“The Big Seven” is my corny phrase for a group of musical acts that I collect, listen to, and talk about incessantly. Most who know me well can recite the members of the elite Big Seven; those merely familiar with me have probably at least heard the phrase. Each particular band made its entry into the Big Seven at various times between 1985 and 1990. The theory of the “Big Seven” was only a state of mind prior to the last band’s entry at which time the phrase “Big Seven” came into being. Since the title has now become nothing short of Brad-cultural-lore, there can and will never be a “Big Eight,” although an eighth band was added at one point. Fortunately, this eighth band had a mutual member with Band #7, so it operates under the umbrella of the seventh band. Read the rest of this entry »