Jeremy & Dom

After their awesome Bacchanal set yesterday, Bwog met up with Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salkin of Big Gigantic in their Kent 4 green room. Despite initial doubts, concert-goers, upon reflection, had a great time. It was a real bacchic frenzy.

Bwog: So, what did you guys think about playing on campus, in a neoclassical setting, how is that environment different?

Dom: Well, I used to go to the Manhattan School of Music, so I used to come here all the time, I’ve been here a lot, I walked across there [College Walk] all the time.

Bwog: So it’s a familiar venue.

Dom: Yeah, I’ve seen shows out here, I’ve seen people play out here.

Jeremy: Yeah, I’d never been here before, it was amazing. I was, like, totally blown away.

Bwog: Was it weird playing in the daylight?

Dom: Not at all, it felt kind of like a festival vibe, where you play during the day. I liked how it was facing the steps—

Jeremy: It kind of gave it this mini-Red Rock vibe.

Dom: Mini-Red Rock, exactly, everybody going up.

Bwog: What did you guys think about the audience response? It seemed like people were really, really, into it.

Dom: Yeah, it was awesome.

Jeremy: People were freaking out.

Dom: It seemed like the vibe was very mellow, people were just walking in. We didn’t tell anybody we were playing, it was on the down low. I liked that people could just walk in. Informal, daytime, it’s a very good thing.

Bwog: So we have this Core, which teaches a lot of Western culture and art. We barely get any recent, let alone electronic, music. Is this important? Should that be part of general music history?

Dom: I’ve taken so many music history courses, because I’ve done the whole music thing for pretty much my entire life. It seems like they generally spend a week from like 1950, on. It’s like, “I don’t know if you were around, but there is a lot of great, relevant music happening. Especially, the electronic thing and the laptop thing, I know this might sound like a little much, but it’s like when the electric guitar came around [he snaps]. All of a sudden, wait a second, shit started going a new direction. People have been saying electronic music will be gone tomorrow for five years.

Jeremy: In twenty years, this could be more of a historical period, how in the ’60s and ’70s, how rock just influenced everything.

Bwog: Would you ever teach?

Dom: Well I have a master’s degree in music performance, I have taught. We’d love to teach, it’s fucking awesome.

Jeremy: I’ve never taught, but I have an analytical mind. We run our business too, so I have a lot of experience there, and I feel like I’d be good at teaching that. I don’t make the music, Dom produces all the music. But live, we communicate back and forth, and vibe off of each other, and comp, like you would if you were playing jazz or playing anything else.

Bwog: So you guys would be willing to come back?

Jeremy: Oh, absolutely. Hit us up.

Bwog: I can’t really stress how good the vibe was in the audience.

Dom: Cool, thanks, man. Yeah, that’s honestly another thing we try to promote. If we’re giving it out, and everyone is receiving and giving it back, it can get really nice.

Jeremy: A lot of people say, “Your shows are different, because everyone is nice to each other.”

Dom: Exactly! Pretty much what is supposed to be happening.

Bwog: After you guys were done playing, there was almost a catharsis, everyone was chatting amiably and being nice. It was weird.

Dom & Jeremy: [laugh] It was weird!

Dom: It’s that New York attitude, like, “Get out of my way!”

Jeremy: Different audiences, different parts of the country.

Dom: We love music, and we’re playing it to have fun.

Bwog: Is that one of your kids in there? [there were a few babies/toddlers in the green room]

Dom: [laughs] No, that’s one of our agent’s kids. [laughs] I know, it’s like bring on all the kids, I got one kid here, two on my shoulders.

You can download Big Gigantic’s music for free from their website.

This interview has been edited for clarity.