Yeah, we know… it’s been awhile since you’ve heard us Mess up a song or two… Here’s a taste of what you might expect, in addition to The Bearded Lady et.al.

• Miserlou Ohhhhh, so exotic, so sensual. And this is one that Kyle & Marty did the track for all by their limited keyboard technical skills selves!!! And belly dancer’s have requested us to play this. Really!
• Putting on the Ritz Our electro-swing version!
• Happy Happy Medley We did this fun fun combination of Happy and Happy Together (yes, THAT Happy Together).
• Here We Go Again Kyle evokes his Inner Ray Charles
• Do Dilly Do Okay, Marty happened to turn on the Oscar broadcast and caught this song. “What the hell is this??!!” exclaimed he. “Kyle, you gotta hear this!!! I think we gotta Big Mess song!!!” By Walter Martin for the cartoon ‘Missing Link’, most definitely a Big Mess song!! Oh what a mystery!!! Huge help from Antonio Gradanti making it happen!
• Smile & Mad World A couple of songs for peeking internally
• Tarantula Well, it goes without saying that we had to do this favourite song from Kyle’s youth. Be warned, it’s a terrifying ska tune from The Aquabats, featuring a terrifying Man vs Beast combat inspired by The Darkness!! Huh? Another Gradanti amazing track!!
• Toxic Now that Brittney Spears appears to be free from the clutches of her father, we are quite proud to present our Post Modern Jukebox version of this song. There was no way this could have happened without Nico Rhodes!
• And more that are not quite ready to reveal….

We have to admit that it’s true: Our last Big Mess update was February 2019!! That must totally be why we’re neither rich nor famous. So instead of more apologies, here is a bit of what’s been going on:

This 2021 summer (without doing extensive research into our past performances) has been (we believe) the busiest that we have ever ever been! Performances for Crimson Coast Dance, Downtown Nanaimo Business Association, a couple of shows for Duncan’s 39 Days of July Music Festival, lots of private parties on Vancouver Island… and some really fun busking, too.

Last Saturday, we played at the Downtown Nanaimo Farmer’s Market. It happened to be quite rainy and cool, but we merely added layers of clothing as needed. Gitsula Galapagos Galadriel Ghiscari (Kyle’s Most Adorable Dog) (The Big Mess Mascot) snuggled most of the time under the covers in her Git’s Bed. While we were packing up afterwards, I said to Kyle, “Hey, I wanted to be very careful not to jinx anything while we were playing, but I think that was the absolute best that we’ve ever played together!!!” Kyle said,”Yeah dad, I noticed that you kept playing some really interesting things during your solos!” “Oh Kyle, you totally, too. That’s why I think that it was so good!”

So what’s happening musically with The Big Mess???? Please wait for the next EXCITING episode…

You read that correctly!
We are delighted to announce that we’ve been nominated in the Entertainment category of the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. You can vote for your favourite Nanaimo father/son musical duo at https://nanaimochamber.bc.ca/
but only until February 28th.

Thanks so much to the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce!!!

Ohhhhh, if you haven’t heard us for a bit, it’s time to hear us again. Lots of new songs:

Such as:
Puttin’ on the Ritz
What’s the Buzz (from Jesus Christ Superstar)
Don’t Let Me Be Misundertood
Mad World (we gotta be selective about where we play this one. Don’t want to cause no trouble…)
In the Mood
Donna Lee (another terrific example of Kyle Vocalize)
Oye Mi Canto
Gee Baby Ain’t I Good to You
How Insensitive

There’re a few more…

Guilty!!! It’s been WAY TOO long since we’ve written anything. We promise to try to do much better!

We’ve got a brand new Big Mess portfolio and you can see what we’ve done on our EPK page on this website. It’s of printable resolution, so it may take a bit to show up. It’s downloadable and/or printable.

In addition to catching Kyle & Marty busking along the beautiful Nanaimo waterfront, here’s some other places to “Celebrate the Mess”…

May 18th    Nanaimo Bar, Nanaimo, BC
June 3rd    Nanaimo Relay for Life, Nanaimo, BC
June 24 & 25   Kyle is Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid at the Port Theatre
July 9th      Duncan 39 Days of July Summer Music Festival   Duncan, BC
July 12th    Bowen Park Duck Pond Amphitheatre  Nanaimo, BC
July 14-15  Lasqueti Island Hotel
July 23rd    Duncan 39 Days of July Summer Music Festival

October 1st, NCDC Telethon, Port Theatre, Nanaimo BC
February 9th 2018 McMillan Arts Centre (MAC)  Parksville, BC

Here’s a few new events where you can Celebrate the Mess with The Big Mess!

