Big City Rock opens Spring Event

Before Big City Rock took the stage for a show in Hartford, Conn., they decided to give the audience a little surprise.
“We all bought fake mustaches at a toy store,” said lead vocalist and guitarist Nate Bott.  “We put them on and showed off our upper lip majesty.”
“We called it the ‘stache bash,” he added.  This carefree and almost buoyant attitude they showed during their “mustache party” can be found in Big City Rock’s musical catalogue as well. 
The Los Angeles-based quintet also features Frank Staniszewski (keyboard/vocals), Timothy Resudek (bass), Kaumyar (drums) and Andy Barr (guitar/vocals).  They are the opening act for Matt Nathanson and Sugarcult at Fisher’s annual Spring Event.
Many of the band’s members were in other groups before coming together and forming Big City Rock.  In fact, Bott, Staniszewski and Resudek started playing shows in their hometown of Madison, Wisc. before moving out to L.A. and eventually taking up residence in New York City.
After listening to a barrage of different bands for inspiration, Big City Rock was ready to flick on their own creative juices and create their debut.  Bott related to the experience as “breaking down all boundaries and misconceptions on what music is, or what kind of music you listen to.” He said, “It’s something that’s universal and unique.”
Bott described their sound as “post punk, sort of like Bruce Springsteen that you can dance to.” Besides putting a new twist on the Boss’s music, Bott added that their music has overtones of new wave 80s bands like The Pretenders and The Police.
On tracks like “All of the Above” and “Human,” Big City Rock channels the sound of successful bands like The Killers.  Other songs on their self-titled debut include, “Better Place” and “Touch the Horizon.” These songs sound like B-side tracks for U2, complete with lyrics that are Bono-light and a sound that almost lives up to the band’s ambitious name.
“They Won’t Mind” features an anthem-like chorus and has been a staple during Big City Rock’s live shows.  Like many bands, they love getting in the trenches and playing for their fans.
“(It’s great) being able to connect with fans and watching who gets into the music,” said Bott.
Big City Rock will attempt to connect with the Rochester audience when they take the SLC stage on Thursday.  Expect them to play their grandiose style of rock, complete with guitar, drums and maybe even fake mustaches.  For more information on Big City Rock visit MySpace.com and BigCityRock.net

 

Pittsford native sweeps the nation

Teddy Geiger is sweeping hearts across the nation. As a freshman in high school, he began playing guitar at local coffee shops, performing in front of a handful of friends and family. Young and passionate, he was frequently offered gigs, which earned him his independent regional EP release Stepladder, ranked number one on Rochester radio stations.
The Rochester native’s career was jump-started when he was selected as a finalist on VH1’s “In Search of the New Partridge Family.” At this time, he caught the ear of Billy Mann, producer to the stars, who quickly became an advocate of Teddy and his music. Geiger’s hard work and dedication landed him on Billboard magazine’s top 10 mid- Atlantic releases.
This singer-songwriter is much more than a pretty face holding an instrument. He wrote 11 of the 12 songs on his debut album, Underage Thinking. On his freshly released CD, Geiger impressively plays guitar, piano, bass and drums. As a self-taught musician, he was writing and arranging multi-part compositions on guitar and piano before the age of 10.  His way with words attract a young demographic, and his natural style shines through his onstage performances.
The underage songster’s soft spoken sound is a mix between Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Jason Mraz. His intimate vocals are sincere and conversational;  he creates a sound and sensibility of his own. His music video “For You I Will (Confidence),” is currently ranked on MTV’s “Total Request Live,” featuring Orange County’s Kristin Cavallari from the hit series “Laguna Beach.” Geiger makes brief appearances on the CBS comedy “Love Monkey” as the character Wayne, an aspiring young singer-songwriter prodigy. Teddy performs four songs on the initial episode of the series and his music is used as audio background during specific scenes.

Geiger is a remarkable and creative individual with an incredible voice and a perspective that is informed and mature. He is content, whether it’s opening for Hilary Duff, sharing a bill with Gavin DeGraw or playing at proms for eager fans. He built his career from the grassroots level, and genuinely deserves recognition as a thriving and talented young artist.

By Scott Pukos
sap7242@sjfc.edu