“Our first step is making sure Rhonda, the van, makes it to the show,” says Andy Wilkosz of Pittsburgh band, Big Hurry.
Based out of the Steel City, and made up of Andy on guitar, Lenny Flatley on bass, Kelly Tobias on keyboards/vocals, and Dani Buncher on drums/vocals, Big Hurry is a lot of things. Smart, experienced, and highly talented, after coming together two years ago, Big Hurry’s grown leaps and bounds.
There were some early growing pains before Kelly joined the band though. “[We spent the time] painfully auditioning many a vocalist.,” says Andy, “we’re all really laid back, and there were quite a few type-A’s.”
“It was a process,” says Dani of finding a singer, “when Kelly joined the group it felt right.”
That ‘just right’ sentiment comes through nicely on the band’s newest EP, Gets Me Low. Sounding professional, confident, and full of ideas, the EP sizzles like a firecracker, full of propulsive energy and kinetic sounds.
Title track, ‘Get’s Me Low’ roars out at you with powerful drumming, soaring vocals courtesy of Dani and Kelly and a foot tapping mid-tempo pace, all the while leading to one of the most satisfying breakdowns that 2011 is likely to deliver.
Just as energetic, yet totally different is ‘Pushing Daisies’. Here the band blends equal parts synth-pop and driving indie-rock, all while Kelly’s soulful vocals invite you to sing along. Both of these songs, along with more contemplative numbers like, ‘This in Between’, will sound great blasting out of your car radio this summer.
Yet, the most interesting thing about Big Hurry is how difficult it is to place them into any particular genre, outside of the now meaningless banner of indie rock. That doesn’t mean that Big Hurry sounds weird or completely unique from music as a whole, but rather that Big Hurry both escapes simple genre conventions and plays some of the most satisfying indie rock you’re likely to hear.
“It’s kind of indicative of where music is now,” says Lenny, “Indie rock was the way it was cause there was no Internet, now everyone just does what feels right, and that’s what we’re doing.”
A few listens to the EP and you really start to understand who Big Hurry is as a band. Having spent plenty of time playing in previous bands, Big Hurry is smart enough to know what works, experienced enough to know what doesn’t work, and talented enough to write songs that you’ll want to repeat over and over and over.
A big part of that talent, though, comes from the band’s hometown. “There’s a lot of really good bands in Pittsburgh, it’s a really supportive scene,” says Dani, “all of the venues of really supportive of local music, [all of that has helped us as a band].”
“It’s more a family than a clique,” adds Andy, “it never feels like a feeding frenzy.”
Obviously having the support of the local scene really helped Big Hurry to grow into the hyper-talented unit they’ve become. Even though the band released ‘Gets Me Low’ less than three months ago, Big Hurry is already at work on a new EP. Just don’t ask the band what it might sound like.
“We couldn’t possibly try to sound like anybody because we would all disagree [on our sound],” says Kelly, “None of us like any of the same music. I think that’s what makes our band special,” says Andy. “If it was up to me, we’d sound like Madonna,” says Dani.
Check out Big Hurry here and here. Big Hurry’s next show in New York is the No-Pulp Music Showcase at Arlene’s Grocery on May 31st.
