Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
Encyclopedia
The track listing was made available on April 14 on the Dave Matthews Band website, and the first single from the album, "Funny the Way It Is", was made available for free download on the Dave Matthews Band website for the week of 14 April 2009.
.
"Corn Bread" and "#27" are the only released songs from the sessions that the band had played live before the sessions began.
released two versions of Big Whiskey: a standard version containing the 13 tracks from the album plus a live version of "Corn Bread", and a more expensive iTunes Pass. The pass included videos, exclusive live tracks, and a few songs from the album that were released ahead of the official release date. The pass was active from April 21, 2009 until September 22, 2009, and tracks were automatically downloaded as they became available. On September 9, with the release of iTunes 9
, came the Big Whiskey LP, where one can play the music while reading the lyrics, as well as new art by Dave Matthews.
Beauford described the word "GrooGrux" as not only a nickname for LeRoi Moore
, but also a nickname for himself, Tim Reynolds
, and former collaborator Tim Wicks. Beauford said the made-up word was used to describe the "vibe" and "energy" of their "wild-sounding rhythms" they made when they started playing music together. Beauford also mentioned that Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard
and violinist Boyd Tinsley
were now graduates of "The GrooGrux Academy."
Matthews said the origins of "Big Whiskey" came from a chance encounter with a local New Orleans drunk during a photo shoot for the new album. When the band was shooting promotional photos outside of Preservation Hall
in the French Quarter
of New Orleans, they encountered a local man playing harmonica who was asking tourists for money so he could buy "a big whiskey." Lessard gave Matthews a $20 bill to hand the man, who walked off in celebration. Trumpet player Rashawn Ross
then suggested the phrase for the title of the album, which Matthews liked because people would not have to call the album by the more difficult to say "GrooGrux".
called Big Whiskey and GrooGrux King the band's "Best Album Yet" on the cover of their June 2009 issue, and editor David Fricke
awarded the album a rating of four out of five stars.
Additional personnel
Production
Little Red Bird
With the super deluxe boxed set version of the album, the band included Little Red Bird, a four-song EP of songs that were recorded during the sessions, but were not included on the final cut.European CD bonus songs
The European cut of Big Whiskey featured two extra songs after "You and Me": "Write a Song," from the Little Red Bird EP, and "Corn Bread," a song the band had been playing live for two tours. The studio version of "Corn Bread" features guest banjoist Danny BarnesDanny Barnes
Danny Barnes is a banjo and guitar player whose music is influenced by country, jazz and punk. Born in Temple, Texas and raised in Belton, Barnes was exposed to music at a young age: he recalls picking up a love of country and bluegrass from his father and grandmother, Delta blues from one brother...
.
"Corn Bread" and "#27" are the only released songs from the sessions that the band had played live before the sessions began.
iTunes bonus songs
iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
released two versions of Big Whiskey: a standard version containing the 13 tracks from the album plus a live version of "Corn Bread", and a more expensive iTunes Pass. The pass included videos, exclusive live tracks, and a few songs from the album that were released ahead of the official release date. The pass was active from April 21, 2009 until September 22, 2009, and tracks were automatically downloaded as they became available. On September 9, with the release of iTunes 9
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, came the Big Whiskey LP, where one can play the music while reading the lyrics, as well as new art by Dave Matthews.
Name
In an April 2009 interview with MTV, Dave Matthews and Carter Beauford described the origins of the two-pronged name of the album.Beauford described the word "GrooGrux" as not only a nickname for LeRoi Moore
Leroi Moore
LeRoi Holloway Moore was an American saxophonist best known as a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band. Moore often arranged music for the songs written by frontman Dave Matthews...
, but also a nickname for himself, Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...
, and former collaborator Tim Wicks. Beauford said the made-up word was used to describe the "vibe" and "energy" of their "wild-sounding rhythms" they made when they started playing music together. Beauford also mentioned that Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard
Stefan Lessard
Stefan Kahil Lessard is an American musician, most famous as the bassist for the Dave Matthews Band.-Early life:Lessard was born in Anaheim, California, to musicians Ron and Janaki Lessard. After moving a number of times during his childhood, Lessard and his family eventually settled in...
and violinist Boyd Tinsley
Boyd Tinsley
Boyd Calvin Tinsley is an American violinist and mandolinist who performs as a member of the Dave Matthews Band. Within the band, Tinsley has collaborated in writing songs, harmonizing, and singing backing vocals.-Early life:Tinsley was raised in a musical family...
were now graduates of "The GrooGrux Academy."
