you said, let's try to leave that one out of
the set? Or was that never a question? Um, not
really. You know, I had my Dylan era maybe where,
you know, we kind of like tried to zig and zag
my way out of stuff that I thought was overplayed.
But people pay money to get the pleasure of hearing
their favorite songs. And it's really important,
I think, to honor that. Well, following that
up, the floor is now yours for track three. All
right. Well, track three, I'm going to choose
a song called Crazy Mary off of Beautiful World.
And it's one of my favorite songs. I had it sort
of in my pocket when producer Jerry Harrison
was interested in recording the band. And I think
it was a song that really got to him and convinced
him that I have to produce this band. And I just.
Again, we still love playing it to this day.
It just has a calm to it that I really like.
And I love the solo section and I love the lyric,
which is just about maybe a less fortunate person.
Somebody who's had a hard time and who needs
an understanding person and an understanding
ear, let's say. By all means, that is a... Beautifully
ethereal song. I absolutely love the guitar work
on it. I actually hearken back to the 2004 Live
at the Fillmore DVD and CD set that there's a
version on that that just has it's just fraught
with emotion. And you could feel it coming out
of the speakers. Obviously, the studio version
is amazing as well. But thankfully, with Big
Head Todd and the Monsters, there's also a lot
of live albums to choose from. And while I'm
talking about that 2004 album, that was for a
tour of one of my personal favorite Big Head
Todd and the Monsters albums, Crimes of Passion.
So I'm going to follow up Crazy Mary with a track
from that. And this is tough because I love this
album. keep the vibe slow and go with Angela
danger love. Cause that kind of keeps that vibe
going. I could kind of go with that dirty blues
groove of love transmission, but I feel like
I want to pivot the vibe to just something down
and dirty. And it's, it's in the name dirty juice.
Okay. I mean, the song itself, the name is perfect.
The dirty riff that's in this song carries you
through. It's got a massive hook. The song really
kicks off the album with authority. And now looking
back, with 20 years of hindsight, two decades,
do you still feel the same way about this album
as when you guys first released it? Because as
a fan, I still love this album. I appreciate
that. Yeah, you know, it has some favorites for
me. Imaginary Ships. Yes, yes. And yeah, I mean,
there's a lushness to it. And there's a lot of
sort of spacier kind of songs to it. And yeah,
it's one of my favorites. And Dirty Juice, by
the way, we still love playing. We play it almost
every night. So we call it the hoedown. Because
it's just got this kind of really solid blues
beat to it. So I guess this next step won't be
that complicated for you because the song is
in your set list quite often. What song are you
going to choose to follow up Dirty Juice for
track five? Well, I'm going to choose Tower.
Nice. Which I think it's on Beautiful World.
Yes, that's correct. And it's got a Curtis Mayfield
thing going on. It's a really great lyric. Walking
around the Tower of Love and rain coming down.
It's just got something that is a really moody
soul song. Love the pick. Love the album. Beautiful
World to me is an album that almost like a movie,
like you said, there's a lot of different scenes
in the album because you go from a song like
Crazy Mary, which is really. Like Ethereal, like
I had mentioned before. And then you've got Tower,
but then you go into kind of the bluesier side
of things with your cover of Boom Boom, which
maybe we'll talk about at some point tonight.
Yeah. But that album as a whole feels like you're
telling a story through kind of different chapters
as you go through the album. Nice. Can you bring
us back to that album cycle and put us in the
mindset of the band at that time? Well, that
particular period for us was really nice. One
of the things that was special about it was working
with Jerry Harrison. We recorded it at the plant
in Sausalito, which Fleetwood Mac, all kinds
of people, is a really legendary place. And just
to be there in that timeframe of our career,
Bernie Worrell played on that album. Obviously,
John Lee Hooker played on it. So it was an incredible
session. And I'm proud of every song on it. Well,
I think I'm going to throw a little loop now
and go with something a little different because
this is the first time I get to talk about my
favorite songs from you. So I'm bouncing around
from every album I can. And I'm going to go to
2002's Riviera for this one. I'm going to go
with a song that I think has such a ridiculously
powerful hook. I am shocked the song wasn't a
massive, massive hit. And it's the album opener,
Juliana. I mean, it's an absolute highlight for
me. And it's something that I've already chosen
several album openers tonight. And that's something
I want to touch on because every time I've purchased
a Big Head Todd CD over the years that I'm sitting
here holding my stack of them, I always know
when I put it into the CD player, the first song
I hear is going to grab my attention. And I feel
like that's something that in the day of streaming
and in digital media, that goes kind of out the
door now. People don't think of really hooking
people with that opening song. And is that something
that you guys cognitively think about when you're
putting together a new album, say, Her Way Out?
