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The Big Wu

Formed in 1991 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, the Big Wu transformed itself from a Dead tribute band with a revolving membership into the veteran stalwarts of the jam band scene. With the addition of Al Oikari (keyboards), the Big Wu settled into a five-piece unit in 1996, rounding out the lineup with Chris Castino (guitar), Terry VanDewalker (drums), Andy Miller (bass), and Jason Fladager (guitar). Completing the band as a fully operational jammin’ machine, the Wu began writing original music while hosting weekly Wednesday gigs at Minneapolis’ famed venue the Cabooze.

Two years after the release of the Wu’s 1997 debut CD Tracking Buffalo Through The Bathtub, the members of the band rid themselves of day jobs to hit the road full-time. Playing 200 gigs a year, the Wu toured coast-to-coast earning fans at every stop.

During the summer of 1999 the Wu inked an ill-fated record deal with Phoenix Rising, who re-released Tracking Buffalo with a live bonus disc recorded at their annual festival, the Big Wu Family Reunion. Gathering steam from both indie and commercial radio, the boys stayed the coarse of endless touring though ’99 into 2000. To the delight of the Big Wu family, the band released Live At The Fitzgerald, an abridged set from St. Paul’s legendary theatre.

By the time their sophomore recording Folktales hit the stores in October 2000, Phoenix Rising went belly-up. Undeterred from the pitfalls of the New York Bankruptcy Court, (where the band’s legal ability to record new material was held up for over two years), the Wu kept their fans in the fold by pumping out new material on stage, encouraging fans to record and distribute shows. Since the Wu were legally unable to release any new studio efforts until the record contract debacle was settled in court, the band released a live show that was captured before they were signed.

Circumventing the defunct Phoenix Rising label, the Wu released 3-13-98: Live At The Cedar Cultural Center directly to the fans at the 2001 Big Wu Family Reunion. A perennial fan favorite, 3-13-98 captures the Wu, warts and all, including an acoustic set and a track titled “Too High”, where the band discusses amongst themselves what to play next.

By January 2002, the band felt confident enough that the New York courts would release them from their contractual obligations to hit the studio again. Produced by San Francisco scene fixture and musician Bill Cutler, the Wu’s third studio album Spring Reverb was once again unveiled directly to the Family at the 2002 Reunion festival. Praised by fans and critics alike, the Big Wu were invited to kick off Super Fly’s inaugural Bonnaroo jam band blow-out in Tennessee that summer.

In the autumn of 2002, founding guitarist Jason Fladager resigned from the Big Wu due to personal and family obligations. Without a doubt, fans not only missed Jason, but were skeptical about the Wu as a four-piece. As a result, the band did the only thing they knew how to do- hit the road. Throughout 2002 and 2003, the Wu stayed their course on tour. Redefining and reestablishing their sound, the band and the family of fans stayed true to one another, show-by-show and jam-for-jam.

Feeling pretty damn good about things, Al, Andy, Chris, and Terry returned to the studio in January 2004 to record Tool For Evening, the first four-piece follow-up to 2002’s Spring Reverb. Released at the band’s Seventh Annual Family Reunion, fans and critics alike gave Tool the thumbs up, buying every copy of the first printing before the Wu assembled their publicity campaign.

Recorded at Pachyderm studios in Cannon Falls, MN in January 2004, the Wu took an unorthodox approach to recording. Utilizing the same approach the band uses playing live, they arrived at the studio and set up their gear with no preconceived notions of either material to be recorded or how to make it sound. Such is the Wu…

Tool For Evening includes both unreleased classics (Texas Fireball, Jazz 88) and new material (Dog’s Dead, Middle of Nowhere). Tool also extends the Wu’s musical boundaries by tapping into electronica on the Chris Castino penned Black Rain.

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Current Tour Dates

Click here.

Other WWW Resources

The Big Wu web site.

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