Quality Americana

It’s a classic, lonesome bluegrass sound with all the harmonies and murder ballads…

The Austin based outfit Big Love Car Wash has been releasing a number of recordings from the famed Arlyn Studios for their new album Daydream.

Message From Dolly

“That’s a favorite of ours,” mandolin player Sol Chase said, “we’ve been playing that for a long time. It sticks with us even as we write new songs because it’s message driven.”

Chase said the lyrics for “I Won’t Write Murder Ballads” were down before it came into Big Love Car Wash, but that they added instrumental sections and arranged the song we hear together.

“I wrote that because I was listening to Dolly Parton’s America, which is an amazing podcast, and she told this story about the old English and Irish and Welsh bars and songwriters who would travel to hangings in like the middle ages, and they would stand at the gallows and the condemned man would read his sins before the crowd and they would sit there and record it. That was kind of the journalism of the day. They would go from town to town and tell the story.”

Chase said that he grew up singing folk songs and murder ballads, and wanted to keep the oral tradition alive. 

“It’s an important reminder that we sing about the horrors in life as well as the good stuff,” Chase said. “That song is kind of just asking us to hold up a mirror and reflect on ‘what are we using as entertainment?’ And is that how it should be used?”

Big Love Car Wash

The band found their name from the late Yonder Mountain String Band frontman and mandolin player Jeff Austin. 

“I grew up in the Rockies and would see them at festivals every year,” Chase said. It was what led him to picking up the instrument and he continues to honor his legacy through the music. “Not only is it a quote from someone we really admire, but it’s also very similar to the feeling that we experience on stage. He described it as what he gets from the audience performing, and we get that from our audiences and also just from playing with each other. We all have so much fun together, and it’s very much like a heart forward love vibe on stage.” 

Big Love Car Wash recently performed at the 04 Center with new material in Austin, where the members are based. The group was formed through the rotating cast of bluegrass pickers that make up the local scene. 

“On any given night maybe you knew the folks you were picking with and maybe you didn’t,” Chase said. “We met literally at the sound check as we were setting up, and a few songs in we just realized ‘oh we all think about music the same way. We have a lot of ideas, and we’re able to build on each other’s ideas. It felt really organic.”

At the time, Chase was planning to move away from Austin, but they stayed in contact and planned out their first tour for the following year.

From Ireland to the Rockies

Chase splits his time between the bluegrass scene in America and the small towns in Ireland, where he’s found a thriving music culture. 

“It’s much more, kind of, casual and informal,” Chase said about Irish culture. “There are world-class folk songwriters, and singer songwriters, the kind of poetry that is imbued into the Irish language, an imbued into the culture just spills out into the song.” 

With their debut album, Big Love Car Wash is now out on tour in Colorado. They expand into other genres as much as the form allows, and dip into jamgrass like their heroes. 

“I just feel like I’ve become such a better player playing with these guys because they’re so versatile and they’re so talented honestly,” Chase said. “I’m pretty honored to play with them.”

Big Love Car Wash is set to perform at Radio’s Monday bluegrass night after they return from their tour. It’s right back where they all started getting to know each other through the scene, a local Mecca for fans of the craft.

Support the Artists

Find out more about Big Love Car Wash and purchase tickets for their tour here.

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