Sure. It's really important. You know, if you
don't like the first song, you probably won't
listen to much more of the album. If you're going
to bother with an album, you better start strong
and then move on from there. That's the traditional
logic is always to do that. And Julianna, I agree
with you. I think that song should have been
bigger too. I love that song. And I think it's
a great pop rock song. By all means. Now we are
back to you for track seven. Okay. If I could
zag, I will. And I know that you are aware of
this because of the mega fan you are, but I am
such great. opportunity to learn about blues
music through two projects that we did under
the moniker of big hit blues club yes and uh
one of them was uh it was a tribute to willie
dixon and the track is called sit and cry on
the blues the coolest thing about this song to
me aside from it's really got a very unusual
middle section is buddy guy recorded it And I
got to play it for Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy Day
in Chicago when he was celebrated, I think in
the early 2000s. So that's a special song to
me. So I have to ask, the Big Head Blues Club,
obviously you're diving much, much deeper into
the blues than you would on a Big Head Todd album
and bringing in a lot of guests. Was there a
reason to not just continue calling it Big Head
Todd and the Monsters? Were you trying to purposely
show the difference between the two? Yes. The
whole project was sort of conceived as our band
being a rhythm section for great living blues
artists that probably were slightly under -celebrated.
And at the time when it began, we were sort of
the rock -pop thing that would... Help bring
people in. And the tours were in performing arts
centers all over the country. And we did want
to differentiate it because it's a blues project
with a very expanded band. We had two drummers
for a lot of it. And so it was a really different
project. But what it did for us is it enabled
us to meet blues legends that I'd always adored.
to work with them and to learn what's going on.
Luther Dickinson of the Mississippi all -stars
told me something about this sort of thing that
always resonated with me. He said, yep, blues
is the kind of thing you have to learn from somebody.
Like you need to have a flesh and blood connection
to somebody to really get it. And not that I
got it, but I, I got a long way into it for sure.
And did those projects, color the way you guys
wrote music in the album's following? Yeah. To
me, what's special about blues is that it's a
tradition. And the point of it is to honor the
mentors in a way and to carry the tradition through.
It isn't about, oh, I'm such a great songwriter.
I've got all these novel ideas. It's more about
honoring the past and bringing it forward. And
that feel in songwriting, it just really got
to me. And the more that I studied the lyrics,
especially Robert Johnson, Robert Johnson lyrics
are vicious. Yep. Yeah. Are incredibly great.
They're poignant and they're poetic. And there's
a lot of imagery that it's just striking in it.
So I learned a great deal from, from doing both
of those. Well, following that up. I'm going
to go with an album that the band did a very
unique rollout for. And it's one that I'll never
forget. In 2007, the band released an album,
All the Love You Need. And the album was actually
paid for and mailed out for free by various sponsors.
And that is how I got my initial copy of the
album. Wow. And the first song on that album
follows where you went with the Big Head Blues
Club because there's this dirty slide guitar
on it that I absolutely gravitate to. And the
track is Her Own Kind of Woman. Yeah. My question
about that album was that was a very different
way to bring music to the world. And this was
happening around 2007. Streaming was not there
at this point. This was only downloads and iTunes
and everything else. What was the idea behind
that approach? Well, I think that was a time,
as you said, it was sort of in the middle of
things. CDs were sort of less important. Other
things were coming in. Napster, if you recall.
Yep. But nothing was really firm. And we've always
kind of struggled with the business model and
with labels and all that. That's always been
hard for us. But we basically just want to get
our music to people. desperate as it may sound
you got it for free and that worked out so um
i'm glad that you did and by the way that album
was produced by david bianco oh yeah who uh i
think he produced petty's wildflowers yeah he's
a great producer and uh had a lot uh to offer
that album one of the things i noticed right
from the jump in her own kind of woman was a
full horn section yeah Is that something that
you guys have worked with a lot over the years
or wanted to? Because it was seamless in the
song. It felt like you've always been doing it.
