YALE HERALD - January 30, 19989 Big Wreck keeps pushing forward By Daniel McGarrys Big Wreck might have to bear another thousand comparisons to Soundgarden or Led Zeppelin. And they might not be playing on every radio station in the country. But there are worse bands to be compared to, and being on at least some radio stations is better than being on none. No band starts out big-- some get there faster than others, but everyone starts out playing on zero radio stations. Some of you, while at home over break in cities with more enlightened airwaves, may have already heard the first single, "The Oaf," and are at least somewhat familiar with Big Wreck's unabashedly big brand of rock. The rest of you should be at Toad's Place this Tuesday. Big it is, but dumb it is not. Their sound is indeed "big rock: it's big, it's layered, it's rock 'n roll," as described by drummer Forrest Williams. But Big Wreck's cradle was in a maternity ward with every musical style on earth--Boston's Berklee College of Music--and their songs can't help but display the benefits of their diverse musical backgrounds. "We're all from different places, and we all pull it in different directions, and that helps to create diversity and depth in a tune," Williams said. While they came to Berklee for different reasons, they left with a shared purpose. As lead singer Ian Thornley puts it, "Everyone in Big Wreck has a particular musical vision about where they want this band to go: forward." Williams hopes "that people remember us as a band that came out in a time where people were really wanting some of the quality music of the '70s and the '60s and said `oh thank goodness, finally, a good band, that really has integrity and puts thought into their tunes and isn't just like, whoa, fuck, this is just rock 'n roll, whatever.'" Big Wreck is serious about their music, and they're serious about enjoying what they do. Their debut album, In Loving Memory Of..., is the brilliant product of the years of work. But the fruits of their labors are not confined to the studio. After years of playing clubs in Boston and Toronto, they've craf-ted their shows into powerful sets of songs that focus on Thornley's charged, tireless vocals while maintaining their guitar-driven edge. Williams attributes this fusion to their experience. "The more you grow and mature in writing music, you realize that the vocal melody comes first as far as creating the vibe and emotion and the message in a song," he says. "We used to be into long guitar solos and really intricate drum builds and stuff, but you just learn that it doesn't really give you a lot...it's the song, it's the groove, the melody, and the movement in a song, it's not a specific guitar lick or a specific drum build." The exquisite craftsmanship of a Big Wreck song shows clearly in its live performance. "I'm really happy, its great to see people out in the crowd singing along to the lyrics, getting into it," Williams said. "The other day in Pennsylvania, some guy who had gotten signed [to a record deal], had a bad experience, stopped playing guitar, and was really a great guitarist, never went out to shows, but came out to see us because his girlfriend dragged him out, came to us after the show and said he was inspired to go home and play again," Williams recounted. "I think that's the best part, when people really connect with you and agree with you and the direction you're doing your music." Right now, that direction is definitely moving forward.