Band formation and early years

Big Wreck was originally formed in Boston, Massachusetts by guitarist Ian Thornley , guitarist Brian Doherty, bassist Dave Henning and drummer Forrest Williams while they were students at the Berklee College of Music . Henning and Doherty were previously part of the band Divine Right with lead singer Jim McDermott and drummer Dave Tuohy. The future Big Wreck lineup began jamming and playing gigs together under the name Still Waters in 1992. Unsatisfied with their name, they set out to choose a new official band name, and according to Thornley they settled upon the name Big Wreck in 1994 after something went wrong during a rehearsal session and Doherty exclaimed the session was a “big wreck”. Upon their formation, Thornley was not the original singer of the band, but he became the singer after the band couldn’t find one. In early 1995, the band recorded and released their first known demo tape which featured six songs, one of which was the original recording of “Overemphasizing” which would be later remixed and remastered for their debut album. The other five songs have yet to see a commercial release, but elements have been used in later recorded and released material. After a few years of gigging in the Boston area and Toronto , the band got signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut album In Loving Memory Of… in 1997. In the US, their single ” The Oaf (My Luck Is Wasted) ” reached the top ten on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart in early 1998. Four months later, their follow-up single ” That Song ” reached the top 40 on that same chart. The band found even bigger commercial success in Canada, scoring 4 top 40 hits on the Canadian Singles Chart . The band went on a 17-date tour to publicize their releases.