Big Chief (American band)

History

Big Chief came together in 1989 from musicians with roots in the Michigan hardcore punk scene, among them Barry Henssler, who had played with Necros. Even before they had any songs out, they were drawing interest from major record labels. Their first release was a seven-inch record called "Brake Torque," and after that came out, Sub Pop asked to put out another seven-inch single. Following a few more singles, the band collected them onto a compilation called Drive It Off, which Get Hip Recordings put out in 1991. Later that same year, their first album, Face, was released in Germany, and Sub Pop brought it to the American market in mid-1992. Sub Pop also released their second album, Mack Avenue Skullgame, in 1993. After that, Big Chief moved to the major label Capitol Records, which put out their third and final LP, Platinum Jive, in 1994. The group split up in 1996, but some members kept working together on the magazine Motorbooty until the late 1990s. Guitarist Mark Dancey did illustrations for the magazine, but Motorbooty was not a fanzine and had a rule never to mention Big Chief. Bassist Matt O'Brien later played with The Numbers, The Detroit Cobras, The Detroit City Council, Octopus, and briefly with Jack Oblivion. Singer Barry Henssler worked as DJ Chamberweed in Chicago clubs. Phil Dürr played with Five Horse Johnson, Giant Brain, Luder, and Variac. On January 11, 2019, guitarist Phill Dürr died of a heart attack at age 53 while visiting family in Germany.