1. Who is Big Heavy Stuff?
Big Heavy Stuff is a four-piece guitar band from Sydney, Australia. They are Greg Atkinson (Vocals, Guitars), Carolyn Polley (Guitars, Vocals), Eliot Fish (Bass, Vocals) and Nick Kennedy (Drums).
2. Where did the name Big Heavy Stuff come from?
The story goes that Greg and Carolyn were watching a football game on the television and heard the coach yell to his team at half-time: "I want you to go out there and be big, heavy... stuff!"
3. Is Dear Friends and Enemies their first album?
No, Dear Friends and Enemies is the band's 4th album. Their previous album releases, Size of the Ocean, Maximum Sincere and Truck can all be found in the DISCOGRAPHY section.
4. What other kinds of bands have they played/toured with before?
Big Heavy Stuff have done a number of national tours and shows over the years with the likes of Powderfinger, Radiohead, Something For Kate, Neil Finn, the Stone Roses, Dinosaur Jr, Jebediah and many more.
5. What equipment do they use?
Greg uses: Gibson Firebrand and steel-string acoustic.
Carolyn uses: Fender Jaguar and Fender Stratocaster.
Eliot uses: Fender Jazz electric bass.
Nick uses: Pearl Masters Custom & Paiste cymbals.
6. Have they always been known as Big Heavy Stuff?
The band has always been named Big Heavy Stuff, yes. However, the various members have played with other bands previously. Greg was the singer/songwriter in Ups & Downs and he also played guitar briefly with The Apartments. Carolyn was in Toys Went Berserk and The Dutiful Daughters. Eliot's first band was The Templebears and he also played bass and toured with The Apartments. Nick Kennedy's first band was Blue Dahlia and he has played drums with a number of artists over the years including Died Pretty, Knievel and The Cops. Nick and Eliot are also currently in the Sydney band, Todd Sparrow, with guitarist Dave Trump and songwriter Rob Gibson.
7. Was anyone else ever in Big Heavy Stuff?
Big Heavy Stuff started with Greg, Carolyn, Darren Jones on bass and Darren Atkinson on drums. Darren Atkinson left in 1994 and formed the group Atticus with Josh Morris (formerly of the Templebears), Nick replaced him on drums. Darren Jones left in 1995 after the recording of Trouble & Desire, at which point Eliot joined the band. At one stage, Carolyn briefly left the band and was replaced by Adam Young of the Daisygrinders for the majority of touring on Maximum Sincere. Carolyn returned to BHS shortly after.
8. Is is true that Big Heavy Stuff released a single in the USA?
Yes, but only an independent vinyl release. The song Birthday from the Covered in Bruises EP was released as a 7" vinyl single on the Desoto label in 1996. White Flag was the b-side. It is still available on the Desoto website.
9. Have they released anything else overseas?
Maximum Sincere (1997) was available in Japan on the Quattro label. In 2002, Big Heavy Stuff also contributed a cover of Todd Rundgren's Hello It's Me to an American Vietnam Veterans benefit compilation on Exotic Fever records called Don't Know When I'll Be Back Again, along with Death Cab for Cutie, J. Robbins and Atombombpocketknife.
10. Can I buy Big Heavy Stuff stuff online?
T-shirts and back catalogue CDs can be purchased through the BUY STUFF section of this site. You can also visit Redline Records or do a search for BHS stuff on Whammo or Chaos Music amongst other "E-tailers". Of course, we recommend visiting your local friendly music store!