Big Dipper are an American indie rock band who formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985 by former members of Volcano Suns and the Embarrassment. They released four studio albums between 1987 and 1990, before splitting up. The band reunited in 2008. They were described in a New York Times article as "musical contortionists: they love to toy with extremes, juxtaposing ferocious guitar noise with celestial vocal harmonies or planting a delicate melody in jagged rhythm".
History
In 1986, two former Volcano Suns members, bassist Steve Michener and guitarist/vocalist Gary Waleik recruited guitarist/vocalist Bill Goffrier and drummer Jeff Oliphant ; Waleik and Oliphant were cousins. Goffrier had struck up a friendship with Waleik when he attended a Volcano Suns gig in mid-1985, and the next year, they formed Big Dipper. Big Dipper recorded a six-song demo, and one of the tracks, "Faith Healer", received regular airplay from local college radio stations. Their first release was the 1987 extended playBoo-Boo, issued by Homestead Records. Their first full-length studio album, Heavens, released later in 1987, was later described by AllMusic as "one of the finest American indie albums of its era". The album sleeve featured Goffrier's painting of a UFO. Their second album, Craps, followed in 1988. One of the tracks on the album reflected Goffrier's interest in extraterrestrial phenomena, with the song "Semjase" focusing on Swiss farmer Billy Meier, who in the 1970s claimed to have been regularly visited by a female from the Pleaides. Big Dipper signed to Epic Records for 1990's Slam. Michener left the band, and they continued with various players for two years, splitting up in 1992 after releasing the "Approach of a Human Being" single and recording more than an album's worth of material. In 2008, Merge Records released , a 3-disc collection of Big Dipper's Homestead recordings, with additional material including the unreleased tracks recorded after Michener left. This renewed interest prompted the band to reform for some live shows in April 2008. In 2009, the Big Dipper songs "All Going Out Together", "She's Fetching" and "Younger Bums" were featured in the Rock Bandvideo game series. In 2011, their 1987 song "All Going Out Together" appeared in the Mark Pellington film I Melt with You, and on its soundtrack. In November 2012, the reformed Big Dipper released their first new studio album in 22 years, Big Dipper Crashes on the Platinum Planet, on Almost Ready Records. Their song "Ron Klaus Wrecked His House" appeared in the 2016 film ''Gold, and on its soundtrack.
