Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
I'm a big fan anytime local hip-hop artists stretch themselves to begin working with live bands. That's why I was glad to hear that one of Dallas' all-time best known rap duos, Mr Pookie & Mr Lucci, have teamed up with The Big Red Rooster to remix two of their songs. They've even agreed to stop by The Granada tomorrow night to perform the songs with BRR live. Big Red Rooster already plays incredibly high energy shows, but I'm betting Mr. Pookie and Mr. Lucci take it up a few notches when they hit the stage. Definitely a show worth checking out.
October 24, 2006 - Alan Cohen of texasgigs.com/pegasusnews.com
THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER
The Big Red Rooster has something to crow about- these SMU undergrads with a Hilltop following have a ska/reggae/hip hop/rock vibe. Their independently released debut, "Live.A.Bit", was release last winter, but see them strut Oct.25 at 10:30 at The Granada,3524 Greenville Ave. - Dallas Modern Luxury
The six-member band blew up the stage at Club Clearview earlier this month with their unique melodies and enthralling beats. Multi-ID spit out strong lyrics, displaying his mad microphone skills with hints of influences like 311 and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group performed songs off of their independent album, Live.a.bit. Each song differed from the next, fusing hip-hop, reggae and rock. The band's loyal fans went out to support and see another good show. They sang and danced to their favorite melodies, then went home happy with music ringing in their ears.
Envy Magazine January issue #5 by Melody Lowe - Melody Lowe Envy Magazine
Since the door on the rock/rap vibe has been kicked open this week by Rubba Rode, we must let you know that The Big Red Rooster, a crew in the same musical vein, have been recording with two of Dallas' biggest rappers, Mr Pookie and Mr Lucci. Look for remixes of Rooster cuts featuring the rappers in the near future.
- Quick Publication
Entering the coffee shop, it couldn’t have been more obvious who the musician was. Surrounded by a group of businessmen dressed in suits and carrying briefcases, Andrew Meals entered in a Volcom hoodie, baggy jeans, Puma shoes and a backwards Billabong hat. A number of colorful wristbands decorated his right wrist and a water bottle occupied his left.
“For the sore vocal cords,” he says without a minute’s hesitation. Meals, an SMU history major, but who has been involved with music his whole life, is in one of SMU’s biggest local bands. Only within the past couple of years has Meals named the band, The Big Red Rooster, and recruited its various members throughout Dallas. Since the bands creation, members have come and gone, leaving the band currently with six members, three of which attend SMU: Meals, Ted Lauck and Philip Griffin. Vocalist Isaac Wimberley attends UNT and drummer Cedric Moore was recruited for the band by a friend who brought along keyboarder Jason Williams.
Meals, a Dallas native, whose mother is a high school music teacher and whose father plays the guitar, says he has always been in to music.
“My mom would play the piano, my dad played the guitar, my brother was always in bands and I would sing and rap,” he said.
Meals accredits some of his rapping style to bands such as 311, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime and said, “When I was younger I was also listening to Kid Rock and I was like, I want to be like him because he could manage the whole rap/rock thing in a cool way with country style,” he said.
“Then when I was in high school my brother was enrolled at SMU and had a band going but it broke up and I asked him if I could try rapping on a couple of his songs.”
For the next couple of months Meals played along with his brother and the few remaining in the band. They enrolled in the battle of the bands where one of the judges, Frank Hill, who worked for SONG BMG, offered to be the bands manager. Along with Hill, his associate, Nick Galloway also became the bands manager where the two set up shows for the band at noted Deep Ellum clubs Liquid Lounge, Indigo and the Gypsy Tea Room. A short time later Meals’ brother, Michael quit the band to work full time, after which the managers quit the band. It wasn’t until this past summer that Meals began work on a new face for the band when he recruited Lauck. By the beginning of the semester Meals had also set up a new manager, Will Goldapp, a fellow SMU student. With Goldapp in place, the band set up shows at Club Clearview, Curtain Club and played a show for a Katrina benefit. The band ended off last semester at the Curtain Club where they played with 90’s rapper Vanilla Ice.
It wasn’t until Meals left on Christmas break to South Africa, however, that he decided the band needed to record an album.
“We were all emailing each other and figured we had been through so much as a band that we decided it was time to make an album,” he said.
In order to raise money for the release, the band held a private, friends and family only acoustic show that charged an entrance fee in exchange for a free CD on release night. The show resulted in a profit of $1,500 which was used to print and release the CD.
“When recording the CD we did everything completely independently and then we had it professionally duplicated through a company in California,” Meals said.
Band mate Wimberley says the recording process was like an, “assembly line,” where each part was recorded separately and then put together.
“It was like a melting pot full of our creative forces,” he said.
“We don’t get together and jam,” Wemberley said. “The guitarist does his own thing, as do the vocalists and bass. Then we had all our songs recorded and sent to Good Night Audio here in Dallas where they mixed and mastered the songs for our CD and for future radio releases.”
Released on February 17, the CD titled, “Live.A.Bit” includes 13 songs, a compilation of old and new tunes. Senior Garrett Hale says the CD sounded like, “a mix of 311, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime. It’s kind of like a hip-hop, rock band.”
Junior James McDaniel went to one of the bands shows for the first time the night of the release and said, “I was actually surprised at how good they were. I’d never been to one of their shows but everyone around SMU knew them so I wanted to see them perform. They’ve got this rock, rap thing about them.”
