IamA Dom from Big Gigantic AMA!

Can we expect any tracks or even an album from Big Grizmatik?

Griz (Grant) and Gramatik (Denis) are just two of my favorite people in life. We had a fkn blast playing a couple times this summer. We're all so damn busy its hard to get together to make music. Hopefully soon we'll get together on a 'Big Grizmatik' song to get out to yall and hopefully we'll be playing a show or two here or there. Would be so sick!!!

When are you guys gonna do a christmas album already?

hahaha :)

Hey Dom!! I remember first seeing you guys open for STS9 in Chicago back in 2010 and being blown away by your sound. I've probably been to twenty of your shows since then and I can't tell you how great it has been to watch your success explode over the past three years. I am so incredibly happy for you and so excited for what the future holds.

My question is this: I think that you and Jeremy were really the first to popularize "live electronic" music on the EDM scene and now we're seeing the popularity grow with guys like Griz, Gramatik, and Pretty Lights (who is now touring with a full band). What are your thoughts on this growing trend of mixing live instruments with DJing? Are there any up-and-coming artists in this genre that you're really excited about?

thank u so much and great question! Well, i think the first band to do it was really STS9. They all had computers and instruments. They were pioneers man, my brothers!! Then Derek (Pretty Lights) was kinda the first to take DJ with a drummer concept to the forefront. He bounced back and forth with a drummer the first several years of his existence. then went solo. Now he's with a full band (sick!) We kinda followed that coming up. The DJ/drummer format. It made most sense because i was/am tryin to blow solos and improvise and make the improvisation/melody move the music. That whole concept makes much more sense with a drummer for me than without.

All these artists you mention above im super excited about right now. Also Break Science. We're all trying to take the electronic/dj/live instrument thing to a new level.

The Floozies!

yes, LOVE the floozies, and CHERUB!

I've seen y'all a bunch, but I noticed that sometimes your shows are super jammy and awesome, and other times they get super "wompy." Do y'all consciously choose how funky and jammy you want to get? All Good was much more of a jam than Nocturnal Festival, for instance. I guess it is influenced by the type of event.

great question! yes i absolutely do that! im not trying to prove a point or anything like that when we play. Im trying to have a good time with the people that are there to watch us and im trying to pass this energy around to everyone. The thing is that i/we cant obviously make everyone happy but i generally know what kind of situation we're going into and, musically, i try to put together the best scenario possible. Different strokes for diff folks for sure but, honestly, I love all kinds of electronic music. I like the heaviest to the most mellow stuff. Probably because i express myself with music. I want my musical color pallette as large as possible so that i can draw from these emotion (rage to quiet) when i play/write music. Thats just my 2 cents on it! :)

Hey Dom, Big Grizmatik at Rowdytown 3?? I'm juss sayin, think about it

Ive thought about that a lot cause that would be so ill. Im not sure its gonna be able to happen but im gonna try :D

Cant wait to see you a Hulaween. any chance youll play with sts9 or cheese?

I really really hope so!! They usually ask me to do it the day of the show so hopefully some more cool collabs. I love getting up and just improvising with people on something random shit. Its probably what i do best haha :)

Can you cover Katy Perry's "ROAR" for all of us dressed as animals for Halloween?! I'll be with a flock of Turkeys going nuts!

LOL

Do you ever have plans to press your music on vinyl?

YESSSS we are trying to do that with our upcoming release. Very beginning of next year!!

Will you be back at EF this year (2014)?

I SURE HOPE SO! :) Its my absolute favorite festival of all time. Hopefully we're back on Sherwood court closing that shit down just like 2 yrs ago. If i could write the story, that how it would go.. :)

I've seen Big g 4 times, and seen you perform with STS9 at Buku fest and with various acts at Electric Forest this year, Big GrizMatik being one of the best acts I have ever witnessed (waiting for Sound Tribe Big GrizMatik Lights). Thank you for bringing funky sax to so many different acts. My question is, who are some acts you want to team up with or just play with in the future?

all of these peeps i would LOVE to continue to collab with they are so good! Also would love to collab with Cashmere Cat, Pegboard Nerds and Herbie Hancock too!! haha

What's Jeremy doing right now? Does he have pants on?

i dunno, i hope so tho!! haha :)

At RowdyTown II, was Grumpy cat with lazers shooting out of its face you and Jeremy's idea, or did Ghost Pixel Visuals come up with all that? picture for reference of course.

we def have a cat theme going on rn with our content. holy shit i love grumpy cat. makes me laugh so hard every time i see it. lol. That was Ghost Pixels idea tho i think. Those guys are insane!

