“Web of Deception,” the new Big Sexy album, is an extended journey of the soul and heart in the aftermath of love and war.
We sat down with Gary Macaggnone, the leader of Big Sexy, to talk about the songs and the men behind them.
If you are a music lover, it’s a good read. If you are a musician, it is definitely a must, a lot can be learned.
And in the meantime, listen to their “Web of Deception.” It’s a good one.
Music Authentic: Welcome to Music Authentic! It’s been a while since we last talked after your album “River of Shame” came out. As I listened through your new singles this year, it seems you haven’t slowed down a bit. How was the reception, and how has your life changed?
Big Sexy: We’ve had some ups and downs in regard to platforms, but now, we’ve seem to have hit our stride. We have a nice following without a ton of marketing. It seems like it’s mostly organic, so that gives Alex and I a lot of hope. ……..
Music Authentic: One of my all-time favourites from Big Sexy is “The Disposable Man.” The recent “The Final Flight” continues that line, still supporting army veterans all around. The song feels like a memento for all those who had to leave early…
Big Sexy: Yes. I have a good friend in my jujitsu class who is a veteran and a commercial pilot. I’ve met some of his friends, and along with the other veterans in the class, we’ve had a string of misfortune in natural or unnatural deaths. Earlier, with, Swallow the Pain, I wrote about the memories I had of my father and his army nightmares from Korea. In, The Final Flight, I wanted to capture what a lot of these great veterans go through in their civilian lives. Some of them are deployed as pilots while in their civilian careers and after they fulfill their duty, they come home to the more difficult war.
Music Authentic: “Web of Deception” is quite relevant these days when a narcissistic abuse epidemic is spreading in the West, and when men and traditional values are not only questioned but discredited and alienated from everyday interactions. How long did it take to transform the pain into something more creative, like this song?
Big Sexy: Many of my friends, and of course, myself, are survivors of the epidemic. There is a slew of families being broken up, in many cases, simply for the sake of wanting to take a new path. In my particular case, I recall, at the end of my marriage, of having a cleaning crew on a bi-weekly schedule for the house, landscapers cutting weekly, taking the family out three days a week for dinner, while working as a CEO of a shipping company and a partner in a soccer club business. On top of that, I was coaching all my kids in soccer or baseball and my reward for that, in the 32nd year, was to tell me I was lazy and that it was time for her to leave. Now, I know this can work both ways, but the reality, for whoever creates the break, is that you’ve essentially thrown a grenade into the family room. Everyone gets hit with shrapnel. Everyone suffers. No one is safe from the attack. The trauma is severe and it makes little sense. As in my earlier song, people leave feeling “disposable,” and if anything, that is what is killing the west. Without tradition, without an adherence to customs, without a deep respect for individual cultures, and gender roles, you have nothing. Nothing is permanent. Even the sanctity of marriage is disposable. This new mentality, this new attitude, allows for everyone to die a slow death. Young men are now abstaining from marriage. 46% of all women, in just 6 years will be single and childless. Hell. today, in the west, I believe 5 people die for every baby born. In a few short decades, we won’t be able to sustain ourselves.
In regard to the time it took to write a song, it was about three years from the time of the divorce. Samantha’s song started it all, which of course was about me coming out of the darkness, and then the songs started pouring out of me. In two weeks, I wrote 4 albums. Haha. How crazy was that?
Music Authentic: You are one of the few who could turn the negative energy into positive creativity. It looks like you’ve struck a chord with it as it gains more and more popularity on different platforms. Did you have a feeling when you recorded in the studio that this would be a hit?
Big Sexy: I had a hint – if I can use that word in this context. I recall uttering the first line of that song after waking up in my sleep in an easy chair in my den. I said to myself, did I say that, or did I catch my Guardian Angel speaking in his sleep. I knew I had to use the line and from their I built the song from the sentiments brewing inside of me. Our demographic split is nearly 50/50 with men attracted to Web of Deception while our female fans love, Pretty Girl Blues, Eugenia, and Daddy’s Girl, the most. Alex worked his magic again on that song. Like I say, I imagine the song. Alex and his team bring them to life.
