The Big Deal
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | SELF
Music
Press
This is an energy fueled sound that's never short on ambition, never short of that classic rock spirit. Fronted by rock vixen Vanessa, this combination of soul-fire riffs, simmering intensity, and swagger, is as sexy and raw as they come. Onwards and upwards for the band.
Lonely Vagabond is a Toronto-based journalist and champion of everything indie rock - Lonely Vagabond - notoriously mysterious Toronto music reviewer
Toronto blog promoting our show at the Horseshoe Tavern - www.blogTO.com
"The thing about the Big Deal is that their enthusiasm for playing live is nearly unmatched. And enthusiasm and drive can take you a long way. They play dancey indie-rock with a big live show packed with energy. And they even show that same energy when watching your band. That's a big deal." - Dan Wolovick - promoter for Two Way Monologues
Discography
2009 - The Hype Machine Demo (4 tracks)
2010 - The Big Deal EP (4 tracks)
Photos
Bio
The Big Deal is what happens when Funk meets Metal, flirts with Folk, grinds with Country, and finally one-night-stands good ole' fashioned Rock and Roll. The genre-bending offspring from this musical promiscuity looks and sounds like a volcano gone supernova, pumping out dancerock grooves for the soul fueled by ambition and a refreshing lack of pretension. Well, maybe a little pretension; we are, after all, kind of a big deal.
The band formed in the summer of 2009 through a confluence of blood ties, social networking and craigslist ads. The Tormey brothers had been writing songs separately for a decade, Tim (bass) inspired by classic metal like Black Sabbath and Matt (guitar) by acoustic folk-rockers like Neil Young. Sibling rivalry was redefined when they decided to take a stab at each other's songs, but after much patient molding and brotherly name-calling they arrived at a unique middle ground. Matt's riffs and progressions set the emotional tone, while Tim's gift for song structure gave the songs powerful dynamics.
Around this time, David (drums) posted a craigslist ad looking to jam in the general vicinity of rock/funk/soul, and among all the metal and pop-punk-screamo bands that responded he found a sonic oasis in the Tormeys' demos. It was love at first jam; everything clicked.
Then Vanessa (vocals), a friend of a friend of a friend of the Tormeys, heard their music one night and jokingly/drunkenly told them they'd sound better if they had a female singer, only to be shocked when they agreed and offered her the gig. A country fan at heart, Vanessa had an instinct for melody and brought enthusiasm and style to the mix.
With a full lineup in place, the band's sound began to solidify and they got to work on building a setlist with a collaborative songwriting approach. Tim and Matt continued reaching in the vault to give old songs new life, Vanessa proved to be a creative lyricist with an ear for catchy hooks, and David began to layer vocal harmonies over his edgy grooves.
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