Big Rig would prove to be a short lived band featuring Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy. The band Big Rig would also be billed that way, yet the roots of the band went back a lot further before the Ex Operation Ivy front man got on board.
Big Rig was a project that was conceived in early 1993 by Doug Sangalang and Kevin Cross, who would go on to form Pitch Black. Having already been playing around together for a while, the two high school friends decided to try and put together a “real band”. They approached a reluctant jazz drumming friend by the name Brandon Riggen (of which the band would eventually be named after) to help on their new punk rock quest.
Kevin Cross (Big Rig, Pitch Black) : “Brandon was not a punk. He said he'd help us out but didn't seem too stoked about playing for a punk band. It was only going to be temporary. I'll tell you, it was really cool to see Brandon go from someone who didn't give two shits about punk rock, into one of the most enthusiastic punk fans and punk drummers I have ever seen. He went from a guy, and I'm assuming here, who probably thought punk rock was the lowest of the low musically, to a guy who would literally jump out of his stool to yell, "1234!" as we went into a new song. Awesome!”
Through working at a café job in Oakland, Doug would meet the next member of the band, bass player Jeremy Goody. The four members would spend time writing, and rehearsing material without a singer until through a connection with Doug, Jesse Michaels would enter the picture.
Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy, Big Rig, Common Rider) : “Doug is one of those guys that everybody knows. He's a social hub. My thing was like, "let's do a project. I don't know if I want to commit to anything beyond that." So we did. We came up with enough songs for an EP and then recorded it”
After being invited to a band rehearsal, Michaels quickly joined the singerless four piece. Having already made an iconic name for himself with Operation Ivy, it seemed a natural choice that Michaels and company would go to Lookout for the planned release. Larry Livermore was invited along to a Big Rig rehearsal that took place at a CD duplicating warehouse that Cross and Sangalang worked at. The method of getting the attention of Livermore would prove to indeed be a short affair.
Kevin Cross (Big Rig, Pitch Black) : “Larry came in and seemed like he was in a hurry. He wasn't there for very long. Just listened to like three or four songs and said cool. That was the first and last time I ever talked to Larry too”
The “Expansive Heart” 7 EP (LK 94) does indeed stand alone as a solid release, and by Michaels own admission was a step away from his previous band. Musically rooted in similar circles as the mid to late 80’s melodic hardcore and DC hardcore bands, the 7” holds a more layered sound than straight up East Bay punk. Equal parts melodic angst, and thoughtful song structure with a good kick of punk energy make this 7” unfortunate in the sense that no other recordings were forthcoming.
Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy, Big Rig, Common Rider) : “I didn't really connect with the type of music they were playing although I liked the songs we managed to write. I was into more like, pure, straight punk at the time. I just didn't really know what I could contribute since I was into caveman shouting and moron rock. Anyway we fooled around for a while and came up with some decent songs and it was pretty fun because they were all nice guys.”
Kevin Cross (Big Rig, Pitch Black) : “We had originally planned on doing more.I remember the practice where Jesse dropped the bomb that he was done. I was pissed but I remember trying to be composed about it. We actually had a couple practices after that but it wasn't working anymore even though it was with the core group of original members. I think having the "Op Ivy" tag is what sold it. I still hear that it was Jesse's band. When I was that young it was frustrating, but I understand it now. I still feel a little bummed that I've never heard Jesse acknowledge that band, as I am proud of what we did however small it was”
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