Music Authentic: Listening through your new album, Web of Deception, it’s clear that Big Sexy is expanding its musical sphere. Also, the topics are different, more “everyday-life”, more about love and the lack thereof. Is it a plan unfolding now you foresaw ahead or rather the natural evolution of your collaboration in the band?
Big Sexy: Mainly the expansion came in the way of adding songs written by Alex. In the first album, it was all me in the songwriting department. With the 2nd album, I think 5 of the songs are by Alex and he focused a lot on writing beautiful ballads about being in love. Then he followed it up with that masterpiece, Will You Draw Autumn, which is, normally, a genre I would never listen to. It’s an incredible jazz ballad that captures the mood and feel of the day he writes about. I can’t stop listening to it.
With me, I wanted to lighten up a bit. I wanted to write some good ole fashioned rock and roll songs, like Raw Masculinity and Mighty Maxine – songs devoid of deeper themes but nonetheless, enjoyable to sing to and follow.
Music Authentic: I was surprised when I heard the songs tipping into different genres, but it was a refreshing change to the ears. The themes and topics you visit and walk around in this new album are classic rock and country tropes. Luckily, none of the songs are self-serving whilst several of them are kind of reminiscent of a bygone era, like Eugenia or Mighty Maxine. They sound fresh but feel out of time – at least if look at the most streamed songs nowadays. Is there a rebellious spirit behind all this?
Big Sexy: Even if I wanted to produce a canned 3-minute fusion of cutesy sounds and easy cliches, it wouldn’t matter. Alex would scrap it in a second! The young maestro doesn’t mess around with his standards – and of course, the two of us get along so well due to how we think alike on composition. So, in a way, we just naturally defy some of the gimmickry of the music world in order to define our own genuine sound. The two of us will never walk the easy wide-open road. We will always be struggling forward on the uncomfortable path.
Music Authentic: I like how the central point of your new album, Web of Deception, is love but not “puppy love” or “immaturity”; a more wholesome experience instead, with loss, longing, memory lanes and a certain inner, quaint smile as life goes on. How much of them is the artist and the person behind them?
Big Sexy: I can’t speak for Alex but I do know that I’m in a better place than I was while recording, River of Shame. I will say this though. A lot of the songs were written in succession, in a two-week period. Alex was stunned at how many songs I threw at him. We are talking enough songs to fill 5 albums – not including his works. So, it’s not like the songs were written by me in different times or different mindsets. I do agree with your assessment – these are not Donny Osmond songs drenched in sugary peach juice. Speaking for me, I probed the complexity of love from its highs to its lows – from its whimsical puffs of desire to it’s other edge of deep-rooted devoted love, where when it ends, the loss brings about emotional trauma to the highest degree.
Music Authentic: How has the work process evolved at Big Sexy? Your collaborator, Alex Goroshko, lives in Ukraine. Do you fly over for recording sessions, or do you use the latest technology and work like Yello did back then, from two sides of the Atlantic?
Big Sexy: Thank goodness for modern technology. On account of the war, Alex is sort of frozen inside of Ukraine. It’s very serious and many times it takes days to get the electric circuits back on account of drone bombings. On account of the difficult working arrangements, we’ve developed a good system – a real disciplined process that allows us to pull it off. In this band, Alex is the artistic gem, a one of a kind individual who has incredibly high standards tied to an artistic mind with unlimited potential. I’m older and maybe a little wiser but he’s the maestro. I stick to writing.
Music Authentic: How is it now writing lyrics compared to when you wrote novels and books?
Big Sexy: With books, it’s a solo show. Outside a few editors, who help mainly at the end of the line, the writing process is a one man act. You put together your first draft and then you get some collaboration. In a band, it’s more of a team effort. You get instant gratification from the sounds you are producing so you have an idea on how receptive the public will be with a song. With the other musicians, you are bouncing ideas around all the time to get a feeling of what will work and what will not. With a novel, it’s much harder to get a feel on how your writing will be received. Your editors will give you feedback but for the most part, great editors do not make great writers. You are on your own.
