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For immediate release: BIG-T & THE BADA-BINGS Good ole' U.S. of A - January 1, 2003: Smell the cigar smoke and expensive perfume. Hear the jingle of ice cubes as they tumble in your double bourbon. Gentlemen, make sure no one steps on your shined wing tips and brush that speck of ash off your tux because that chick across the bar is eyeing you. Ladies, show a little leg and check your make-up because the guy across the dance-floor has an invitation for you. You're a player, and the action in this place is so thick you can taste it…thanks to Big-T & the Bada-Bings! Based in Dallas, TX, Big-T & the Bada-Bings is the nation's top party band, mixing the big band stylings of hip eras past with swinging modern sounds into a blend smoother than a scotch and soda. Whether performing at your festival concert, wedding reception, corporate trade show or party, Big-T & the Bada-Bings turn any room into one classy joint. The band's repertoire includes a saucy selection of songs from Sinatra to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Mix in some Harry Connick, Cab Calloway, B.B. King, Bobby Darin and their buddies, and you got a mafiaso musical menu fit for a kingpin. Their sound can range from the magical to the moody, bluesy to big band, romantic to rocking. No matter the tune, Big-T & the Bada-Bings recreates that atmosphere of decades gone by, with a little "Sopranos" attitude thrown in to add modern flare. Available as a 12 or 18-piece outfit, the band brings the full, brassy and rich sound of a Las Vegas or Atlantic City ensemble to your special occasion anywhere around the world. Listed by top talent agencies, event planners and corporate meeting organizers, Big-T & the Bada-Bings have an offer you can't refuse. They want to bring their one-of-a-kind music to you. Get ready to dance to the standards and sexy solos while you sing along with the belted-out vocals with Big-T and the boys. You better take 'em up on their offer, if you know what's good for ya!
Feature Spotlight On... Craig Thompson - Vocalist from Dallas Texas USA Don’t pinch me. I don’t want to wake up if this is actually a dream”, pleads Craig Thompson, a native of Dallas Texas in the U.S. Craig, 38 years old, says that singing the great tunes from the Big Band era is the fulfilment of his childhood dreams. Craig never felt completely at home with the local Texas flavour of Country Western music. He fell in love with these great sounds by pure accident. Craig
says that most of his passion for the sounds of the Big Band with vocals
came from the animated cartoons from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s.
As he grew older and able to help with the family chores, Craig heard
his fathers’ voice say “forget about ‘dem foolish dreams
boy. Now turn off that damn TV”. At the wise old age of 17 and being
fed up with things at home, Craig left and joined the U.S. Navy, which
eventually took him to Japan. Things started taking quite a twist here.
Craig found that he was naturally gifted with the ability to speak Japanese
almost completely by ear. This allowed him to experience and see a side
of Japan, and for the Japanese to see a side of him that no one would
have imagined. As unbelievable as it might sound, Craig was recruited
into Sumo Wrestling. That’s right the huge wrestlers in the ceremonial
“mawashi” (loin-cloth). Well several years of Sumo Wrestling
and force-feeding, Craig toppled the scales at a top weight of Craig’s love for the great sounds of the Big Band music never faded. It was while in Japan that he sang for the first time in front of any other person at a Karaoke bar. Craig’s first public song ever was Bobby Darin’s Mack the Knife. The overwhelming response from the audience triggered a flood of memories and passion that would never again be denied. His dream was to sing one song, one time, in front of a real audience, on a real stage. To realise this dream, Craig lost almost 200 lbs. (14 stone) in one year and set out to find a band. During the summer of 1998 the miracle happened. Craig was invited to sing Mack the Knife at a night-club in Dallas with an 18-piece Big Band named Tuxedo Junction. Craig continues to share the songs he loves with people across the world. Together with Tuxedo Junction, Craig continues to travel the United States singing and now has two CD’s released. Over the last two years Craig has returned back to Japan to sing for sold out concerts; including this last April in the largest park in Tokyo for a huge crowd of people under the spring Cherry Blossoms. Craig is now on staff as an English Vocal teacher at a commercial music school in Tokyo. “It is such a great honour to be sharing my European debut with Opus One, the Hottest Big Band in the UK, and the wonderful people of Hertford. It is truly a divine gift to be with you here this evening. – Cheers.” - Craig Thompson - |
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