What's the significance behind the name Mr. B?

i honestly have no idea!

What mixing software do you use?

all ableton all day

Hey Dom!

Just caught you guys at Breakaway. Wanted to say thanks for stopping to take a picture.

http://imgur.com/i0C0G8T

• As I had mentioned when talking with y'all, I discovered you at Wakarusa. From reading, they kind of helped you guys pivotally career wise. Can you elaborate on that? (Killer headliner set in 2012. fucking fireworks right off the intro)

• I like Big G on Facebook and you guys are on tour A LOT. Like a lot a lot. holy shit! How does the amount of touring correlate to a bands success in the terms of a whole in the wall venue to headlining major festivals?

Lastly, thanks to the both of you for being rad. I remember my first year at Waka, you were walking around the satellite tent and I look over at this guy in jeans and a black t conversing with everyone who walked up to him. Y'all have been more than humble and great with your fans and I just want to say thanks!

Keep up the great work and see you next set.

WAKA WAKA WAKA

yoooo! thx for writing bro. Waka was definitely a fest that helped us come up. We had some incredible sets there and Waka and its attendees are like family to us.

its all part of the process and i think you need to tour a lot to play festivals and visa versa. They work together to help bands get to the next level.

See you soon!

Hey Dom, I saw you in Urbana a few nights ago and you guys killed it as usual. It must have been my 10th time seeing your show, and I still have yet to see you play my favorite song of yours. If you have it in your heart, could you please play your I Can't Stop remix next fest season or when you're in the Chicago area? I learned how to play sax after hearing that song, and it would make my life complete to hear it live.

Jeremy, if you're reading this, I just wanted to ask if those are prescription glasses?

Love you guys, -ABGF

Yeah Ill def try to rock that next time we come thru! :) Also, yes Jer's glasses are prescription!!

What is the craziest thing you've ever seen backstage that you are willing to share with the group?

nothing toooooo exciting... just the usual.. ;)

Any chance that you and SAVOY will play a show together with your stage set up and their lasers? That would be the most incredible site to see with some incredible music backing it up.

yesssss! i would love that. Those are my fkn guys! we all came up together in Colorado so hopefully we'll get to do some shows with them in the future.

[deleted]

Thanks so much! :) Musically, my biggest influence starting out was probably John Coltrane. Amazing saxophonist who i studied endlessly and i still do quite often. I come from a pretty heavy jazz/improvising background so i look to a lot of that music in general in my life.

To answer your second question.. Because im a saxophonist first, it was a pretty natural thing to want to add my sax to whatever music i play. So when i started writing electronic music, i knew i wanted to be playing the saxophone with it.

DOM! I fucking love you and Jermey! First time I saw y'all was at AllGood 2011, the 15th anniversary. Definitely is the #1 show that got me into the festy/ jam/ edm scene.

While y'all were playing, the table you were using collapsed mid-set. You seemed pretty confused as to what happened. It's been digging at me forever... What happened?!?

Hey thx! OMG craziest shit ever. haaaa. I mean basically the right side of table wasnt secure and when the bass dropped on that track and i was jumping up and and down and shit and the right side of the table collapsed to the floor and basically all my shit (computer, keyboard, etc) just went sliding right off the table onto the floor. I was like.. damnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!! hahaha. Funny tho becasue i was looking at my computer sittting on the ground and the music was still playing for like 2 seconds. I had a moment of hop and then it just cut off. AHHHHHHHHHHH its like the worst feeling ever :( hahaha. But i think it actually worked out ok in the end and made it all extra ragey lol. Its funny in the end how adversity in any situation can kinda make for a cooler, fresher thing. only sometimes tho haaaa!

Hey Dom, first off you guys are incredible! You killed it at bonnaroo 2012 and when you came to kalamazoo Michigan last year! I recently moved to California so ill be missing this years kzoo show, but could you melt some extra faces for all my friends that will be there?

