Big Smith Views
Big Smith is a self-described hillbilly band out of Springfield, Missouri. The band is all family, consisting of brothers Mark and Jody Bilyeu, their cousins Jay and Mike Williamson, and cousin Rik Thomas. These guys have been playing together their whole lives, and it shows in their musical ability. Though each band member has an instrument they specialize in, during a live show they'll trade instruments to re-work their instrumentation for a different sound. Instruments they use include mandolin (primarily Jody Bilyeu), acoustic guitar (primarily Mark Bilyeu), upright and electric bass (Mike Williamson), and washboard and drums (Jay Williamson). Various songs also make use of mouthbow, harmonica, sousaphone and trombone.
Gig is the band's third release, the eagerly anticipated live recording. Their two previous albums Big Smith and Big Rock were solid studio recordings, consisting of a mix of traditional tunes and the bands often quirky original compositions. Gig includes tunes from the studio albums, along with crowd-pleasing favorites that hadn't been recorded before.
The traditional tunes range from gospel tunes such as Rich Man's Poor to murder ballads such as Darlin' Corey and Willow Garden . Some of the best times I've had at Big Smith shows were dancing to their fast instrumental hoedown numbers, so I was very pleased with the inclusion of tunes like Old Joe Clark and Tongue in Groove . Both of these start somewhat slow, and build in tempo until you're just about ready to collapse.
Big Smith, a hippie-tinged roots band is the nominal focus of (Homemade Hillbilly Jam), but (it) captures an extended family, descended from Ozark hillbillies and bound together by music
Big Smith Images