“They’re even playing at one of our fraternity parties in like two weeks,” McDaniel said.
Wemberley agreed saying, “we weren’t just creating pop songs but we were creating music like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, where in ten years we can look back and say, ‘I love that song.’” Wemberley also said, “We’re in a place where we’re trying to create some substance. I think we bring a style of music that’s fresh, stylish and creative and I think we’ll be accepted on an all -time level.”
Looking back, Meals said the biggest challenge he thinks the band - The SMU Daily Campus
If you’re wondering what’s cooler than being cool, The Big Red Rooster has dethroned Andre 3000 from Outkast. After its performance Friday night in Deep Ellum, this reporter has newfound respect and admiration for the young band, which is comprised solely of SMU undergraduate students. Lead by linguist Andrew Meals, whose verbal skills and provocative lyrics rival that of bands like The Roots and 311, The Big Red Rooster dares to be different.
Some songs take unexpected turns, adding an element of surprise, while others can’t help but move the crowd. Between the rocking bodies and throwing of elbows, the contagious energy poured throughout the bar. The women were plentiful, scantily dressed and ready to party. If you were male and at Curtain Club Friday night when The Big Red Rooster hit the stage, then you were in heaven on earth.
Vocalist Isaac Wimberley adds an interesting element to the equation — he holds a strong tune that is reminiscent of Chester Bennington.
For those of you who are familiar with the band Linkin Park, he is the energetic and soulful singer who is the reason you either love or hate the band.
The bassist and harmony provider, Zuriel Barron, keeps a good beat and controls the direction of the song. From the audience, it appeared as if both the drummer, Cedric Moore, and keyboardist, Phillip Griffin, were looking to him for cues.
The Big Red Rooster gets a lot of its funky style from the beat mechanic, Cedric Moore. His energy and impressive stick skills inevitably stole the attention of each member of the audience at some point in every song.
If you like Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers or 311, you’ll love The Big Red Rooster solely because of the dub sound of the keys. This reggae style of playing catches the upbeat in some songs and creates a relaxing and steady tempo behind the more dominant electric guitar riffs. Ted Lauck, the lead guitarist, is so smooth with his fingers that every chord progression seems effortless. His soloing skills are superb and entertaining.
The venue provided an up close and personal view of the band, and the personalities of each member became visible through the passion they found in their instrument. The band is young and full of energy, and I’m curious to see how they’ll mature.
The Big Red Rooster’s next performance is on March 11. If you haven’t either heard The Big Red Rooster live or picked up a copy of its new CD, “Live-A-Bit,” I’ve got bad news for you. You don’t know what’s cooler than being cool. - SMU Daily Campus
"They don't try to fuse hip hop and rock together, but cleverly segway from one genre to the other, making for a good variety of music."
-Ayo 102.1 The Edge, Dallas TX
- Quick-Dallas Morning News
Discography
Debut Album-"Live.a.bit" was released independently in February 2006
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
While some might describe The Big Red Rooster as a hip hop/rock band, those who have attended their performances will attest to the claim that no genre truly pinpoints their highly original works. When the talented artists who make up The Big Red Rooster perform live, their bold-faced passion and relentless energy are combined to ensure that the party never stops once they take the stage. With the mission to create something unheard of that could be appreciated on multiple levels, the Rooster began performing at various venues including the Curtain Club, Club Clearview, Granada Theater and Gypsy Tea Room. The Rooster was able to raise enough money to independently produce their debut full-length album, Live.a.bit, in February of 2006. Their popularity has spread throughout Dallas while their success afforded opportunities to play with artists including Grammy winning artists Bone Thugs N Harmony as well as Vanilla Ice. Lead singer Andrew Meals (aka Multi-id) accredits his lyrical style to 311, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Sublime; however, his tongue twisting rhymes rival the quickness of rappers such as Twista and Krayzie Bone. He has always appreciated Kid Rocks ability to create his own style by mixing his country style with rap and rock. Multi-id and the rest of The Big Red Rooster thrive on creating their own style that will put the south on the map with the hip-hop as well as rock communities.
The Big Red Rooster has taken many turns on their journey from idea to reality but has always stayed true to their mission of fusing its members creative ambitions and various musical interests into a unique blend of undeniably appealing music. The original vision of The Big Red Rooster was conceived by Multi-id and his brother Michael, a guitarist and recording engineer. After several years of focused collaboration, Michael had to quit due to career pursuit, leaving Multi-id at the helm. He put his vehicle of ambition into full gear, revved the engine, and floored it through the next few years of his life, making The Big Red Rooster the sole purpose of his musical aspirations. Isaac Wimberley jumped in shotgun and began working with Multi early on to define the melodic and essential vocal counterpart to his high school friend and band mate. Ted Lauck, Philip Griffin, DJ PAC, and Evan Anthony now occupy the passenger seats. Ted is a rock-reggae influenced guitarist from California while Philip is a classically trained bassist who has performed countless recitals and studied under members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. DJ PAC adds turntables, keyboards, and synth to the mix while his musical skills also extend to guitar and producing. The most recent addition to the Rooster, Evan Anthony, is a talented and tested drummer with the experience and dedication the Rooster has long been searching for. He and Philip lay down a foundation of solid grooves for the rest of the band to build on. One cannot begin to fully appreciate the Rooster until they have watched this fresh group rock a party.
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