Big Fast Car

College Radio

Charted at over 40 college stations in 2004!

In light rotation or better at over 180 stations in 2004!

#14 most added at CMJ in March 2004!

wswi- evansville, il #4
kxzy- stillwater, ok #4
kjcc- san jose, ca #4
kwsc- wayne, ne #7
wzmb- greenville, nc #8
ksoc- ashland, or #8
warg- summit, il #8
wgbk- glenview, il #9
wary- valhalla, ny #10
kdne- crete, ne #11
wxlv- schnecksville, pa #12
wrbc- lewiston, me #12
ksub- seattle, wa #13
wlhs- liberty township, oh #14
wclh- wilkes-barre, pa #14
kwrf- santa monica, ca #14
wpmd- norwalk, ca #15
wiit- chicago, il #17
wumd- dearborn, mi #17
wasu- boone, nc #18
wxin- providence, ri #18
kvdu- denver, co #19
kura- ouray, co #19
waqu- grand rapids, mi #19
wipz- kenosha, wi #19
wcyt- ft. wayne, in #19
wwec- elizabethtown, pa #19
wlrc- hickory, nc #20
kide- hoopa, ca #21
kbvr- corvallis, or #21
kicb- ft. dodge, ia #22
wrrc- lawenceville, nj #22
wshs- sheboygan, wi #22
waih- potsdam, ny #22
kbeach- long beach, ca #23
wfhc- henderson, tn #23
kmnr- rolla, mo #25
wsdp- canton, mi #26
wrfl- lexington, ky #26
wccm- randolph, nj #27
kstm- indianola, ia #27
wbim- bridgewater, ma #29
werg- erie, pa #30

Commercial Airplay

16 weeks on the most played and futures lists at XM Radio!

Hit #5 at KUPD in Phoenix!

Spun by Rodney at KROQ in LA alongside The Vines, Jet, and more!

wacl- harrisonburg, va
wnrn- charlottesville, va
wwwv- charlottesville, va
wbzt- greenville, sc
kspi- oklahoma city, ok
krtq- tulsa, ok
kxrx- salt lake city, ut
kupd- phoenix, az top 5!
kacv- amarillo, tx
warq- columbia, mo
wanz- tuscaloosa, al
wfrd- hanover, ma
wqxa- harrisburg, pa
ks95- iowa city, ia
weeo- state college, pa
kadq- idaho falls, id
kroq- los angeles, ca
xm radio unsigned channel #4!
waitt- syndicated
ems- germany
alooga germany - CMJ

Ann Arbor may be best known for housing a massive University and birthing Iggy Pop, but the fact is that there are other natives trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry. One such guy is native son Matt Singleton. Despite being raised on the mean streets of AA (as it's affectionately known), Singleton moved on to bigger and better things when he moved a little east to the Detroit metro area.

It was in Detroit that Singleton formed Dog Soldier, a band that saw success across the board on college radio. Another move found Singleton in San Francisco where he opened Blue Room Studios and worked with a vast array of folks from Train to Four Non Blondes to street punks and rappers. Singleton found success throughout the 90's but never on a massive scale, and he once again uprooted himself and moved to a new place--Charlottesville, Virginia of all places.

In Charlottesville, Singleton hooked up with Dustin Bugg (drums) and Brian Temples (bass) to form Big Fast Car. This is where I enter the picture--a lowly music writer currently composing this review on the mean streets of AA. Big Fast Car's first release is The Drive EP. This 2003 disc comes standard with five songs--and an exclusive video for song Liberty's Lament. The disc itself may be short, but it packs sufficient punch to catch my attention. I've missed rock n' roll desperately for the past few years, and Big Fast Car reminds me of what rock should sound like.

The Drive EP makes me want more. Is this a good thing? Yes and no, but mostly yes as I've got all the faith in the world that the band will return for a full-length effort. Very few things in this world are perfect--and The Drive EP is by no means an exception to this rule. Though I have problems knocking a band that entertains me to the extent managed by Big Fast Car.

