Joseph talked about upcoming lives releases, a new LP, shared a story about a harrowing late-winter drive over Colorado’s Rabbit Ears Pass, and about the love the band has for places such as Colorado and Wisconsin
33 years into their existence, The Big Wu remains one of the Midwest’s most beloved jam bands.
They’ve done it in part by keeping things interesting, and that extends well beyond their high-energy improvisations.
Guitarist Mark Joseph, who has provided the spark that’s help sustain them in so many ways during the last decade or so, chatted with Jam in the Stream about the band’s doings. They plan to release live recordings this year and are pushing towards a new studio effort that could be released next year.
The Big Wu plays in Superior, Wis., this Friday and closer to home at the East Central Minnesota Pride in the Park in Pine City — along with Duluth’s Saltydog and other bands — on Saturday, and will headline the Minnesota Zoo’s “Wild Nights” event June 27 with Davina & the Vagabonds. Here’s a link to their official tour schedule along with ticket links.
“We’re writing a bunch of new music,” Joseph said.
Guitarist Chris Castino brought a pair of new songs that Joseph had never before heard to a recent rehearsal, he said.
“Chris is writing like a maniac,” he added.
Castino and Andy “Padre” Miller at First Ave last December. PHOTO BY JAVIER SERNA/@jaminthestream
Joseph thought the band would hit the studio this fall and that a spring 2026 release was a realistic trajectory.
Fans got a taste of new songs at the band’s December show at Minneapolis’ First Ave, where the band has now played two Decembers in a row following their 30th anniversary show at The Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul back in December 2022.
Getting to play before a near-capacity First Ave — which they have done several times over the course of their career — is not an honor that’s ever been lost on them.
The last three December shows were played at a level that met the gravity of the moment. That was apparent at this most recent First Ave show whether they were riffing on their classics such as “Red Sky,” and “Southern Energy” or busting out new material, such as the opener “Dark Lines.”
At their best, they’ve always been fueled in part by the mutual love they share with their fans. That love has been kept alive by continuing to play shows in their long-established stomping grounds, including their home state but also in Wisconsin and Colorado, sometimes reaching down near Chicago and other locales such as Florida.
Joseph said there was a family vibe at the March gigs the band played at Old Town Pub in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
“Everybody is riding high off the First Ave show and the Steamboat shows,” he said.
That run did not come without peril.
Traveling from a show at the Zoo Bar, in Lincoln, Neb., things took a white-knuckle turn on the drive over Colorado’s Rabbit Ears Pass.
“Everything was cool until we were 90 minutes outside of Steamboat,” Joseph said, telling a familiar tale of winter driving in Colorado’s high country. “Every time it hits you with these crazy storms. … That was at the end of a 15-hour journey.”
The band landed safely in Steamboat Springs in the morning, stopping off at the bar before resting up for the three-night run.
“We had Bloody Marys and breakfast,” he said.
Keyboardist Kevin Gastonguay, from Cory Wong’s high-powered funk outfit, filled in for Al Oikari back in March. Stay tuned for a separate post on this later this week. Gastonguay cut his teeth playing two, three nights a week with Dr. Mambo’s Combo and Alex Rossi at Bunkers in North Loop.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN GASTONGUAY
Joseph said the band hopes to return to Colorado soon though no shows are booked.
“We played (Steamboat Springs) every winter until Covid,” he said. “This was our first time back. Everybody had a total ball. … We are due for a Denver play.”
The Big Wu played 2 nights at the immaculate Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox a few years back over 420 weekend.
“We had a ball there,” he said, speaking of Big Wu phamily flying out from locales such as New York, San Francisco or driving down from Colorado’s Front Range. “I would love to go back there again.”
New material could open up the chance for the band to return to old haunts, and perhaps, say, the Black Hills of South Dakota.
“There is a chance for bigger stuff, East Coast, West Coast with the advent of a new album,” he said.
The band has loved playing in Wisconsin, one reason they continue to crisscross the state.
“They are our cousins, our neighbors,” he said. “So much love there.”
The band’s current slate of announced summer dates concludes with a pair of shows at Husby’s in Door County, followed by a show in West Allis, near Milwaukee, at Ope Brewing Co., “for anybody who wants to get a big dose of the Wu.”
“We have been doing the Door County weekend for coming up on almost a decade now,” mentioning that family vibe that’s developed out there.
Last but not least, look for a Spotify live song release ahead of their Minnesota Zoo show, following last year’s release of “Red Sky,” from the (12.16.22) Fitz show. This release will be of “Young Pioneer,” a song off of their last LP, 2018’s We Are Young We Are Old. This release was also recorded at that same Fitzgerald Theater show.
The band will also be similarly releasing select tracks from last December’s First Ave show later this year, Joseph said.
Here’s to hoping “Dark Lines,” will be released so I can relive the comfort I felt as the band jammed.
That performance hit me in the chest, right where so many of us keep The Big Wu.