Second! How long have you been playing sax?

ahhhh we'll miss ya this year!! ive been playing sax since the beginning of time! :)

We're HUGE Juno What?! fans, and have even opened up for them a couple times this year. We'll never forget. So-- Any chance you'll pop up on stage or in studio with those dudes again for some fun(k)?

you never know! hopefully tho, those are my dudes. the funkiest!

Who is your favorite opening act you've worked with?

Minnesota has been out with us and he is the fkn best. Love being on tour with him. Also the Adventure Club guys are some of my best friends. Also Paper Diamond and Griz

Huge fan! caught you guys at electric forest, and it was easily one of the best shows I saw all summer. I still rate that shit up there with Paul McCartney at Bonnaroo.

My Question is - will we see more Big Grizmatik anytime soon?

hopefully soon, although nothing in the books yet

Hey Dom, huge fan! I saw you in Madison, WI and at Bonnaroo in 2012 (please come back next year!) Which are you more proud of: your sax skills, or your mixing skills? Both are fantastic.

def my sax skills! oh man, i have a long way to go in production land but its exciting to have a long way to go with it. Just means i can get that much better and i plan to! :) I like work really hard and i love to write music and i love to play music. Its all just an amazing journey that i cant believe i get to be a part of! Im like the luckiest guy ever and i dont want to ever take that for granted.

How do we get our hands on another 4-day colorado run? :)

ohhhhhhh that sounds so nice!! two nights of Rowdytown next year and then we'll see ok :) Would LOVE to get back to CO for a NYE sometime in the near future. Get to go home and sleep in my own bed after haha :D

Hey Dom, how come you guys aren't coming to Minneapolis/Milwaukee on this tour? Since the beginning you guys have come out here but not this time around.. What gives? We love you!! I know you were just at Summerset but we can never have too much Big G!!

the reason is mostly cause of the festival and not cause we dont love you! :) The fest is a little late in the summer so we dont wanna come bombard u again too soon haha! We are already plotting our return early next year and we cant wait to come back. Mpls/ Mil always rages SO MUCH. We have lots of love for you guys out there.

Hi Dom!! Huge fan, been to rowdytown the past two years, saw you with raw russ before this year too. You guys kill it!

I love listening to Big G while I ride my snowboard, smooth sax lines make carving colorados powder that much better.

My questions are: 1. Do you guys ski/snowboard? 2. What do you listen to while you ride? 3. What's your favorite Colorado resort? 4. Can we get a few runs in together this winter? That would be soooo cool!

Can't wait to see where you guys go in the future, love what you've done in the past!

-Shmuley

i wish we had more time to ski!! man, we are so busy all the time honestly its hard to find time to hit the slopes. Although me and jer definitely love to get out! Maybe you'll see us out and about this winter.. much love!

How long have you been playing the sax? Who would you say your biggest influence is? Who are you most interested in doing a collab with that you haven't already?

If i told you how long ive been playing i would have to kill you.. HAHAAAA but seriously, ive been playing most of my life. My biggest influence is probably herbie hancock. In terms of how i write music and in terms of how i play my saxophone. I just love his musical brain and his ideas/phrasing. Ive transcribed a bunch of his piano solos on my sax

I have seen Big G 4 times in the last 2 years and every time you stage setup has improved greatly. You started with 4 Devo hats, then progresed to hats and several large LED boards, then at Summet Set you came out with a spectular large grid like multi pannel display.

My question is how often to do you change the stage setup?

Is it something you can change at will when your looking to upgrade to something bigger and better?

What is your dream stage setup if you had unlimited funds?

Thanks so much for doing this!

Lastly Big G should and hopefully will be a STAPLE OF SUMMER SET for the life of the festival!

thank u!

We try to change it up every year to keep it fresh. New design coming at ya NYE

It takes a while to get it going because we creat custom video content for each new light rig.

whoooooo id have to think about that one. something massive haha

We hope to be at Summer Set every year, that would be amazing!!

Anyone who's ever been to Electric Forest knows its the best fucking festival ever. Where does it rank from a musicians standpoint? the same right? :)

yeah pretty much!!! :D

Dom from Large Gargantuan

Ive seen you on cruise ships, festivals, and your own tours. Other than cities in CO what are your fav cities to rage in?