Opening track Liberty's Lament is probably my favorite offering. It is clear from the very start that this is good old fashioned rock. Fuzzy guitars, brutal drums, and Singleton's rough voice all meld perfectly. The melody is good, but the band doesn't sacrifice gut emotion for making their music "pretty." This conscious "pretty" thing is what has most angered me in the past five years in rock. Liberty's Lament is highly appealing but also just rough enough around the edges to make me actually believe that these guys do rock with the best of 'em.

Don't believe me? Listen to the four songs that follow beginning with Innocent a kinetic, high-energy track that smacks of pure rock--but also a guttural kind of punk. It all works well, and in the end, Innocent proves to be one of the most appealing songs here (if not the most appealing). Road Song returns to straight rock with a particular Southern strut. Singleton's voice isn't exactly what I expect when I first hear the melody and guitars (which are actually very much reminiscent of Black Crowes), but it grows on me. Plus, it's hard not to get a kick out of the song's unique arrangement.

Continuing on both Black GTO and Calliope wrap things up nicely. These songs solidify the fact that this EP is meant as driving music. Not in the emotional sense, but in the sense that you should be behind the wheel of a muscle car--preferably that black GTO that's mentioned. Everything about Big Fast Car screams Foghat or just about anybody else featured on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack.

In an era when rock n' roll is washed out, steam cleaned, and hung out to dry it's a great pleasure to hear a band like Big Fast Car.

Rating: 4/5 stars
- rockreviews.net

A vivid streak of color against the stark blacktop of assembly line pop, Big Fast Car’s The Drive is a five song extended play that rocks full throttle for twenty minutes. Precision guitar, bass and drums shine like polished chrome and wailing vocals drive home the poetry and wit of lyrics that define this band as premium grade rock and roll. The first track “Liberty’s Lament” – decrying crazed religiosity – is enhanced with a chilling performance video. “Innocent,” a slick mix of dissonance and rage, has been cruising East Coast airwaves and is headed west. “Road Song” steams up the windshield and the obsessive “Calliope” has soundtrack potential. But the hot rod on this disc is “Black GTO,” wherein Big Fast Car proves it’s “a mighty mean machine.”

Lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist Matt Singleton sings that he left his heart out on the road, and you want to help him find it. As a music producer, he has a great sense of direction. Originally from Motor City, Michigan, where his band Dog Soldier lapped up rave reviews, he spent the 90’s in San Francisco producing acts of every genre at his Blue Room Studios. “Power Hitter,” his release with thrashers Fifty Lashes, lent street cred to the soundtrack of the film “The Real Thing.” Moving to Charlottesville, Virginia three years ago, he formed Big Fast Car with drummer Dustin Bugg and bass player Brian Temples.

With Matt Singleton behind the wheel, Big Fast Car is headed for the fast lane. There’s no telling how far this band will go. What’s that up ahead? Could be a major record deal. Their full-length CD Fuel for the Fire is set for an early 2004 release. Meantime, The Drive EP will get your motor running.
- grapevineculture.com

Big Fast Car a band from Charlottesville VA, just released there new EP, The Drive. Big Fast Car compares themselves to the Stooges and proclaims to be as sharp as Van Halen. Some claim that The Stooges are part of the roots of the punk revolution. I wouldn’t really consider Big Fast Car Punk Rock, in fact I don’t really know what to call them, I guess I could call them good.
  They have been quoted by Flipside to have “Heavy ass guitar,” and I’d have to agree they do have a pretty raw guitar sound. Matt Singleton who plays guitar for Big Fast Car has been noted of having “deft guitar work”. The drumming is heart pounding, it’s high quality shit, drummer Dustin Bugg does a phenomenal job with different riffs, a solo here and there, and exciting fills. The bass player Brian Temples is a straight edge act also filling in with the background vocals.
  I listened to this CD and read along with the lyrics that are printed on the inside flap. Everyone likes being able to look at the lyrics, if you want to sing along or just know what the hell their saying. The lyrics are superb and original; they send out their message loud and clear.
  There are only 5 songs on the EP but if you listen to it on your PC or MAC you can see Big Fast Car’s “liberty’s lament” video. The video in my opinion is great, definitely done with a very low budget, but it’s focused around the music and the message of the music. Big Fast Car hopefully will get some attention fast. These are some skilled musicians who play a type of music that could be liked by a variety of people. I expect them to sign on a major label within a year or two, hopefully they don’t brainwash this talented teeth rattling Power Rock Band - UWC Forum

Big Fast Car is turning a lot of heads. Though unsigned, their '70s-influenced hard rock has aired on KROQ-LA, XM Satellite Radio and on scads of college stations.

