Big Deal is a Michigan noise band, consisting of Eric Keys & Aaron Stengel.

History

The duo began making fart noises in 1983, rendering the pop hits of the day in their vitriolic, signature style of intense distortion microphone feedback. The band has always upheld the philosophy that any object that makes noise is a valid Big Deal instrument. Over the years, Big Deal has incorporated items such as washing machines, weed whackers & butter knives to the usual rock, pop & bluegrass instrument cache. In November 1984, Dave Howart joined-bringing with him the name Big Deal. This fusion led the group into structured composition of original material & a break from the improvised style they would prefer in the future.

In the Spring of 1988, after a few years of spotty sessions, the 3 decided to begin recording some new ideas that would be loosely based on recent compositions. At the time, Dave's cousin, Tony Hill, sat in as a guest on a couple sessions that were recorded. The tracks were originally recorded only as demos. However, these demos were just too unique to reproduce or refine, so they quickly assembled and released their one and only cassette "Shut The People Up" on the Urgell Label with cover art by Brett Herron.

Tracks on "Shut the People Up" ranged from Happy Flowers-esque full-on noise assaults like "Slow Death Of Daddy", to Depeche Mode-inspired tunes like "Dawn and Beyond", and solo acoustic blues played on an unplugged electric guitar. The Lineup was Dave on guitar and vocals, Aaron on microphone feedback, keyboards, drums and vocals, Eric on vocals , drums & keyboards, and Tony on keyboards. This release later found an audience beyond the group's classmates, thanks to Brett's promotion efforts in the Toronto & Seattle areas.

Following it's release, the group disbanded for a few years. In 1991, Eric & Aaron met up for more Big Deal. Although he refused to ever rejoin the band when approached for the session, Dave offered the name Big Deal to be kept alive as Eric & Aaron saw fit. Eric & Aaron decided to go further down the rabbit hole of their own contributions to Big Deal and have been exploring the aural possibilities suggested on their "Shut the People Up" tracks. The absence of Dave is compensated with the occasional iconic sound samples of him, recorded in the 1980s, that keep his presence in the mix. In 1999, Big Deal went digital, using hard-drive recording and software-based sampling and looping tools, along with their usual analog objects.

These days, Big Deal sessions continue to occur every few years.