Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Revive the Vibe

“We’ve been planning a Big Mountain album,” says singer-guitarist Quino McWhinney of his dormant reggae band. “But what it’s gonna be, we’re not sure.” McWhinney and his brother James have remained the nucleus of Big Mountain through years of personnel changes. The band’s last record was a collection of covers released in 2004 by their label in Japan. After, Big Mountain took a five-year break.

“We’re hoping to have a real good game plan by March. Maybe we’ll record a live album here in San Diego,” he muses. “Big Mountain has never done a live album.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Big Mountain had a hit single with 1992’s “Touch My Light” and more success in 1994 with a reggae-style cover of Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way.” At the peak of their fame, Big Mountain headlined two Sunsplash reggae festivals in Jamaica. Aside from a recent side project called Quinazo (“It is very Chicano oriented”), Quino says he went back to school and eventually took a day job teaching at Olympia High School in Otay Mesa.

“Big Mountain is coming back to life on the backs of friends in the music business,” he says. “These seeds we planted, man, it’s kind of funny. These were seeds that we planted years ago. You never know.” To that end, there are plans for a Brazil tour in January.

“We’re going for about three weeks.” He says that he and his brother James will be touring under the Big Mountain name, but with the backing of local pickup musicians. “It’s the most economical thing to do. We’re kind of breaking back into the scene like that.” He says they will be sharing the bill with the Brazilian roots-reggae band Afrodizia.

“It’s just a whole new market, man, South America. Even with all its economic issues, there’s still money to be made and records to be sold and shows to be played.”

Quino describes the last few years as “biting the bullet, just because we knew that the last time we were doing this it just didn’t feel right, you know. We’ve been trying to get the vibe back again. When you’re young, everything makes so much sense. Business has a way of just bringing about a lot of loose ends, so many loose ends you forget what it was really all about and why. I think it was perfect that we had that time to get away from it,” he says. During the time out, he and his brother got their priorities in order. “Our families are good, and everybody’s healthy.

“Another thing,” he says, “is that this time we’re paying attention to details. We don’t want to rock the boat. It’s, like, let’s do this, but let’s not sacrifice happiness and tranquility.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gringos who drive to Zona Rio for mental help

The trip from Whittier via Utah to Playas
Next Article

Ed Kornhauser, Peter Sprague, Stepping Feet, The Thieves About, Benches

The music of Carole King and more in La Jolla, Carlsbad, Little Italy

“We’ve been planning a Big Mountain album,” says singer-guitarist Quino McWhinney of his dormant reggae band. “But what it’s gonna be, we’re not sure.” McWhinney and his brother James have remained the nucleus of Big Mountain through years of personnel changes. The band’s last record was a collection of covers released in 2004 by their label in Japan. After, Big Mountain took a five-year break.

“We’re hoping to have a real good game plan by March. Maybe we’ll record a live album here in San Diego,” he muses. “Big Mountain has never done a live album.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Big Mountain had a hit single with 1992’s “Touch My Light” and more success in 1994 with a reggae-style cover of Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way.” At the peak of their fame, Big Mountain headlined two Sunsplash reggae festivals in Jamaica. Aside from a recent side project called Quinazo (“It is very Chicano oriented”), Quino says he went back to school and eventually took a day job teaching at Olympia High School in Otay Mesa.

“Big Mountain is coming back to life on the backs of friends in the music business,” he says. “These seeds we planted, man, it’s kind of funny. These were seeds that we planted years ago. You never know.” To that end, there are plans for a Brazil tour in January.

“We’re going for about three weeks.” He says that he and his brother James will be touring under the Big Mountain name, but with the backing of local pickup musicians. “It’s the most economical thing to do. We’re kind of breaking back into the scene like that.” He says they will be sharing the bill with the Brazilian roots-reggae band Afrodizia.

“It’s just a whole new market, man, South America. Even with all its economic issues, there’s still money to be made and records to be sold and shows to be played.”

Quino describes the last few years as “biting the bullet, just because we knew that the last time we were doing this it just didn’t feel right, you know. We’ve been trying to get the vibe back again. When you’re young, everything makes so much sense. Business has a way of just bringing about a lot of loose ends, so many loose ends you forget what it was really all about and why. I think it was perfect that we had that time to get away from it,” he says. During the time out, he and his brother got their priorities in order. “Our families are good, and everybody’s healthy.

“Another thing,” he says, “is that this time we’re paying attention to details. We don’t want to rock the boat. It’s, like, let’s do this, but let’s not sacrifice happiness and tranquility.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Goldfish events are about musical escapism

Live/electronic duo journeyed from South Africa to Ibiza to San Diego
Next Article

Lang Lang in San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.