This band of heartbreakers from Charlottesville, Va. grew up idolizing the likes of The Who, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Stooges and Terrible Ted Nugent and Fuel For The Fire is a return to the days when rock was free and unfettered, and guitar and drum solos were cool. Produced by Kevin McNoldy (Seven Mary Three, Mary Chapin Carpenter), their full-length debut delivers high-octane rock 'n' roll with a hint of vintage punk and the smell of new leather.

Matt Singleton's hard-hitting lyrics and sexed-up guitar stoke the passions of die-hard rockaholics, but it's the drag-racing rhythm section that rules the road as drummer Dustin Bugg and bass player Brian Temples burn rubber from start to finish.

The first track, "American Dream," is a beauty, "Black GTO" is turbocharged and witty, and the sarcasm of "Mr. Shine" rolls off the tongue like the perfect put-down. After veering in the general direction of Aerosmith, the album takes a detour through John Lennonville on "Some Say" and "Conviction" before careening into totally unmapped territory.

Throughout, finely produced discordance mutates into unexpected harmonies as Temples and Bugg back up Singleton's raw vocals for an overall sound that's both tough and vulnerable. Personal favorites include "Southern Blue" and the gothic, angst-stained "Burned Wing"; a dreamscape of chewy guitar riffs and distorted vocals.

Round about now, Big Fast Car's fueled up and ready to hit the road. A word of caution: Listening to loud, high-velocity songs while driving a big fast car may cause a potentially dangerous condition called "lead foot." Turn up the volume, but keep it safe. Traffic school can be a real drag.
- grapevineculture.com

This Month Radar Screen Picks Up...

Fuel for the Fire by Big Fast Car. From note one, you know that Big Fast Car is high-energy rock and roll. The kind of rock and roll your parents told you to turn down. The foursome from Charlottesville released a record that updates the classic rock sound with a more modern feel. Radar Screen always likes a record with guitar hooks you can feel and chorus' you can belt out in the shower. Big Fast Car has them both in droves. These guys brings an impressive resume to the table, with its members having worked with Train, Four Non-Blondes and Queens of the Stone Age. Big Fast Car isn't TRL pop but a welcomed return to the kind of kick-ass rock music that made you pick up a guitar in the first place. - 2 Walls webzine

Big Fast Car's name is an accurate description for its new album: its sound is big, but not clunky or clumsy; it's fast and sharp, but not reckless.

Yet this can't happen until the word's been spread: Fuel for the Fire is worth more than a tank of gasoline. It's got the value of a Bentley.

No one wants a car with a faulty or rusted part. Big Fast Car takes this into account; there is not one weak track on this record. Similarly, each member of the trio is equally precise and energetic in playing his part.

An opening track sells an album as much as a test drive, so the band starts with one of the album's strongest tracks, "American Dream." This upbeat grunge song shows off lead vocalist and guitarist Matt Singleton's talent for rocking guitar solos and vocals that seem to contain his lifeblood. His voice rivals Don Henley in the "seductively raspy" category while forming such cynical lyrics as, "Yes, I'm proud to be American / I'll sell you something if I think that I can / A cold plate of love with a side of remorse / Sex on a stick and an easy divorce."

An independent, meandering bass line sets the pace for "Burned Wing." Singleton takes on the Strokes' "through-the-telephone" vocal sound, singing an anthemic chorus as if making a declaration to the world about his lost love through a megaphone.

But Big Fast Car doesn't follow any song formula. The album's catchy classic rock tune ("Some Say"), poetic acoustic ballad ("Down the Road"), sexy song for the road ("Black GTO"), and darkly woeful track ("Over There") all succeed equally, proving that the band only takes on what it can do well: a hell of a lot.

Catch up to Big Fast Car's music while it's still gaining momentum. Those who follow this band closely might need a fast car to keep up. - Pipe Dream- Binghamton U