After several years of gigging in Boston and Cambridge, the band signed to a major label and released its debut album In Loving Memory of... in 1997. The single The Oaf was a major Top Ten hit for the band that year.
Due to Thornley's Canadian nationality, the band's biggest commercial success was actually in Canada rather than the United States. The album's subsequent singles, Blown Wide Open and That Song, were not as successful on the American charts as The Oaf had been, but in Canada they were both Top Ten hits.
In October of 2001, Big Wreck played a special show at Toronto's Roy Thompson Hall accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Uzume Taiko Ensemble of drummers, with The Tragically Hip's Paul Langlois and Robby Baker also making appearances.
The band's second album The Pleasure and the Greed (released in 2001) was marred by poor marketing and was not as big a hit as their debut album, especially in the United States. The band subsequently broke up a year later in 2002.
Thornley moved back to Toronto, launching the band Thornley. Doherty has gone on to be in the indie band Death of 8, but the other band members never emerged with new projects.
Ian and Brian rekindled their friendship, which lead to a reunion in 2011.
This reunion, however, would not include founding members Dave Henning and Forrest Williams.
Albatross, the band's third album, would be released on March 6, 2012, and would be Big Wreck's best charting album of all time, debuting at #5 on the Canadian albums charts, and would see its title track hit #1 on the Canadian Rock charts, which it would hold for six weeks straight. It would also spawn the singles Wolves and A Million Days, and would receive the CASBY award for "Favourite New Album" in 2012.
2014 would see the release of their fourth album, Ghosts, on the 10th of June. The album would debut at #5 on the Canadian Rock charts, and would go on to debut at #4 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, making it their highest charting album on that chart to date. Ghosts would come to spawn three singles: the name-sharing Ghosts, Come What May, and Hey Mama.
Big Wreck's fifth studio album, Grace Street, would see its release on February 3, 2017. The album would end up peaking at #5 on the Canadian Albums chart, much like Albatross and Ghosts. However, the lead single One Good Piece of Me would end up outperforming Ghosts (the song), with the track charting high on two separate charts within the first week of airplay. The other two singles that spawned from Grace Street were Digging In and You Don't Even Know.
On June 5, 2019, founding guitarist Brian Doherty would pass away after a battle with cancer. He was 51.
Big Wreck would release their sixth studio album, ...but for the Sun, on August 30, 2019. The band would end up dedicating the album to the late guitarist in memory of him. The album would see Locomotive, Too Far Gone, One More Chance and Alibi be the four singles to spawn, and would also see an in memoriam tour dedicated to Doherty.
...but for the Sun would be the last full-length album recorded with longtime drummer Chuck Keeping, as he would end up leaving the band in 2021 to focus on family life.
In the following years, Big Wreck would hire new drummer Sekou Lumumba (the former drummer for Ian Thornley's side project, Thornley) to replace Chuck Keeping, and would go on to release 3 EPs: 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3.
Pages, Big Wreck's 7th album, was released on November 24, 2023.
Discography:
Studio Albums
In Loving Memory Of... (1997)
The Pleasure And The Greed (2001)
Albatross (2012)
Bag of Tricks (Live, 2013)
Ghosts (2014)
Grace Street (2017)
...but for the Sun (2019)
Pages (2023)
EPs
7.1 (2021)
7.2 (2022)
7.3 (2023)
Members:
Ian Thornley (Vocals, Guitar, 1992 - present)
Chris Caddell (Rhythm Guitar, 2019 - present)
Dave McMillan (Bass Guitar, 2010 - present)
Sekou Lumumba (Drums, 2021 - present)
Past Members:
Brian Doherty (Guitar, 1992 - 2019 (d. June 5, 2019))
Paulo Neta (Guitar, 2010 - 2017)
Dave Henning (Bass Guitar, 1993 - 2002)
Forrest Williams (Drums, 1994 - 2002)
Brad Park (Drums, 2010 - 2012)
Chuck Keeping (Drums, 2012 - 2021)
Come What May
Big Wreck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No body gets hurt more or less
Whatever it takes to get you through
The night is gonna have to do
Under the weight of daily bread
You'd rather wake to cake instead
Would you believe a photograph
Of missing pieces
I throw myself in the river
I need to wash my head and float away
'Cause I know that I'll be delivered
Everything cast adrift
Come what may
I'm fed up with the pace of saving face
I'm squeezing what I can't replace
Fiddled with the fire 'til I got burned
With all I've lost you'd think I'd learned
By missing pieces
I throw myself in the river
I need to wash my head and float away
'Cause I know that I'll be delivered
Everything cast adrift
Come what may
I throw myself in the river
I need to wash my head and float away
'Cause I know that I'll be delivered
Everything cast adrift
Come what may
I gotta throw myself in the river
I need to wash my head and float away
Because they told me that I'll be delivered
Everything cast adrift
Come what may
The lyrics to Big Wreck's song "Come What May" touch on the theme of escapism from the daily struggles of life. The opening lines suggest that happiness can be found in small portions or moments, and that it's okay to do whatever it takes to get through the night. The next verse contrasts the weight of daily responsibilities with the desire for something sweet (like cake). The line "missing pieces" is repeated twice in this verse, suggesting that something is lacking in the singer's life.