Matthews said the origins of "Big Whiskey" came from a chance encounter with a local New Orleans drunk during a photo shoot for the new album. When the band was shooting promotional photos outside of Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
of New Orleans, they encountered a local man playing harmonica who was asking tourists for money so he could buy "a big whiskey." Lessard gave Matthews a $20 bill to hand the man, who walked off in celebration. Trumpet player Rashawn Ross
Rashawn Ross
Rashawn Ross is an American trumpeter and arranger from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Ross is arguably best known for his contributions in the Dave Matthews Band. After his graduation from the Berklee College of Music , Ross has worked with artists in many different genres of music ranging from...
then suggested the phrase for the title of the album, which Matthews liked because people would not have to call the album by the more difficult to say "GrooGrux".
Reception
Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called Big Whiskey and GrooGrux King the band's "Best Album Yet" on the cover of their June 2009 issue, and editor David Fricke
David Fricke
David Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
awarded the album a rating of four out of five stars.
Charts
| Albums Chart | Peak position |
Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 | Platinum | 1,000,000+ |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
59 | - |
Personnel
Dave Matthews Band- Carter BeaufordCarter BeaufordCarter Anthony Beauford is an American drummer, percussionist, and founding member of Dave Matthews Band. He is known for his ability to adapt to a variety of genres, and both his ambidextrous and his open hand drumming styles. He plays the drums and sings backing vocals in the band...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals - Stefan LessardStefan LessardStefan Kahil Lessard is an American musician, most famous as the bassist for the Dave Matthews Band.-Early life:Lessard was born in Anaheim, California, to musicians Ron and Janaki Lessard. After moving a number of times during his childhood, Lessard and his family eventually settled in...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dave MatthewsDave MatthewsDavid John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
– acousticSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
and electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s, lead vocals - LeRoi MooreLeroi MooreLeRoi Holloway Moore was an American saxophonist best known as a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band. Moore often arranged music for the songs written by frontman Dave Matthews...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Moore passed away during pre-production of the album - Boyd TinsleyBoyd TinsleyBoyd Calvin Tinsley is an American violinist and mandolinist who performs as a member of the Dave Matthews Band. Within the band, Tinsley has collaborated in writing songs, harmonizing, and singing backing vocals.-Early life:Tinsley was raised in a musical family...
– electric violinElectric violinAn electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
Additional personnel
- Tim ReynoldsTim ReynoldsTim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Jeff CoffinJeff CoffinJeff Coffin is an American jazz and alternative rock musician best known as the saxophonist for Dave Matthews Band and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. In addition to the saxophone, he plays clarinet, flute and oboe.-Biography:...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Rashawn RossRashawn RossRashawn Ross is an American trumpeter and arranger from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Ross is arguably best known for his contributions in the Dave Matthews Band. After his graduation from the Berklee College of Music , Ross has worked with artists in many different genres of music ranging from...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Danny BarnesDanny BarnesDanny Barnes is a banjo and guitar player whose music is influenced by country, jazz and punk. Born in Temple, Texas and raised in Belton, Barnes was exposed to music at a young age: he recalls picking up a love of country and bluegrass from his father and grandmother, Delta blues from one brother...
- banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... - David Campbell - String arranger, conductor
Production
- Producer — Rob CavalloRob CavalloRob Cavallo is a record producer and A&R, most famous for signing and producing Green Day. He is currently Chairman of Warner Bros. Records.- History :...
- Engineer — Doug McKean
- Video — Joe Lawlor
- Guitar Tech — Craig Baker
- Drum Techs — Henry Luniewski, Jerry Johnson
- Bass and Violin Tech — Erik Porter
- Illustration & Art Direction — Dave Matthews