Photo credit: Jason Siegel
Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Early in their career, Big Head Todd & the Monsters (BHTM) seemingly had a shot at pop radio stardom. Sister Sweetly, the group’s third album (and first for a major label) produced hit singles in “Broken Hearted Savior” and “Bittersweet” and briefly gave singer-guitarist Todd Park Mohr and his original bandmates, bassist Rob Squires and drummer Brian Nevin, a taste of the rock star life.
But rather than use that success as a springboard for a bigger breakthrough hit on top 40 radio, BHTM chose instead to base their career around their live show and gradually build an audience along the way.
“I sometimes wonder about that because there’s something about it in this business where you just get one shot [at major stardom] and that’s it. And then there’s a glass ceiling after that,” Mohr says. “I don’t spend too much time second guessing that. But in a way, it’s good that we’ve had the career we’ve had, I think, because it forced us to keep working really hard. If I had had really big early success, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
Thirty-plus years after forming the group, Mohr, Squires, Nevin and later addition keyboardist-multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Lawton are not only still around but are going strong and feeling there’s plenty creative fire left in their furnace.
The group hasn’t had any songs that matched the radio play and success of “Broken Hearted Savior” or “Bittersweet”—although the albums that followed, Strategem (1994) and Beautiful World (1997), both went gold. But BHTM has built a loyal audience that continues to give the band the kind of career stability that isn’t easy to achieve and sustain in the music business.
In not chasing radio hits, Mohr and his bandmates have felt the creative freedom to grow as musicians and artists. As the band’s songwriter, Mohr has expanded his palate, building on the gritty melodic rock and soulful pop balladry of the 1990s albums, deepening his ability to draw on blues, funk, pop and other styles within the band’s music.
Perhaps most notably, the group took a deep dive into traditional blues with a side project, the Big Head Blues Club, that allowed Mohr and the band to collaborate with such blues legends as Hubert Sumlin, Honeyboy Edwards, B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite and Billy Branch and explore the music of Robert Johnson (on the 2011 album 100 Years of Robert Johnson) and Willie Dixon (on 2016’s Way Down Inside).
Some of the earthy blues sound of 100 Years of Robert Johnson filtered into BHTM’s album Black Beehive. But those expecting something similar out of the band’s latest, New World Arisin’ are in for a surprise.
Instead, Mohr cranked up his electric guitar and the band rocks harder than any of their previous 10 albums with songs such as the title track, “Long Coal Train,” “Trip” and “Detonator” setting the tone. Meanwhile, more measured, somewhat poppier songs like “Mind,” “Glow” and “Damaged One” play up Mohr’s more melodic sensibilities and help create a varied platter.
Mohr says the band’s bluesier recent work had something to do with the shift in direction on New World Arisin’.
“We were just kind of excited about having an album conceptually that was basically a guitar-rock album,” Mohr explains. “There are really not ballads on it. It is brash, but at the same time there’s a lot of songwriting depth in it, I think. So, I’m really pleased with the outcome of it.”
The rocking sound of the new album translates well to the live stage. Mohr said the new songs are giving the live show a different feel than the shows BHTM had been playing over the past couple of years.
The group figures to play about two hours each evening, enough time to cover plenty of musical ground from the band’s catalog, including some deep tracks.
“We’re going to be playing, obviously, stuff from the new album,” Mohr says. “And also, peoples’ favorite songs. You’ve got to play those. So, what’s left is what we have fun with every day and mix it up. I have a master song list of about 160 songs, so there’s a lot to choose from. We’re pretty receptive to what people scream out in the audience or somebody Facebooks us with their request, I try to honor requests if I can.”
Big Head Todd & The Monsters perform at 4 p.m. on Friday, July 5, at Summerfest’s Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard.
