The Big Gus

The Big Gus performing at Green Bay High School in 2015.

**The Big Gus** was an alternative rock band from Laingholm, West Auckland from 2013 until 2016. Consisting of Mitchell Baber(vocals, guitar, bass), Fergus White (backing vocals, bass, drums, guitar) and Luke Walsh (drums, bass).

## History

### Pre-formation (2013)

All three band members attended Green Bay High School, and regularly jammed together, as was encouraged by the head of the music department, Jeni Little. Mitchell Baber and Fergus White had previously played lead guitar and drums respectively in the band Fed Up With Fergus. Luke Walsh played drums in the band Losing Friction.

### Formation (2013)

The band formed to play a cover of "I Got Mine" by the Black Keys at Grizelda's Halloween Party 2013, an event that several musicians from Green Bay High School's production played at, including members of Title Pending and Courtney Hate. "Big Gus" is a reference to White's name and an homage to Fed Up With Fergus also having been named after White.

### All-ages scene & Smokefree Rockquest (2014-2015)

The band played numerous gigs in the Auckland all-ages scene alongside Joe Says No, Title Pending and Courtney Hate including the ZEAL Festival of Noise. On the 15th of July 2014, the band uploaded their Smokefree Rockquest national final entry video, which included two never released songs, "My Time, My Way" and "The System".

On the 7th of April 2015, "Jam Jar" was released, followed shortly after by the band's second SFRQ national final entry video on the 24th of June 2015. The band made it to the national finals, alongside Joe Says No, Courtney Hate and Joe's Van, but did not place. The band released the older song "Six Feet Tall" on YouTube on the 2nd of July 2015, before releasing the first song from their debut album, "Fishing With Pat" on the 7th of September 2015.

### *The Big Gus* & final show(2016)

On the 15th of April 2016, the band released their self-titled titled album, *The Big Gus.* The band played their last gig at UFO on the 10th of June 2016 alongside Walsh's younger brother Justin's band Linway Street and Title Pending. Baber sung lead vocals for Title Pending's cover of "I Got Mine" by The Black Keys. A full circle from THE BIG GUS' first performance.

### Other projects (2016-Present)

After the band's breakup, Baber and White continued to make music together under the name Mi Fungi. They released the single *Skate* on the 4th of November 2016, and the single *Max Efficiency* is set for release sometime in 2019.

Baber went on to form Blu Fish with Cameron Mason McCurdy and Josh Rundle from Title Pending, the band won the 2018 National Battle of the Bands and have released one EP, *Shments.*

## Members

* Mitchell Baber - lead vocals, guitar (2013-2016
* Fergus White - backing vocals, bass, drums, guitar (2013-2016)
* Luke Walsh - drums, bass (2013-2016)

## Discography

### Singles

* *Jam Jar* (2015)
* *Six Feet Tall* (2015)
* *Fishing With Pat* (2015)

## Links

* Facebook
* Bandcamp

## References

1. ↑ Tuning up for Rockquest fame, 24/5/13, http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/8712204/Tuning-up-for-Rockquest-fame
2. ↑ The BIG GUS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgfcBZb\_OLE
3. ↑ The Big Gus - Jam Jar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85lEEa7qS5w
4. ↑ Smokefree rockquest 2015 15min video (THE BIG GUS), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nsf3jYRlaU
5. ↑ SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST: THE BIG GUS, 11/9/15, https://tearaway.co.nz/smokefreerockquest-the-big-gus/
6. ↑ Green Bay bands Courtney Hate and The Big Gus hit Smokefreerockquest high notes, 10/8/18, https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/70928831/null
7. ↑ Six Feet Tall - The Big Gus, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFPMBTpAzdc
8. ↑ THE BIG GUS - Fishing With Pat, https://thebiggus.bandcamp.com/track/fishing-with-pat
9. ↑ The Big Gus, The Big Gus, https://thebiggus.bandcamp.com/album/the-big-gus
10. ↑ Sas// Linway St// Title Pending// the Big Gus, 10/6/16, https://www.facebook.com/events/516559261862212/
11. ↑ Mi Fungi - Skate, https://mifungi.bandcamp.com/releases
12. ↑ "Bandstanding", The Fringe, page 14, issue 178, February 2019, https://issuu.com/fringemedia8/docs/1902
13. ↑ Concert Review: Blu Fish Swim in Success, Radio 13, https://radio13.co.nz/articles/concert-review-blu-fish-swim-in-success/
14. ↑ Blu Fish’s debut EP Shments is a slice of dynamic surf-rock goodness, Happy Mag, https://hhhhappy.com/blu-fish-shments/