Saturday July 23rd  Good Life Festivus @ the Millstone Winery
TIme to be determined

Friday August 19th  Gabriola Theatre Festival outdoor stage  8:15 to 9:15

Friday August 26th       Vancouver Airport International Terminal  Noon – 3pm

Saturday August 27th   Frog & Nightgown!!! Pub, Coquitlam  8 – midnight

Sunday August 28th     Ladner Village Public Market   1 – 4pm

Here’s what’s coming up for Kyle and Marty in the near future:

Friday, February 5th, 7-11pm, Smoke n Water Restaurant @ Pacific Shores Resort in Nanoose

Sunday, February 7th, with The Tidesmen  That’s at the Ecumenical Centre on Spartan Road. Starts at 2pm  We’re doing a short set with The Tidesmen. It’s a benefit for Afghan students attending VIU    You can listen to us and THEN go watch the Super Bowl!!!

Sunday, February 7th, 9:30-1am, The Nanaimo Bar, located at 75 Front Street. This is totally after the Super Bowl is long gone, so come down and check out Nanaimo’s latest and greatest live entertainment venue.

Thursday, February 18th, Simon Holt Restaurant, Nanaimo    The Big Mess is gonna mess with some jazz, amongst lots of other good things!!! Gonna be fun!

Thanks so much for making The Vault invasion such a great time!

Celebrate “the Mess” with The Big Mess!!!

Two (2)new Big Messy events coming up!!!
Thursday, Jan. 28th 8pm – The Vault, Wallace & Albert, Nanaimo  ($10)

Friday, Feb. 5th 7pm Smoke N Water Restaurant @ Pacific Shores Resort, Parksville

Yea, we’ve got a few things to tell you about!!!

We’re opening for The Tidesmen concerts. They are Nanaimo’s terrific Barbershop Choir. BIG CHOIR!!! We’re doing 5 songs to open their shows.
Friday, December 11 at 7 pm  Nanaimo Ecumenical Centre
Saturday, December 12 at 6pm  Chrysler Theatre, Parksville

On December 12 from Noon to 2pm, The Big Mess is playing under the atrium next to Bocca’s in the Old City Quarter.

New Year’s Eve we invade Beban Park for Nanaimo’s Celebration.

Hmmm… in February, we’re playing at Pacific Shores Resort, Smoke n Water… Uh oh, I’m not certain about the exact date… But I’m sure that I’ll find out way before then!!

March 20th  Prairie Coast Productions is putting on an expo for new mothers at Beban Park. And we will be there, too!

Yep, we’re doing a private showcase on Wednesday, October 28th at the Anza Club in Vancouver. The exact time is to be determined, but we’re thinking, oh, 7:30, 8:00 or so. Not too late…

This event is for booking agents, event managers, and a few personal friends. Lotsa fun!!

We’re in final negotiations with the City of Nanaimo to perform at this year’s New Year’s Eve event at Beban Park. The theme is going to be rockabilly. Both of us are super excited to pick up some great songs in that style. Would you consider Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” to be somewhat within that genre? Personally, I HAVE to see Kyle do that song; I think that he would nail it!

Kyle and I worked hard on producing a new video because we didn’t think that any of our previous videos give an appropriate sense of what The Big Mess is all about.

We both think that the new video (it’s the top one on our video page…) works!!!! We’re totally open to your critiques!

Join us at the Nanaimo Canada Day celebration. Maffeo Sutton Park. 
That’s on Canada Day at a time to be determined. From what we know at this point, it’s going to be closer to the opening ceremonies.

We’re thinking that this could be major lotsa fun!

It’s one of our very favourite events to perform for…   It’s the concert at the Bowen Park Duck Pond Amphitheater (as we so elegantly name it).

Wednesday evening, July 15th.  6 to 7:30 pm

It’s a great time to hear The Big Mess. Please come. It’s totally free. So lovely!!

Two (2) new dates to tell you about, July 2nd & 3rd (Thursday and Friday evenings)   AND   September 4th and 5th   (Friday and Saturday evenings)
Oh wait, actually, that’s four (4) new dates… Oh well…

Lasqueti Island Hotel… a very wonderful place to be. Ohhhhh, the deck, ohhhhhh!

And yes, about an hours after we finish playing, the generator goes off and all is quiet and dark. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

We had a great time performing at Lab Art 6 at the Roundhouse in Yaletown, Vancouver! Actually, we’ve got a bit of fun video footage to post. Let us edit it for a bit and then we’ll post it! OH BOY OH BOY!!!!

Thanks to all the Lab Art gang!

Cool! We’re opening for our good friend Eric Harper on Friday, January 30th at The Duncan Showroom… In beautiful downtown Duncan, BC.

Eric Harper is a must see/hear. You must see & hear him perform. He’s the real deal.
And we LOVE Eric Harper!