CHI, ATL, NYC, SF juuuuuuust to name a few :)

I'm from Boulder as well and as far as I can tell bud influences the music of many artists from the area and I was wondering is this true for you as well? And how much do you smoke/will you smoke with me?

i dont know if its the direct influence for the music but lots of producers seem to enjoy it. haha Much love homie, maybe ill catch ya around town!

DOM!! you're the man. I've met you a few times at shows and festivals and you've been nothing but awesome and friendly:) Sooo.. my questions is.. do you think you'll whip out some of that oldie but goodie stuff at more of your shows? I know you brought out a lot of old tracks at the Filmore but you definitely should at all of your shows! MUCH LOVE!!!!!

im trying to slowly incorporate a little bit in here and there. I love some of the old ideas/tunes so much but sometimes its hard to mix them in with everything we are doing. Mostly because i lost like our whole first album (i used to be computer illiterate apparently haa) so its hard for me to go back and get those tunes sounding proper to mix in and out of. Fire it up! :)

I believe i saw in an interview that you're a phish fan. Just wondering, how many phish shows have you seen?

We love phish! Ive been to a handful of shows for sure but Jeremy has been to like 200 :)

What advice can you give to a younger aspiring producer? Also, can we expect some studio releases from Big Grizmatik?

work hard everyday! thats the key yo!

Hey Dom! Thanks for doing this AMA, few questions for ya:

• I was stoked to see you featured on Break Science's and now GRiZ's new album. Anymore collabs you're allowed to talk about coming out this year or are we gonna have to wait for the new Big G album?

• Since Electric Forest has there been any talk/planning of another Big Grizmatik show? I'm a huge fan of all 3 of you and that would no joke make my life!! Maybe a night of Rowdytown 2014?! ;)

• Favorite song off of Nocturnal?

• Favorite strain of bud? Or is naming a track off the new album "Blue Dream" your answer to that haha :)

I play on cherubs new album which is BEYOND INCREDIBLE. Cant wait for that one to come out. There will be many children conceived to the track i play on, its super sexy haha

No plans yet for Big Grizmatik.

Fav song off nocturnal rn is probably Fantastic

Hahaha I love that Sour D!

Hey Dom! First of all just want to say I saw you guys with some friends on your Sky High Tour here in Seattle and you totally melted our fucking faces off! Keep doing what you're doing and we'll keep on loving it!

What direction would you like to see yourselves and other artists go in the next few years with respect to growing and cultivating the sweet, sexy fusion of live instrumentals and electronic/dance music? Thanks again!

Thank u! I think my goal with big g is kinda what it always has been and that to keep developing and moving forward and keeping it fresh. Thats the only way for the music to stay alive! So we're just gonna keep trying to be different but still current with the state of music and people and culture. I dont know if that makes any sense but im striving to keep making it better every day! Much love!

hey dom!

what do you think of the current explosion of electronic music using live instruments at shows and festivals (pretty lights, griz, gramatik)?

thanks for being cool dudes, hope to see you in charleston and at counterpoint again in 2014!!

I love it! and i feel so lucky to be a part of it!!

So, I've seen you a lot this year... You actually signed my homemade VIP bracelet at SummerSet ;-) RowdyTown II was off the hook.. And we threw down front row for Minnesota/big g on in Urbana. Two ?'s. What's your favorite song to really get the crowd jumping... And whats your craziest fan interaction now that you're big time? ABGF!!!

i love raging Its Goin DOwn live. The crowd gets so hyped and im up there like Wheeeeeeeeeeee hahaha :)

Lots of fun, crazy crowd interactions! :)

Hi Dom! I'm so happy you're doing this AMA! I really don't have any questions, I just have to say that from yours & Jeremy's talents & love for community (especially musically) I am so proud to say that I share our home state with you two. Every time I see you all, I'm amazed more and more by the creativity and dedication you both have for this business, PLUS the ultimate love & compassion you have for your fans! Thank you, especially for fundraising and helping out all of our flood victims; CO is such a tight-nit state as one (Big Gigantic) family and its incredible when big names can touch back with their roots to help when help is desperately needed. Thank you guys for RowdyTown 1 & 2 and for every show that I have and will fall in love with in the future. Also, I'm (kinda) sorry for "stalking" you both so much ;) My goal in life is to be a Lil' G! :) :) ABGF <3 <3

we love ya!!! :)

What is your #1 tip for someone trying to get into electronic music production?