The chorus introduces the idea of throwing oneself in the river as a way to escape from everything to start anew. The repetition of the phrase "I throw myself in the river" emphasizes the singer's desperation to escape. The second verse suggests that the singer is tired of pretending to be okay and is tired of trying to replace what has been lost. The line "with all I've lost you'd think I'd learned" suggests that the singer has experienced significant loss but has not learned from it.
The chorus is repeated twice more, reinforcing the idea of escape, and the final line "come what may" suggests that the singer is willing to accept whatever happens as a result of this drastic action.
Overall, the lyrics of "Come What May" suggest that life is difficult and sometimes we need to escape from it all. The river is a symbolic representation of a possibility for a fresh start.
Line by Line Meaning
Break off a little piece of happiness
Take a small moment of happiness for yourself.
No body gets hurt more or less
Everyone feels pain, regardless of the situation.
Whatever it takes to get you through
Do what you need to do to make it through difficult times.
The night is gonna have to do
Sometimes all you have is the night to get you through the tough times.
Under the weight of daily bread
Feeling burdened by the daily grind.
You'd rather wake to cake instead
You'd rather have something sweet to wake up to instead of the mundane routine.
Would you believe a photograph
A simple photo can hold so much meaning.
Was all it took and all that's left
Sometimes all you have left of something is a photograph.
Of missing pieces
A photo can represent the missing pieces in your life.
I throw myself in the river
I need to just let go and start fresh.
I need to wash my head and float away
I need to clear my head and let go of past burdens.
'Cause I know that I'll be delivered
I have faith that things will work out in the end.
Everything cast adrift
Letting go of everything and starting anew.
Come what may
Whatever happens, I will persevere.
I'm fed up with the pace of saving face
I'm tired of pretending everything is okay.
I'm squeezing what I can't replace
Trying to hold onto what can't be held onto.
Fiddled with the fire 'til I got burned
Going too far and getting hurt in the process.
With all I've lost you'd think I'd learned
Even with all the past losses, I still haven't learned my lesson.
I gotta throw myself in the river
I need to let go of the past and start over.
Because they told me that I'll be delivered
Others have faith that everything will work out for me.
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Written by: IAN THORNLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ChrisDayPlays
The MOST underrated band on this planet. These guys are as good as it gets! Masters in their craft! Thank you for the incredible songs BIG WRECK!
Nefarious Nimbus
Ya 915 likes and 33k subscribers. I'm disgusted. this is real rock, this has real heart. But I guess only a handful of us have intelligence and the attention span to appreciate it. Sad.
Wade Crum
I may have said this before, but the vocals on this track is a masterpiece.
Wade Crum
Just listened to this song again and noticed the incredible bass lines complementing the root notes without playing the root notes.
John Suhr
Simply awesome, I happen to think his voice is freaking amazing !
Love his song writing and playing. What an genuine nice person too. My favorite band of the year for sure.
Check out his live performances jamming at our NAMM party on our site.
Egg184
The videos that were shot at NAMM is the reason I discovered Big Wreck. Big thanks for that one! My favourite band at the time. Great songwiting, voice and an incredible guitarist he truly is:)
Roland Beaulieu
+Eirik Eggen Best band ever, happy u found them
Susan Rachel
John Suhr my favourite band for 20 years ! They deliver on every album 🤘
Susan Rachel
John Suhr my favourite band for 20 years ! Like fine wine they just keep getting better and better 🤘
Susan Rachel
John Suhr my favourite band for years !!! Ian Thornley is my god 🤘