You're sweet. Yeah, we flirted with it. And I
love horn sections. I'm a huge Tower of Power
fan. I love rhythm and blues and I love horns.
I play sax and horns are really hard. It's hard
to go on the road with horns. to Mike horns and
horn players. You got to have them a bunch of
them to pull it off. And so we, we do it every
blue moon and it's worth doing it. And we will
do it again, but it's not part of our regular
system. Yeah. Her own kind of woman gives me
almost a Rolling Stones exile on main street
rocks off kind of vibe with the horns there.
And it's just so unique. to have that kind of
come out of the blue in an album. And it just,
it was so seamless. It works so well. Thank you.
Well, following that up, we're back to you for
track nine. Okay. Let me get my list going here
because you've thrown me some curve balls, but
I'm going to throw you one. Okay. And this song
is called Long Cold Train. And it is, I can't
recall if it's on an album. I thought that was
on New World Horizon. It is. It is. It's on New
World Horizon. Thank you. But ironically, somehow
on Spotify, it's in our top 10. And you wouldn't
think that because it seems like kind of an out
of the way song for us. I think it got on a really
popular playlist and became popular through that.
But regardless, because of that, we've been playing
it again. And it's got some mojo. Check it out.
Oh, it's a great tune. The whole album is fantastic.
I'd be lying if I said that there might not be
another song from New World to Rise and Coming
Down the Pike. Okay. All right. Well, you started
Side A with a song from Her Way Out. And I think
I'm going to answer by closing Side A with another
song from Her Way Out. And I am going to go with
the lead single Crush. listening hallelujah I
don't hear no echo but it sure Now, you've said
that this song is about how we're formed by our
past and the voices that influence us for good
or for not. I'd love for you to elaborate on
that because that's a really interesting concept.
Well, I think that, you know, especially children,
we are raised oftentimes with messages that are
self -defeating or that prevent us from reaching
our potential. A lot of times through relationships
on every level and in politics, in society, there's
a lot of lying. And I really feel strongly that
when you lie to me about something, you've robbed
me of my freedom. Like if I tell you you're free
to choose between these two apples and I lie
to you to tell you there's a worm in one that
I want to have, what happened to your freedom
to choose? It's gone. This issue, I think, is
a really important one, whether it's a man -woman
relationship or father -son or sort of just as
saying, you know, I'm free. If I can see through
what's going on here, then I'm free. Wow. Awesome.
Well, there you have it, folks. Side A of our
ultimate big head Todd in a Monsters playlist,
which kicked off with Thunderbird from her way
out. Broken Hearted Savior from Sister Sweetly.
Crazy Mary from Beautiful World. Dirty Juice
from Crimes of Passion. Tower from Beautiful
World. Juliana from Riviera. Sitting Crying the
Blues from A Tribute to Willie Dixon. Her Own
Kind of Woman from All the Love You Need. Long
Cold Train from New World Horizon. and crush
from her way out. Head over to myweeklymixtape
.com to hear all the songs we've discussed in
this mix through the playlist embedded on the
episode page. Now, Todd, earlier I had mentioned
seeing the band on the Crimes of Passion tour
some 20 years ago, and you had actually mentioned
the North Mississippi All -Stars, so that brought
up a memory for me. I saw a show, and I'm going
to try to... Move some cobwebs in your brain
because this was a show that to me is a defining
live moment that I've seen in my life. Okay.
The show took place at the Meadowbrook Pavilion
in Guilford, New Hampshire in 2004. North Mississippi
All -Stars, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and
Blues Traveler. Towards the end of your set,
you guys broke into Led Zeppelin's Fool in the
Rain. And one by one. members of blues traveler
started appearing on stage to the point where
at the end of the song, both bands were simultaneously
playing with both drummers. And then one by one,
you guys disappeared and blues traveler continued.
