The Big Friendly Corporation is an indie-pop quintet from Las Vegas. They’ve impressed music fans, critics, and elitists with their blend of sardonic, yet witty lyrics, vocal harmonies, and catchy melodies.
The current line-up coalesced in 2008. Siblings Ryan Marth (guitar, vocals) and Melissa Marth (keyboards, vocals) grew up in a musical household (their parents met while doing a lounge act together at The Dunes), and they were bred with a passion for music and performing. Jeff Ford (guitar, vocals), an enthusiastic collector of all things musical, encouraged the siblings to start a band, and with the help of friend and multi-instrumentalist, Mike McDonald (drums, vocals), The Big Friendly Corporation was formed. After releasing their debut album Building Better Machines To Replace Us All, the gang won over a slew of fans but also suffered a slight hiccup: the exit of original bass player Rick Miller. Enter Timothy Styles (bass, vocals). With Styles in place, Big Friendly brought a palpable energy to the stage that is unrivaled. The band’s first show together with Styles was the notable Las Vegas Downtown Music Festival, Neon Reverb. According to rock critics in attendance that evening, Big Friendly gave the other bands “the thankless task of following [their] near perfect” set (Mike Prevatt, Las Vegas Citylife).
Indie-pop is The Big Friendly Corporation’s favorite oxymoron, and the Las Vegas quintet embraces this label by combining sticky-sweet melodies with thoughtful lyrics ranging from the whimsical to the satirical. They manage to combine a wide array of sounds and songwriting styles into one cohesive and recognizable sound. Their diverse catalogue can be attributed to the fact that they combine influences ranging from The Beatles to The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. From ELO to Radiohead. From David Bowie and The Beach Boys to Weezer and The Pixies, and so on and so on. Yet the bands signature sound is eloquently executed by musical proficiency and vocal harmonies that gel. Yes. All the members of the band sing, and do it well (thank goodness they’re not afraid to get close and share microphones). The end result is thoughtful pop music through an unconventional soundscape.
The band was voted Best Local Band by the Las Vegas Review Journal in 2009, and one of the Top 10 Bands to watch by The Las Vegas Weekly in 2010. They’ve shared a stage with The Dolly Rots, West Indian Girl, and Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, and continue to book shows all over the southwest. They’ve also been featured on Zia Records’s compilation You Heard us Back When…Vol. 2 and Limewire’s Compilation Ear to the Ground: Las Vegas.
