One group of guys is taking take the reigns on some of Murfreesboro’s best entertainment through a grassroots company based between here and Nashville, Big Kid Productions.

On a whim, this group of ecstatic music fans decided it wanted to throw a concert for Halloween 2009. Instead of booking a venue and a mere three or four bands, these guys found a field and two dozen musical and visual artists. This was going to be more than a concert; this was to become a festival. After a frenzy of planning and promoting, these guys put together their first “Jammen” event. Given that this event was to be held on Halloween, the guys presented their festival under the name “Jammenstein.”

A huge success, “Jammenstein” fostered a great turnout. Attendees spent Oct. 30 and 31 camping out, fighting the rain, dancing to live music and witnessing the creation of some incredible live art. Once everyone made it home alive and in one piece, the guys knew they couldn’t stop there. Pooling together their collaborative talents, the Big Kid Productions company was formed.

Big Kid does everything from production and promotion to management. The goal of Big Kid is “to put Murfreesboro’s mecca of talent in the spotlight with an exceptional outlet for their musical and artistic expression.” Big Kid proudly boasts that it does everything in its power to provide the best venues, lights and sound available for some of Murfreesboro’s most inspiring groups.

Among these groups are Deep Machine, a psychedelic experimental rock group, and the dub/electronic duo Beat Repeat (Clint Chapman, Tim Dugger). Big Kid’s plan is to start small with these groups and “polish their image while gaining them the recognition they deserve.” It is very apparent that this strategy is to be implemented through having the groups play as many shows as possible. Big Kid has been running Chapman, Dugger and the Deep Machine boys through a jam-packed schedule. Check out one of these shows, however, and it becomes very clear that these musicians have no problem playing as often as Big Kid asks them to.

Jan. 16 I was able to witness this fireball of energy myself when I attended my first Big Kid Productions showcase. This was to be the “Back to School” show. The lineup was DJ Schtompa (Jason Huber), Boroughs, Beat Repeat and Noise Organization.

Schtompa, as always, put on a set jam-packed with energy. Being more accustomed to seeing this longhaired dancing machine DJ’ing shows in dark and dancy basements, it was nice to see Schtompa emerge and do a real live instrument venue set. Given the responsibility of getting the night started as the opening act, Schtompa laid it on thick for this performance. Fortunately, he was a perfect act for the job. Huber was running his computer and controlling it like a DJ set while adding live guitar and drums (Jared Rauso).

For his last three tracks, a few special guests joined the Schtompa crew in an unexpected surprise visit. Jecorei Lyons and two of his dancers (Mindy and T.O.) stormed the stage and did an entire choreographed dance set to the breakbeat sounds blaring through 527.

Featuring Lyons rapping on the track, Schtompa did “We Party” as its next to final jam. The energy in the place was unmatched. The crowd went wild dancing.

Boroughs was the next act to take the stage. This group always puts on a great performance due to its wide variety of sounds and contributions from each different member of the band. Mixed somewhere between psychedelic rock and show tunes, group members can throw a different feel on every song they play and somehow tie it all together into a solid performance. Keyboardist Matt Jeffrey and lead guitarist Jason Huber (Schtompa) swapped back and forth on vocals as they brawled through the show.

Performing a 12-song set, Boroughs kept people captivated from start to finish. Whether that is due to the fact that Boroughs features the rare sounds of a trombone or the fact that one Boroughs song can be a 15-minute psychedelic pedal-driven jam session and then the next be a clever sing-a-long about the “itsy bitsy spider.” Whatever the reason may have been, as the dark faded in and out, pierced by a smoke-enhanced laser show, this crowd never stopped swaying to the insightful sounds of Boroughs.

After Boroughs came the two DJs that have been killing Murfreesboro dance parties since June 2009. With Big Kid Productions recently picking up their managing duties, these guys have blown up in a mere seven months. Comparable to acts like MSTRKRFT and Bass Nectar, the show is this: two guys, two laptops, an intricate set of synthesizers, a fully equipped light show and a room full of raging kids. As Chapman and Dugger took stage, the dance floor packed out and suddenly glow sticks began cracking and flying through this mess of people. Everyone screamed and then Beat Repeat dropped the start to its seamless jam of body-moving tracks that had to have gone on for over an hour.

The main factor that sets this duo apart from a lot of similar performing acts is their strangely eclectic choice of music that gets thrown into the mix. At times this really helps the show and then at times can cause a slight damper in momentum. Mixing reggae, Dr. Dre, The Beatles and Dead Prez all into one big party provides for a thoroughly entertaining mix. However, the occasional abrupt change in pace of beats can throw off this ecstatic crowd’s groove. Nevertheless, Beat Repeat knows how to party. The DJ duo never stopped dancing, oftentimes just as hard or harder than the audience. Their energy seemed to flow off the stage and sneak into listeners.

Beat Repeat soon ended its set but not before fogging out the stage out with a smoke machine and then being joined with a whole entourage of dancing girls. This was a fun show guys.

The final act of the evening was Noise Organization. This was a fitting final act because the group seemed to take all of the prior shows of the night and mesh them into one sound. Mixing rock, dub, experimental and trip hop, these guys define where the computer meets the rock band. An entirely instrumental show, this group displayed incredible musicianship as it belted through its set. The band seemed to glow through smoky silhouettes by backing its setup with a light show that was less elaborate but comparable to something you might find at an STS9 show. Even after hours of dancing and sweating, Noise Organization suffered little loss of crowd. The audience paid to see a full show and never lost an ounce of energy as it was given just that.

If this is what the Middle Tennessee area should expect from Big Kid Productions, then let us welcome it with open arms. Currently working on its second “Jammen” event, Big Kid now spends its time working with its current acts and continuing to book shows all around the area.

The guys made sure to tell me to pass on the word: “Expect big things from Big Kid in the coming months.”

For further info contact:
bigkidproduction@gmail.com

or visit:
myspace.com/schtompa
myspace.com/boroughstheband
myspace.com/beatrepeat
myspace.com/noiseorganization