Big Tall Garden is a power trio from North Vancouver that make tight, punchy, melodious riff rock. Bombastic like The Who, with the pomp and pageantry of Queen, they lay down grooves as deep in the pocket as the Meters yet a have fresh quirkiness reminiscent of Vampire Weekend. Inspired by their surroundings in a city with majestic rain forests and snow capped mountains they have developed a sound that is distinctly West Coast. “They don’t sound like any of the groups that are beginning to define the Canadian scene” – (The Georgia Straight).
Known for their powerful and spontaneous live show, the band have honed their craft with over twenty years of memorable gigs, tours and festivals winning over a huge underground following. BTG members – Duane Murrin (guitar/lead vocals), Jon Frederiksen (bass/vocals) and Hamish Thomson (drums/vocals) have a special intrinsic connection that has stood the test of time allowing the band to truly push the boundaries of their musical landscapes with raw unfiltered emotion. They have shared the stage with such greats as indie rock pioneer Mike Watt and Firehose, California psych-pop heroes the Mother Hips and BC’s own Wassabi Collective.
In 1992 BTG released their first eight song cassette which they gave away at shows to get the songs into people’s heads propelling the building of their loyal fan base.
In 1995 they released Full Fathom Five an eleven song CD with a range of well crafted tunes running the gamut from the epic folk tale/sea-shanty Battle Ship to the hypnotic and mystical, Doors like Myna Bird and not to mention the infectious up beat sing-a-longs like Bubba Simma and Ten Feet Tall. In 1996 Big Tall Garden went in to Hipposonic Studios in Vancouver with Rage Against the Machine producer Garth Richardson to record their next album. They did bed-tracks (guitar bass and drums) for twelve songs but only four were ever finished. These four would be released in 1997 as an EP entitled Crow while the other eight songs went into hibernation as the band went off to explore new adventures. Hipposonic studios eventually moved to Mushroom Studios and after many years the reel to reel tapes were presumed to be taped over if not lost all together. But a visit to Mushroom studios one morning in 2010 found Hamish and Duane searching through the cluttered attic to miraculously recover all four master tapes! The band is currently adding vocals and overdubs to finish a never before heard album from the vaults.
With brand new material in the works, a concert DVD being edited and more of their signature art/music festivals planned for 2011 this truly original Canadian band continues their epic journey.