So it was probably a 15 or 20 minute version
in my recollection. And it was one of the coolest.
live experiences i ever had because both of your
sets were longer there was no intermission and
the music just kept on going i would love to
know how you guys logistically pulled that off
because it was flawless to the audience that's
pretty cool yeah i don't know that we've done
that since and uh i barely remember that but
now that you mentioned it it was amazing and
it was their their song that their band had kind
of Been playing for a while, you know, covering
that song for a while. So we just thought, you
know, that would be a great way to make a transition
so that there's no, you know, people aren't just
quiddling their thumbs. And we've never done
it since. I've never done it since with any group
ever, but we are out with Blues Traveler this
summer again. So maybe that's something we should
talk about. I want to put it out there that I'm
feeding that seed because it was such an amazing
jam. And from a, audience standpoint i remember
your set was going on i'm going wow they've played
for almost 75 minutes this is amazing we're not
getting like a truncated set yeah and because
there was no layover between the bands i felt
like we hit the jackpot musically nice well i'll
bring that up again all right well we're now
moving into side b and i get to pick the first
track this time around okay And when I was thinking
about how I wanted to lead into the side, the
more I thought about it, I wanted to start things
off with the funkiest, danciest Big Head Todd
groove that I could ever imagine. And I'm going
to go with the title track to 2010's Rock Steady.
Ooh, cool. Yeah, this song has just the album
as a whole has such a loose, relaxed vibe, but
it's chock full of killer tunes. And Glide Magazine
actually called the album. Fresh in ways even
the band might not expect. Which leads me to
ask, with that album, was there a sense that
you guys were trying to push the musical boundaries
in terms of what fans can expect from Big Head,
Todd? Yeah, absolutely. You know, we had come
back from maybe our first or second Caribbean
cruise. We spent some time down there. And there's
something about that. part of the world that's
just so musical and i really felt just a janky
reggae inspiration that came from that place
that we wanted to put into album form and the
cover of rocksteady is from a very famous bar
down there in the carib and i i can't recall
but it'll say on the cover maybe you can call
it like in the grill or something like that you
know but anyways uh It is unusual. It's pretty
soul oriented, reggae oriented, which isn't kind
of our basic DNA. There's a lot of pretty produced
background, nice multi -part background chorus
type things. The Beast of Burden on that is really
good too. Oh my God. I love that cover. So there's
some really cool stuff. All right. Well, we're
back to you now to follow it up with track two.
Okay. My track two is Her Way Out, which is the
title track for our next record. She says I'm
living in a one -track mind Like a runaway train
running I want to tell you a quick story about
how that song came into being. I had somebody
that I knew who was in a relationship. And he
had gotten a little too drunk and said some things.
And the next morning, it was over. And she would
not tell him what he said that caused it to be
over. He was like... so wounded by that. And
I just thought that was just quite a situation
to be in. And it sort of kind of inspired that
song. But the gist of it is that in that case,
he gave her, he was her way out. His behavior
gave her an out. But later in the song, that
phrase takes a turn where relationship can be
your way out. Being together can be your way
out. So the chorus kind of shifts its meaning
by the third verse. It means something different.
But the second thing I'll say about it is it
has a real Petty, Tom Petty vibe to it. It's
really, I can't tell you how important Petty
is to our group. And I'm almost crying thinking
about him. But our bassist, Rob, is probably
the biggest Petty fan there is. And this is his
favorite song that we've ever done. Wow. So that
meant a lot to me. And I knew right away that,
you know, hey, this is a... probably something
that we should pursue so i'm glad became the
title track of the record it's at radio now we
haven't been we haven't had a track at radio
in 20 years and it's doing really well in its
beginnings we'll see where it goes but we love
the song check it out i immediately caught the
tom petty vibes cool and for anybody who listens
to my weekly mixtape they already know where
i'm going with this but All the listeners know
Tom Petty is my favorite artist of all time.
I actually have a candle that's sitting on my
desk that just says, some days are diamonds,
some days are rocks. Words to live by from the
song Walls. Tom Petty to me, his music means
so much to me. And anytime I hear a band that
I'm a fan of channeling that, it's bringing together
two worlds that mean a lot to me. And this was
definitely in my bank of songs to include later
for that very reason. So I'm so glad you included
it now. When Tom Petty passed, I was distraught
for days. It just, it didn't seem real. And every
time I listened to his music, it still doesn't
seem real. He's one of the just greatest songwriters
of our generation. I truly believe. Absolutely.
