Big Wreck is a Canadian-American rock band formed by Ian Thornley, guitari… Read Full Bio ↴Big Wreck is a Canadian-American rock band formed by Ian Thornley, guitarist Brian Doherty, bassist Dave Henning and drummer Forrest Williams while they were students at the Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts) in 1994.

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)

Head Together
Big Wreck Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Those glances ricochet off everybody else
But they're sticking to me like glue
And if the situation ever was to change
Who's to say what the hell I'd do

The conversation's never had one
That's what a background's for

I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else

Can't fix the fight of flight
By finding something new
So I can't let you shine my shoes
And truth be told
There's probably nobody to blame
Never try it before you choose

It always comes off more than welcome
It came in through my back door

I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else
I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else

I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else
I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else

(Well I need)
Well I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else
(Well I need)

Well I need to keep my head together
I don't need to need nobody else

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Head Together" by Big Wreck address the inner struggle of a person who is trying to keep their emotions in check. The opening lines describe the feeling of being under a spotlight, as if everyone is watching and judging. The singer feels as if he is being scrutinized more than anyone else, which heightens the pressure he is already feeling. Despite this, he acknowledges that if the situation were to change, he might not be able to keep it together, indicating that he is struggling to maintain composure in a challenging situation.

The lines "The conversation's never had one / That's what a background's for" suggest that the singer has always been on the periphery of conversations and has never had a chance to express his opinion. He is more comfortable being in the background and observing instead of taking an active role in the conversation. When the situation becomes too overwhelming, he retreats to his thoughts, acknowledging that he needs to keep his head together and cannot rely on anyone else to do it for him.

The chorus repeats the line "I need to keep my head together / I don't need to need nobody else," emphasizing the singer's self-reliance and determination to stay in control. The lyrics imply that there is a struggle going on within the singer that he is trying to keep hidden from others. Despite this, the overall tone of the song is not negative but rather empowering, as the singer acknowledges his need to work on himself and take care of his own emotional state.

Line by Line Meaning

Those glances ricochet off everybody else
People are looking around, but they're not paying attention to me

But they're sticking to me like glue
Despite all the other distractions, I'm still in the center of the action

And if the situation ever was to change
If things were different than they are now

Who's to say what the hell I'd do
I might react in unpredictable ways

The conversation's never had one
We've never really talked about anything specific

That's what a background's for
Our shared experiences give us something to fall back on

Can't fix the fight of flight
Some things can't be changed by finding a distraction

By finding something new
Trying something different won't necessarily help

So I can't let you shine my shoes
I can't let someone else take control of me

And truth be told
Honestly

There's probably nobody to blame
No one person is at fault