Music Authentic: Writing and recording songs take a lot of energy, not to mention the publishing and promotion cycles. Where do you get your energy these days? Do you have a secret method to channel it from a pocket universe?
Big Sexy: Fortunately, I like to work. Normally, I write in the early morning like around 5am. After that, I train in jujitsu or boxing and then I head out for breakfast. From there, I start concentrating on all my other jobs. I get a few moments per day to discuss music matters with Alex. I recall reading stories about the work rate of the late great, Prince. Alex and I are right behind him as far as our work rate and I guess I can manage it because I grew up in blue collar neighborhood and later lived in the middle of farm country. If you don’t work hard, you don’t survive.
Music Authentic: Your music requires attention; it has meaning and layers. In an era focused on fast consumption, over-consumption, vanity, and a superficial life—translating into the music industry as well—how do you find your audience?
Big Sexy: It’s very difficult. Taking off the artist’s hat and then putting on the marketing hat is my biggest battle. The two forces oppose one another at every front. After college, I worked for a few advertising companies where I learned the various aspects of good marketing and advertising. Truly, I was only happy when I was writing scripts or turning over tag lines. To be honest, I really haven’t honed in on any answer in regard to targeting an audience. It’s all been organic and the platforms will give you certain opportunities with some of the services they sell. Mainly, what Alex and I do to help ourselves is to create a good look for every single and try to maintain our music page in a professional manner.
Music Authentic: Do you plan to perform in smaller venues, in front of those who went through what you went through, who feel what you feel?
Big Sexy: Once Alex is allowed to leave the Ukraine, yes, it would be fun to start at smaller venues where it naturally seems like we would be more comfortable. He’s played in front of a lot of audiences, with some venues being quite large. Certainly now that we are recording our third album, we have plenty of work to present. I think it’s just a matter of time and politics. We need freedom. We desperately need freedom.
Music Authentic: What’s coming next? A new album with the fresh singles, and maybe some more? We have two songs already posted from the third album. One of them you mentioned earlier is, The Final Flight, and the other on the music platforms is, My Temporary Silence, – which also serves as the name of the album.
Big Sexy: In October we started producing one of my favorites, called, Garden Street Bungalow. I’ll be interested in seeing how that song flies with the listening tastes of our audience. Then we have a song that I co-wrote with a good friend named, Jerry SaintOnge. Like myself,, Jerry fell on hard times when he fell victim to Parkinson’s disease in his early 50’s. It lead to some difficult times, including the disintegration of his marriage. He’s a deep thinker and use to be a regular on the Michigan comedy scene. We share a lot of the same interests and we started writing some songs together. Our song is called, Safe Within My Heart, and I’m looking for that one to come out in December.
Music Authentic: If you could, who would you like to collaborate with the most next year?
Big Sexy: Last year, I collaborated with Mr. X hiphop, on a remix of our song, The Admiral’s Daughter. We had a lot of fun with it and I think we will do something again in the future. For me, my dream would be to work together with either Paul Simon or Burton Cummings. Haha. Is there anyway anyone can contact them to see if that’s possible?
Music Authentic: Before we go, any message to your listeners and readers?
Big Sexy: In our songs, we take on difficult themes and often the critics always say, that even though the songs are about the dark forces of our times, we always integrate a sound or beat that threads hope thru the work. Our audience can count on more of that. I’ve lived a difficult life. Alex is going through a difficult time. Trying to get songs marketed in the music business is a difficult process. But we’re not giving up. We’re not going anywhere. Big Sexy is here for the long walk.
Music Authentic: Thank you for taking the time, we will definitely keep listening your new song.
Big Sexy: We are very grateful to you and all our fans. Thank you.
Follow Big Sexy on their
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ieD2AxfhvCgHoZ0wZ3ui2?si=HS0yM-VATfa8Pyssfs9f3g
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexgoroshko8/