No doubt about it. Well, following that up, I'm
going to bring the. Because we talked about Tom
here and it's putting me in kind of a different
mindset. And I think I know the perfect place
to bounce off this, bringing the mood down a
little bit, but with a song that also celebrates
somebody who was gone too soon. And I think I'm
going to go with the title track to 2014's Black
Beehive, the heartfelt tribute to Amy Winehouse.
Musically, the song is just stunning. But then
when you pull out and look at the album as a
whole, it's an incredible body of work produced
by one of the most underrated musicians on the
planet, the amazing Steve Jordan. I'd love to
know what it was like working with him on this
album and what he brought to the table musically
for you guys. Sure. Yeah, he's one of the greatest
drummers that ever lived and musical minds. He's
been involved in, well, the Rolling Stones, for
example. Yes. Little bar band, you know. Yeah.
I mean, he's absolutely phenomenal. He produced
John Mayer's Continuum. Yep. He's a great producer
and just a really super smart guy. He loved Black
Beehive. And I think that's one of the songs
that completely sucked him in. He actually, that
vocal was one take. Oh. He filmed the take. I
think it may even be on YouTube. I'll have to
see if it is because I think it might be. But
at any rate, the song came about because I was
writing a song a day and putting them on YouTube
as a kind of writer's exercise, which was exhausting
because I write the song, record the video of
a live solo performance of it. But so many things
happen. And when somebody passes away like Amy
Winehouse, there's an incredible story. just
such a rich story there i just couldn't resist
it and uh it was just a lucky day when i wrote
it you know because there's a lot of killer lines
in it and it really does honor her you know it
says the story and uh i like that a lot and it's
definitely one that i see continues through the
band's live sets to this day which is great yeah
it really fits so well and it's in our top 10
on spotify too there you have it it's a top 10
against onslaught And deservedly so. It's an
amazing piece. So with that, we are back to you
now to follow it up for track four. Okay. Since
we're sort of in ballad mode, I'd like to submit
one of my favorite ballads that I wrote. And
it's called These Days Without You. It's on Beautiful
World. And it's pretty simple. I Miss Somebody.
but it's really a choker. It won't choke you
up. It chokes me up singing it because the lines
are just so delicate and so true. And I enjoy
performing it for that same reason. Like when
we're in exactly the right setting, that song
kills. Now I've noticed you've pulled several
songs from Beautiful World tonight so far between
Crazy Mary, Tower. Is this one of the albums
that just seems to resonate with you on a higher
level? Yeah, I think especially in this sort
of ethereal, atmospheric, soulful kind of thing.
But at the same time, you know, Resignation Superman
was on that album. I think that's what the head
track was. It had, you know, helpless. There's
a lot of rock in it too. And, you know, the whole
thing we were talking about, Jerry Harrison,
the former talking head, producer, brilliant
producer. It was a magic. moment in our career
well pivoting out of the slower songs now i want
to pick it up a little bit we shall return to
balance yes i want i want to pick up the energy
a little bit i'm going to go with a song that
during the covid lockdowns the band did a live
stream from red rocks and it was one of the most
memorable moments because it was one of the few
nights where i felt like oh i'm not looking at
the same thing over and over again here's something
that's actually happening and my whole family
got together and we watched the we're gonna play
it anyway show yeah you guys did and i'm gonna
go with the title track the song you opened with
new world arise and i had mentioned it earlier
that live stream was a musical highlight of a
really tough time in a lot of people's lives
right you talk about Well, because. Of COVID,
you know, obviously there was no performing.
It pretty much shut everybody's business down.
We were all at home. And the chance to do that
was just so great. I mean, Red Rocks is probably
the best venue in the world and one of the most
scenic anyways and best sounding. But to be able
to play at empty Red Rocks, nobody's done that.
Nobody's done that. So it was really an honor
to be able to. to do that. And the fact that
it could be live streamed and it could reach
people and all that. I mean, that's just so meaningful
to us. I would like to say something about new
world horizon while we're on it. It's a, it's
a, another one of our favorites. We play it a
lot and obviously it rocks. It's a hard rock
song, but the origins of the song came from Charlie
Patton. Charlie Patton is one of the very first
blues men, whoever, you know, recorded he, you
can buy his. box set out of paramount he was
popular in the 20s i think he died in 1940 or
something like that but he was a huge inspiration
to bob dylan uh uh i i'm the guy from uh i'm
zoning out but the credence lead guy john fogarty
john fogarty he he paid for charlie patton's
gravestone Wow. You know, it's like one of those
kinds of things. And Charlie Patton had a song
called Jesus is my dying bedmaker. And that's
that song. I basically, you know, wrote some
words to that song. I mean, it's a straight blues
song, but it plays like a hard rock song and
really fun. Well, we are back to you now for
track six, the second half of Side B. All right.
