In the meantime, Catanzaro and Brewer also left, moving to Grand Junction and Rockford, Illinois, respectively.īut Big Dopes stayed connected through Zoom sessions, during which the bandmembers discussed ways to further their project. His main project, dream-pop band Oxeye Daisy, broke up, and some of the members moved to Los Angeles. Schmid began to think differently about the potential of Big Dopes during the pandemic.

Multi-instrumentalist Paul Simmons joined Big Dopes in 2019 after producing the group's debut album, Crimes Against Gratitude. Their duo became a trio in 2017 when Ricky Brewer joined the band as a stand-in drummer for a one-night gig he’s been their “temporary drummer' ever since, Schmid jokes. Destination Wedding will be released on Friday, November 5, and Big Dopes will play a release show at the Broadway Roxy on November 13.īig Dopes started as a side project in 2016, when Schmid met bassist Justin Catanzaro at an open mic the two bonded over long existential discussions and soon started collaborating musically. “With this album, we graduated from the bedroom recording to the studio recording,” Schmid notes.

Instead, they turned to friends in the Denver music and arts scene for help, growing a Big Dopes community. 'I can’t help it.” And while the pandemic led the bandmates to focus on the more detail-oriented, professional side of advancing their project, they didn’t want to lose their convivial essence. The band prioritizes serious play and playful seriousness.

They took two weekend trips during the late summer months of 2019 to “live in the songs,” experiment with found sounds and just have fun - seriously.

The four members of the Big Dopes began recording their new album, Destination Wedding, with an “almost stupidly cliché” retreat to a cabin in the woods, explains lead singer Eddie Schmid.

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