Biography
Big'n fused its admiration for classic rock with immersion in the burgeoning Chicago scene of the early 1990s. Over a seven-year run the quartet issued two albums and crisscrossed the country, playing venues large and small. Their booking agent once sought a slot at the wedding of Afghan Whigs guitarist/vocalist Greg Dulli alongside indie rock band Scrawl, yet Dulli declined. The musicians first connected through shared acquaintances and coalesced in Joliet, IL, in 1990; Wnukowski, guitarist Todd Johnson, bassist Chris Johnson, and vocalist William Akins rehearsed in Wnukowski’s parents’ basement, aiming, as Wnukowski put it, to be “loud and tight like a semi-well-oiled machine.” He added, “well-oiled machines are too quiet.”
Once their sound was defined, the group welcomed any label willing to finance and distribute a release, asking no further questions. Headstagger became the first to step forward in late 1990, issuing the band’s self-titled debut single. Subsequent 7-inch releases followed on Ratfish (“Hoss”) and Spontaneous Combustion (“Tight One”) in 1991. Chris Johnson departed amicably that year, and Mike Chartrand took over on bass. While performing at Chicago’s Czar Bar in 1992, the band met German promoter Rene Herbst, who proposed issuing their first full-length on his Gasoline Boost imprint—their initial formal recording contract. They cut the single “Razorback” and delivered the 1993 album Cutthroat. In 1995, as the second album Discipline Through Sound neared completion, Gasoline Boost licensed distribution through Chicago’s Skin Graft label; the partnership also placed Big’n on the inaugural volume of Skin Graft’s AC/DC tribute series.
Internal tensions crested in 1997, prompting the band to disband just before a planned European tour. They had already tracked a split EP with the Oxes, though Box Factory did not issue it until 1998. Most members subsequently pursued non-musical careers, while Wnukowski appeared in Neutrino, Emperor Penguin, Runner, and Check Engine. At Todd Johnson’s wedding in September 2001 the former colleagues opted to reactivate Big’n for one final album.
Once their sound was defined, the group welcomed any label willing to finance and distribute a release, asking no further questions. Headstagger became the first to step forward in late 1990, issuing the band’s self-titled debut single. Subsequent 7-inch releases followed on Ratfish (“Hoss”) and Spontaneous Combustion (“Tight One”) in 1991. Chris Johnson departed amicably that year, and Mike Chartrand took over on bass. While performing at Chicago’s Czar Bar in 1992, the band met German promoter Rene Herbst, who proposed issuing their first full-length on his Gasoline Boost imprint—their initial formal recording contract. They cut the single “Razorback” and delivered the 1993 album Cutthroat. In 1995, as the second album Discipline Through Sound neared completion, Gasoline Boost licensed distribution through Chicago’s Skin Graft label; the partnership also placed Big’n on the inaugural volume of Skin Graft’s AC/DC tribute series.
Internal tensions crested in 1997, prompting the band to disband just before a planned European tour. They had already tracked a split EP with the Oxes, though Box Factory did not issue it until 1998. Most members subsequently pursued non-musical careers, while Wnukowski appeared in Neutrino, Emperor Penguin, Runner, and Check Engine. At Todd Johnson’s wedding in September 2001 the former colleagues opted to reactivate Big’n for one final album.
Albums
Singles