Well. You've been moving around a lot and through
albums, which is really fun. And we get to bring
up things that aren't albums that maybe aren't
the normal for us. You mentioned Riviera. And,
you know, I'd like to say a lot about Riviera.
I love Riviera. And I also love the cover of
Riviera. Yeah. It was shot out of my hotel room
in, I think it was in Iowa City. He was in Iowa.
But it's one of those things where at that time
of our career, we weren't getting a lot of love.
I mean, we were from you and from our fan base,
but we were struggling with our label. We had
been in a conflict with our label that lasted
for several years because I refused to co -write.
They wanted me to co -write with people that
would kind of give some pop zing to end the band.
And I just, I hated that idea. I just, I felt
like I was, that I'm a good writer and I got
things to say as a writer. And, you know, one
thing that's nice about one guy writing is there's
a person there. Like there's a marrow to something
that one person did. And I just felt strongly
about that. But that album just kind of has a
special tone because of that. It was recorded
at my, I had a log cabin. That was on Solar Power
in Yampa, Colorado, which is like way in the
mountains of Colorado. So it was a really fun
album to make, a really special time of our career.
And I love Riviera. Well, let me say I'm glad
that you have chosen to continue to write songs
on your own and not do the co -writing route
because it shows I love the Riviera album. And
I'm so glad you stuck to your guns with this
one because it produced some amazing songs. Nice.
Well, following that up, I am going to go with
one of the bigger hits because I feel like I
want to give a nice balanced approach here. And
we've been digging deep, but I also want to put
out some of my favorites of all time. Let's do
it. And without these songs, I wouldn't be the
fan I am today. And I'm going to go with one
of the heaviest songs I think the band has ever
written. It's just the energy and the aura around
the song. And I'm going to go with Circle. From
Sister Sweetly. It's just such a monster song.
When you hit the high notes during the guitar
solo, like the hair on my arms is standing up
just talking about it. This song is so powerful.
And at the time when it came out in the 90s,
this was a six plus minute single. That is unheard
of now. Yeah, I guess it is. You're right. That's
interesting. Yeah. You know, at that time too,
there wasn't a lot of guitar rock happening either.
We were sort of unusual in that way for those
days, but we still play Circle every show. It
is usually in the, at the, it's our show ender.
Almost every show. I mean, we'll play an encore,
but I can't say enough about how important that's
been to our career. I appreciate that you guys
like it because. Oh God, yeah. Hell, when you
guys open it up and take it into eight, nine,
ten minutes, I'm all here for it. So, I mean,
you know, jam on, man. Nice. All right. Well,
following that up, you have track eight. All
right. Well, let's go with. Just give me a moment
here. Because I think I wouldn't mind going to
another hit. I'm just not sure which one. I think
I'll choose. I think I'll choose It's All Right.
Nice. Which has been really an amazing thing
for us to be able to play. You know, it's obviously
been a successful song for the band. We've had
incredible vocalist Hazel Miller as a big part
of our career. She's been all over that song.
And the original recording featured Javita Steele
as she was the vocalist on that song. David Z
produced it, who was Prince producer. And we
recorded it at Paisley Park, that album. So he
had a lot of that really slick kind of soul,
R &B, Prince oriented, you know, very tight.
At that time, there weren't computers. We weren't
like gridding things out on a computer then.
And so to get that kind of sound, I mean. was
was a chore and that album it took a long time
we were in the studio for like three and a half
months really it was very intensive because of
that you know going for that perfect time before
there were computers you used to have a thing
called it was called a russian dragon like russia
you know on the on the faceplate of the machine
yeah but it would tell you if you were rushing
or dragging But there was so many things like
that that just made that a really special Sally
record. It really is. And that song, again, to
me, it's a staple. It's a song that I don't want
to say you expect to hear, but you'd almost be
disappointed if you don't hear it in a live show.