WORK HARD! you gotta work harder than the guy next to ya and with a little luck you can breakthrough!

Is there any way ABGF can become involved with tour promotions, like a fam street team

yeah it should be all sort of linked up. Check our website and check out the Lil G's tab. ;)

SO MUCH FUCKING LOVE from your Colorado family. We are so proud you represent us in everything that you do. The show you put on to benefit the flood victims the day before Rowdytown was incredible. Thank you for that. Do you think there will be more collabs with Murph from STS9 in the future?!

THANKS YALL!!! I hope so! Murph is my big bro and he is the guy who took us under his wing and helped us come up. I hope to be making music with Murph for the rest of my life

Seen you three times, amazing every time. How does the songwriting work? Are you the primary songwriter or is Jeremy a key part too. Also are you planning on lore collaborations with griz, gramatik, and savoy at any time soon?

3rd... Where is your favorite place to play (other than Colorado)?

Big fan, come back to back to snow globe this year!

I write and arrange all the music for Big Gigantic. Its kind of my baby in terms of the music.

No collabs in the works yet

Tough call. I love playing in Chicago, Atlanta and NYC. Some of my fav places!

Dom - Thanks for doing this AMA. No question here, but I remember the 1st time I witnessed BG, was when y'all opened for STS9 at the tabby (08 maybe?)...AND I was at your first sold out show at New Earth in Athens...NE>RRX...WOW...Y'all have come along way. Congrats! Keep doin what your doin white boy.

thank you sir! i remeber that shit like it was yesterday! thx for coming along on the journey. Much love hombre

What is your reason for giving away the music for free? Huge fan by the way, I've seen you two heaps.

much love! mostly we just want you all to have it! ur gonna get it one way or another so we just lay out all the options for you and let you decide.

Can you share any tales from the road? I.E. Behind the stage with Diplo or Kendrick Lamar?

Kendrick is like THE NICEST guy ever. We shared the green room with them at snowball and he was super chill considering we're just a couple scrawny white guys lol. Diplo to is now the fkn HOMEY which is crazy. He is a super friendly guy and kinda welcomed us with open arms which was kind of a trip. I got to play with Major Lazer and all that. Good people and REAL PEOPLE FOR SURE!!

Coltrane or Getz?

Trane!!

What are is something positive and something negative that you didn't expect with an increase in fame/popularity?

SUCH A GREAT QUESTION!! Also a tough one. The positive stuff is the kind people that u meet along the way. the releationships u build and the moments that you share with people. Just absolutely amazing! Some of the un expectected are things like loneliness (so weird cause u think its the opposite), being REALLY BUSY, and every decision u make mattering a lot more than it used to. haha. And the internet too. Some people can be soooooooo mean and it really sucks because im as human as they come and it really hurts when someone bashes u online. We have have the same color blood yo, im just out here trying to do something positive! haha Anyyyyways, we get a LOT of love. Pretty much all love so we're lucky but its the nature of the situation. The bigger you get, the more love you get, but, also the more hate you get. its just the way life is.

dom! my sister and i have been listening to your stuff for years and we love it! my favorite track right now is beginning of the end. what's your song writing process like? do you usually start with a melody or a beat? also what's your daw and setup like?

btw, you KILLED IT at ezoo this year. i was on the rail of the circle stage in hilltop, outstanding.

heyyyy! nice to hear from u guys. Writing process is pretty random but it usually starts with a beat and then a melody. I use ableton and a bunch of vst's and midi keyboard controller on stage. Much love!

Thanks for doing this AMA, hope you're having a nice day! What are some of the big differences or trade-offs concerning performances and music making between Big Gigantic and your time with The Motet/Juno What!?

well the biggest difference (other than the style) is that i write all the music myself. in the motet it was more of a collaborative effort for songwriting or i would just write a song on sheet music and bring it in to the band. Real band shit hahaha! :)

Do you improvise your amazing sax solos in each song? I play the electric guitar and I was wondering if you have any pointers on how just jam out to a song with the gracefulness that you have.

oh yeah absolutely. I try to stay in the spirit of the song when i improvise and i try to think more melodically and rhythmically than i do trying to play a ton of notes. I think the key is to try to draw the listner in with the harmony and melodic aspects of your playing instead of trying to show off or anything like that but that just how im thinkin. word!