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Big Dipper
By NOLAN GAWRON
del.ico.us
reddit!
As a seminal Boston band in the late '80s, Big Dipper became one of the area's first nationally acclaimed indie-rock exports. After releasing their first three records on the now legendary and defunct Homestead Records, the band transcended city limits and found their way onto airwaves and stages nationwide. It was this growing attention that caught the Sauron-like gaze of Epic Records, who signed the band and released what would turn out to be their final record.
Like so many bands to follow, signing to a major label would be the beginning of the end for the band. "We weren't ready for a big label at that time,'" says Big Dipper co-founder Gary Waleik. "We had to try very hard to conform to the label's wishes and get the record out quickly. Looking back, some of the songs shouldn't have been on there. Some of the songs were the best we've written, but they were too slick, too glossy. Besides that, the cover was an absolute abomination. If we had chosen a label that made more sense and stuck with our approach to songwriting and recording, I think we would have been more relevant to people for a longer time."
Now, nearly two decades later, Big Dipper is just that—relevant. With a handful of shows on the horizon and the recent reissuing of their Homestead catalogue by Merge records, Big Dipper is going indie again. "Mac [McCaughan of Merge] had posted a blog on the Portastatic website that he really likes the record Heavens and that he couldn't find it anymore. He thought Big Dipper was a band seriously in need of a re-release program. We owned all the rights, had the master tapes and the original artwork, so it was relatively easy to do."
On Saturday, the original lineup will perform live for the first time in 18 years—their first ever show at the Middle East. "We all feel very lucky to put a happy ending on the whole story," says Waleik. "That's a chance that most bands don't get. Just to have the chance to put out our best stuff on a great label and play a handful of shows is a privilege."
[Big Dipper w/ Great Plains and Paper Thin Stages. Sat. 4.26. Middle East Downstairs. 480 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617.864.3278. 9pm/18+/$16 adv., $18 doss. mideastclub.com]