It's just so great. And I think I'm going to
follow it up. We're going to do a trifecta from
Sister Sweetly. I feel like we have to do that.
And for track nine. I'm going to go with the
song that introduced me to the band, which made
me buy Sister Sweetly, which made me hear Brokenhearted
Savior for the first time. And I'm going to go
with the amazing pop rock hit, Bittersweet. I
absolutely love the song. And what I love about
it, it has all the workings of a classic 90s
rock song. But then there's the guitar solo,
and it just is so bluesy and so jangly, for lack
of a better word. It takes it outside of what
you would consider pop rock, and it just adds
a whole new layer of complexity to it. Well,
thank you. And to me, that is always what resonated
with me about the band. There was a pop sensibility,
but... You stuck to your roots of blues and rock,
and you never let those fall to the wayside.
They always stayed a part of the sound. My question
about Bittersweet, that was originally featured
on Midnight Radio. Why was that the one song
that made the leap to Sister Sweetly? This is
an excellent question. As you noticed, it did
appear on Midnight Radio, and that was all perfectly
good. Midnight Radio was the last album before
we were signed to a major label. We released
Midnight Radio on our own along with another
album, another Mayberry. Yes. Before we were
discovered by a major label and put in that system
or whatever. When we did the album, Sister Sweetly,
I did not want Bittersweet to be on it. Really?
Because it was already on Midnight Radio. I mean.
Oh, why am I putting it on two albums? That doesn't
make any sense. And the powers that be, you know,
put a lot of pressure on me to include that song.
They ultimately prevailed. And I'm glad they
did because, you know, the version that is on
Sister Sweetly just, you know, has all those
really high, you know, those big production poppy
kind of elements. And it really is the band's
most important song. It was our only number one
rock radio hit. And it still is the song that
people pay money to see us play, probably more
than any other song. And you can feel it when
we play it. So I'm glad you chose it. Well, now,
Todd, you have the privilege, honor, or whatever
you want to call it, a tough choice to pick the
song that closes out Side B. Of the ultimate
Big Head Todd in a Monsters playlist. Wow. Okay.
I'm going to choose another song from Riviera,
which is my favorite song since you've given
me that chance. Sure. It's called Secret Mission.
Nice. And I just love this song. I'll be honest
with you. The very beginning, I borrowed from
The Clash. Really? Clamp down or something like
that. That feedback at the beginning going in
there. Yeah. Outside of that, it's a very original
song. And I love the lyric. Invisible ink on
invisible paper, but I can still smell your perfume.
That song is full of great run liners. And it's
really an emotional and fun song to play every
night. We don't play it every night, but we play
it a lot still. Well, there you have it, folks.
Side B of our ultimate Big Head Todd and the
Monsters playlist, which kicked off with Rock
Steady from the album of the same name. The brand
new track Her Way Out from the album of the same
name. And I'm actually going to say this a third
time. Black Beehive from the album of the same
name. All title tracks. There you go. These Days
Without You from Beautiful World. Okay, here
we go again. New World Horizon from New World
Horizon, album of the same name. Riviera from
Riviera, album of the same name, a trifecta of
songs, Circle, It's Alright, and Bittersweet
from Sister Sweetly, and Secret Mission from
Riviera. Head over to myweeklymixtape .com to
hear all the songs we've discussed in this mix
through the playlist embedded on the episode
page. Now, we did not touch on cover songs tonight,
and I want to take a moment to do that because
Through the years, cover songs have always been
a part of Big Head Todd's repertoire, but done
in a way that truly make them your own. A couple
of them that come to mind, the band did an amazing
rendition of Tangerine on the Led Zeppelin Ecomium
release that came out in the 90s. You did a insane
180 degree pivot. of leonard skinner's sweet
home alabama on the under the influence tribute
where you slowed it down and made it a hazy tripped
out version it's just unbelievable we talked
about your cover of the rolling stones beast
of burden from rock steady you talked about the
cover of boom boom with john lee hooker and then
you also recorded a cover of neil young cinnamon
girl with toad the wet sprocket What is the band's
overall mindset when you're covering a song,
trying to put that Big Head Todd stamp on it?
