Photo courtesy of Kylie McLaughlin
When the world’s burning, and our existence seems more puny and senseless than ever, the only thing left to do is to lean into the absurdity. Enter: Big Bill—Austin’s part beautiful, part ridiculous freak-punk three-piece, who are coaxing their listeners from numbness to exhilaration, even while the world’s crumbling before us.
Formed by Eric and Cody Braden—two brothers who grew up on a giddy cocktail of The Monks, Austin Legends Big Boys, and The Talking Heads—Big Bill adds their unique sense of humor and charisma to the best bits of all their influencers. From Yoko Ono, they’ve learned the power of vulnerability. From The B-52s, they’ve learned the joy of ludicrousness. From Harry Nilsson, they’ve learned to incorporate deadpan humor into music. But none of their influencers can truly account for Big Bill’s special strain of eccentricity, nor their wide-eyed sensitivity to the world, nor their—well—weirdness. At their live shows, they play tight and fast; oscillating between campy antagonism and interactivity—crowd-surfing, stealing audience members’ drinks—before making their crowd perform a set of jumping jacks just for the sheer hell of it. The band’s live show is their claim to fame. At least for now.
BIG BILL
“Formed by Eric and Cody Braden—two brothers who grew up on a giddy cocktail of The Monks, Austin Legends Big Boys, and The Talking Heads—Big Bill adds their unique sense of humor and charisma to the best bits of all their influencers.”