INTERVIEW: Big Head Todd gears up for new album, constant touring
Big Head Todd and the Monsters recently celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band, and they continue to bring new music to their loyal fan base. In 2012, they’ve teamed up with Cracker, Blues Traveler and Barenaked Ladies for the Last Summer on Earth Tour. In addition, Big Head Todd will kickoff the inaugural Ride Festival in Telluride Town Park, Aug. 25 and 26 in Telluride, Colo.
The constant touring — a hallmark for the band — will be enlivened later this year when the Monsters head into the studio for a new album of all original material. Their last studio effort was a well-received album of Robert Johnson covers.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox talked with Todd Park Mohr, lead singer and guitarist for the band. Questions and answers have been slightly edited.
Has it been exciting being on tour with Barenaked Ladies?
We’ve really enjoyed it. We’re very fortunate. We’ve had really nice audiences come out to the show, and I think it’s a great packaging of various artists. The bands are getting along well, and the music is good.
What can fans expect on your set list?
We have a shorter set because there’s so many groups. But we’re squeezing in some of our newer stuff, some of the Robert Johnson stuff, alongside a couple of our hit songs. It’s a condensed set, but it’s a punch.
How did the you get the idea to do an album of Robert Johnson’s music?
It was my manager’s idea, on account of, he would have turned 100 years old May 8 (a year ago). I didn’t really think I was the right guy for it. He sort of kept pushing me. I didn’t have much familiarity with Robert’s material. … It’s really changed my life.
Do you think you’ll head more in that direction musically?
Absolutely. Maybe in a different way than one would think. It’s just that I find the older acoustic blues has so much variety and different kinds of music. It’s almost like before music became unpacked into country and rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll. I’m envisioning just kind of keeping a lot of those ideas intact and just having a contemporary sound based around that stuff.
The Ride Festival is coming up.
It’s our first festival. Obviously we’re delighted to be hosting it at Telluride, which is a spectacular part of the world. Really great artists: Lucinda Williams, Ben Harper, Los Lobos. It’s going to be just a fabulous weekend of music.
Did that idea come from the band, or were you presented with the idea?
A little bit of both. We’ve always wanted to do a festival, and we just had an opportunity come by, somebody who wanted to invest in it. We had the connections to be able to get the talent in there, so it just worked out for everybody.
You’ve been together for 25 years. Could you believe that it’s been long?
It’s incredible. I can’t believe so much time has come by.
Has the music industry changed a lot since those early days?
Of course it has. When we first started, the CD had just come out. There were still major labels and a record business. Obviously that’s changed. The technology part has changed. The business has changed quite a bit. We’re not in an environment of major labels breaking superstars anymore, which is fine because we’ve been on the outskirts of that anyway. We’ve sort of kept doing what we’ve always done, while a lot has changed around us.
Could you talk about the band and working with these musicians for so many years?
Obviously we’ve been together almost since high school. We met in high school. And it’s really wonderful to spend a career in a band, because you have a lot of support. Different band members have different talents. It just works out really well if you get the right combination of people. I’m thrilled with all of us, musically where we’ve grown into, just in terms of starting up as a young person and spending a lifetime making music. We’re still thrilled to still be here, and we still feel like we have a lot to offer.
It seems that the fans have helped drive your success because you tour so much. Could you speak about some of the loyal fans who have been with you for two decades?
People in every town that have gone to dozens of shows, we start to befriend them over the years. So we become a fan-friendly band. We take pictures with our fans. We usually sign autographs just publicly after every show. Like you said, they are the reason we’re here. I’m pleased to have the fans that we have.
Can we expect a new album of original material?
I have been writing a lot. Our plan is to record in the fall and have a project come out in the first part of 2013.
Do you like playing the old songs, or does it become routine?
It’s a struggle and always has been for me. I think I’m pleased to be playing those songs. I like playing them. There’s at least three or four songs that we usually play every show. Luckily we’ve had a long career with a lot of albums, so we have a lot of songs. So we love being able to play longer sets and being able to incorporate whatever feels good to us. … I often totally understand where (Bruce) Springsteen comes from when he doesn’t want to play ‘Born to Run’ or ‘Thunder Road’ for a while. You got to do it. You got to make money.
When did the name Big Head Todd and the Monsters come about?
We were in college at the time and needed to pick a name. There was a guy by the name of Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, so that’s sort of where we got the idea for Big Head from. Once you get a name, it started changing. We’ve been stuck with that name for our whole career.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