Because all of those examples truly do that.
Yeah, I think it's really important to try to
add a little bit of your own way of doing things
if you're going to do a cover. And at the same
time, all those songs are huge songs. If you're
going to just play just like it is, then... It's
less impressive, I think, but choosing the song
is so important too. You know, Tangerine has
been a big song for us. There's a lot of great
Led Zeppelin songs, but that's just such a, I
don't know, that's just a clever song. I think
that's been so fun for us to do. While we're
on the cover songs, I want to mention Brandy.
We have a version of Looking Glass Brandy that's
really popular. Again, it's on a Spotify top
10. It's probably number six. Or something like
that. And it's not on an album. It's one of the
Monster Monthly things. But like YouTube video,
I think there's over a million views in it. Elliot
Lurie, the singer from Looking Glass, gave us
a huge kudos saying, you know, you guys made
me proud covering that song. That's amazing.
And unlike some of those other ones, that song
is just pretty much straight and true to the
original form of the song. We really didn't do
much except for redo it. as good as we could.
And it just worked out well. And then lest we
forget the cover of Bruce Springsteen's Rosalita
that you did with blues travelers, John Popper.
Yeah. That's a special one too. John Popper playing
the harmonica parts for all those Clarence Clemon,
you know, all those big man sax parts. Yeah.
Monica in our, in our thing. And that, that song
is just a glorious, whatever it is, seven minutes.
That's a long song. There's a lot of words in
that song, but man, what a great piece of work
that is. And you guys did an incredible version
of it. Thank you. Well, along with the release
of Her Way Out, what does the rest of 2024 have
in store for the band? Well, we're in the middle
of our winter tour. We're finishing it up. We
have about three weeks left down the East Seaboard,
you know, from New York to Carolina. And we'll
finish that up at the end of February and have
a couple months off. We're gearing it up for
a release. It's been about seven years since
we've put an album out. And we're really proud
of what's going to happen when this comes, you
know, this piece of music. That'll be kind of
tied to our Red Rocks play in June, where we're
going to do two shows with the Wallflowers. Nice.
Which is pretty cool. Yeah. And then this summer,
we'll have us back. with Blues Traveler. We played
it last summer with them kind of in the West
Coast and a little bit of Midwest. And this summer,
we're going to finish it up and get to the East
Coast. And after that, we'll do another winter
tour. And in March, we'll be on a Joe Bonamassa
cruise. Nice. To Belize. So I don't know who
the other groups. He's got incredible artists.
So it's a big... He does these big cruises with
five or six big bands, but he's such a great
guitarist. I really look forward to not cutting
heads with him, but learning from him, you know
what I'm saying? I'm not going to lie. I'd love
to see you two throw down together on a song,
man. I think that'd be amazing. We'll see what
happens. I'll practice my skills. And don't forget
Fool in the Rain with Blues Traveler this summer.
Full band crossovers. Let's make it happen. Yeah.
I love it. Okay. We're hoping to cover, just
before with Blues Traveler, the song that we're
hoping to do with them is The Wizard, Black Sabbath.
Really? It's a really cool song. Oh, I love it.
That harmonic is so haunting in it. Yeah. Oh,
that'll be badass. We've been talking about it,
so it's going to be cool when we pull it out.
Are you taking the lead vocals on that or with
John? We'll see. Uh, John, he, a lot, he's a,
an incredible singer too. So I hope that he'll
take some, but I, I'm really good at, uh, I got
a pretty good Ozzy Osbourne imitation in here.
Oh, I can't wait to hear it. That's gotta be
another monthly release. It just has to happen.
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Todd, thank
you so much for joining me on my weekly mixtape.
This has been an absolute honor. All right. Thanks
Brian for having me. And, uh, I love, I just,
it's humbling to have somebody like you that
fell for my music. I mean, to such a degree that
you have. Of course, we love it. Our band loves
all of our albums. You know, it's just really
special to have a lengthy career and to have
people say that this song or that song is my
favorite or this album is my favorite. I mean,
that's just such an honor. So thank you so much
for caring about our music and supporting our
group. Well, trust me when I say, Todd, the pleasure
is all mine. Thank you once again. And to all
the mixtapers out there listening, you can find
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That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening.
And until next time, enjoy the tunes.