Glasgow: A Christmas present from Big Head Todd

By Greg Glasgow
Thursday, December 20, 2007

Big Head Todd and the Monsters fans who happen to be among the 75,000 people on KBCO's mailing list got a nice surprise in the mail last week: a free copy of the Boulder-born band's latest album, All the Love You Need. A cross-promotion between Crocs and KBCO, the mass-mailing is part of a plan by Big Head Todd to deal with a changing record industry by putting the music directly in the hands of the listeners.

"Radio stations are excited about it because they get to offer their listeners something of value," says Big Head Todd frontman Todd Park Mohr. "One thing we get out of it is having radio stations play the music; another thing that we get out of it is if we make new fans, ultimately those people will come to shows."

The band initially offered All the Love You Need as a free download on its Web site, www.bigheadtodd.com, but later expanded the idea to include the radio-station giveaways. Several stations around the country are following KBCO's lead, including outlets in Kansas City, San Diego and Austin, Texas.

"Who wouldn't appreciate a free CD in the mail from a band that I am sure most KBCO listeners know well?" KBCO program director Scott Arbough says in a press release for the album. The unnamed director of programming for Austin's KGSR takes it a step further, telling Radio & Records magazine, "This sort of thing might very well be the future of music distribution. Give away the music, build a bigger fan base (and) generate revenue through live shows, merchandising and other platforms."

All the Love You Need, recorded with producer David Bianco (Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, Mick Jagger), features the band's trademark blues-rock, but it also takes the trio in some new directions. "Cruel Fate" utilizes a steel guitar for a country-rock feel, "All the Love You Need" has a laid-back hip-hop vibe a la G. Love, and "Ever Since Ya Pulled Me Under" uses drum loops, processed background vocals and keyboards for a dub-reggae flavor.

"From an arrangement standpoint, (Bianco is) a really smart guy," Mohr says. "The songs are fairly diverse, from Springsteen punk-rock ballad type things to R&B hip-hop soul elements."

The album also includes a rerecorded version of "Blue Sky," a song the band originally penned in 2005 for the Space Shuttle Discovery's Return to Flight mission. The song's uplifting chorus -- "You can change the world" -- has made it a favorite of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has adopted it as her new theme song, replacing Celine Dion's "You and I." Clinton now blasts "Blue Sky" to get crowds psyched up at campaign events.

"A friend of the band's is a volunteer with the Clinton campaign," says Mohr, who lives near Steamboat. "She forwarded it to some of her cronies, it eventually reached Hillary's ears and she fell in love with the song. We were thrilled with the opportunity."

How to capitalize on all this buzz? The band isn't playing its traditional Denver-area New Year's Eve show this year, but in an unusual move it already has put tickets for its June 7 concert at Red Rocks on sale (www.ticketmaster.com), so curious listeners who receive the new album in the mail can make a date to hear the band live.

After all, says the 42-year-old Mohr, it's the live show that has kept the band -- which also includes drummer Brian Nevin and bass player Rob Squires -- going for more than 20 years. Albums have played their part, but the personal connection is key.

"We're a band that takes the time to let the audience know they matter -- signing stuff after shows, we go on cruises with them," he says. "Already on our message board there are a lot of comments (about the new album). People are excited about the music."