Big LightWhen guitarist Jeremy Korpas decided to pack it up and move to San Francisco in 2008, I experienced a double loss. Not only did the Asbury Park music scene that I frequent lose a great musician, I had to say goodbye to someone who had become a good friend. I managed two bands that Jeremy was a part of, and we spent a lot of late nights driving home from gigs talking about music. My solace was knowing that Jeremy was so talented that I’d be hearing from him in some form in the not too distant future. That time has come.

Fred Torphy formed the San Francisco band Big Light in 2007 primarily as a vehicle to get his songs heard. When Jeremy arrived in California, and needed a place to crash, he ended up on friend-of-a-friend Torphy’s couch. The band at that point consisted of Torphy, bass player Steve Adams, drummer Bradly Bifulco, and a keyboard player. When the keyboard player moved on, Jeremy moved in, playing his first gig with the band on May 13, 2009 at San Francisco’s Make Out Room. The puzzle was complete.

Club dates soon led to high profile gigs for the band, including appearances at prestigious festivals like Outside Lands, Noise Pop, and High Sierra, and at important venues like the Troubador, and the Roxy in Los Angeles, and the Fillmore in San Francisco. Touring took them all over the west, and the coming months will find them expanding their horizons to the east, including a long awaited homecoming for my friend Jeremy.

But the big news is that Big Light will be releasing their debut album, Animals In Bloom, on March 2, and that Popdose has been chosen to be the exclusive host for the first track to be released from their album. That’s right, our readers are the first people to be hearing new music from a band that everyone will be talking about in a month or two. So without further ado, here is Big Light with their song, “Monster”.

Big Light Tour Dates:

03/04/10 The Independent – San Francisco, CA

03/06/10 Fifty Fifty Brewing Co.- Truckee, CA

03/11/10 The Saint – Asbury Park, NJ

03/13/10 Sullivan Hall – New York, NY

04/17/10 South Lake Tahoe Earth Day Festival – South Lake Tahoe, CA

About the Author

Ken Shane

Ken Shane lives in Narragansett, R.I. He is a freelance writer and far and away the oldest Popdose writer. In fact, he may be the oldest writer, period. He wants you to know that he generally does not share his colleagues' love for the music of the '80s, and he does not forgive them for loving it. (Ken passed away in November 2022. R.I.P. —Ed.)

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