Big Wheel

Following the breakup of Louisville, KY post-hardcore outfit Squirrel Bait, vocalist Peter Searcy assembled the steadier and more conventional Big Wheel. Where Squirrel Bait had channeled the aggressive punk-pop of Hüsker Dü and the Replacements, with Searcy’s singing often likened to Paul Westerberg’s, his new project found him evolving in tandem with Westerberg and Bob Mould. The sound now drew on ringing collegiate rock alongside introspective songwriters such as early Elton John and James Taylor. Searcy launched the group alongside guitarist and co-writer Glenn Taylor shortly after Squirrel Bait ended. At the time Taylor was performing in a local cover band alongside bassist Mike Braden and drummer Scott Lankford, both of whom came aboard Big Wheel. A demo secured a contract with Giant/Rockville, resulting in the 1989 release East End, an album whose material would have slotted easily into the adult-alternative format that surfaced several years afterward. Contractual disputes with the label stranded the band in legal uncertainty for an extended period until they secured a move to Mammoth. During the recording of their follow-up, Lankford exited and was succeeded by Tom Tompkins. Issued in 1992, Holiday Manor presented a sleeker, more radio-friendly sheen yet still failed to reach alternative outlets. Slowtown, which arrived in 1993, earned the strongest reviews by recasting Searcy’s earlier Squirrel Bait intensity within a reflective, atmospheric collection of grown-up pop tunes. Even this release could not expand their reach, prompting Braden’s departure; his successor, Dave Ernst, created friction within the ranks, and Big Wheel dissolved before the close of 1993. Searcy and Tompkins promptly started Starbilly, which produced a single album in 1995. Searcy later relocated to Atlanta and returned in 2000 with the solo album Could You Please and Thank You.