Preston Klik:
He doesn't look like a Nebraska farm boy, but he is. Preston was raised in
a small town near Lincoln, but he's lived in Chicago for years (that's his
trumpet you hear on Ministry's COLD LIFE). His earlier bands bore little
sonic resemblance to Big Hat (Chelsea Flower Show was an industrial dance
band). Preston is responsible for much of the visual appeal of Big Hat;
before forming the band he had already quit his day job in order to become
a full-time visual fine artist.
Yvonne Bruner: Originally from "I Dream of Jeanie", Florida, Yvonne grew up in Clovis, New Mexico where she learned to love horses, horny toads (they spit blood from their eyes when they're angry and she thinks that's cool), and country music (Hank Williams, Sr. and Patsy Cline are major influences). She came to Chicago to go to college and hide the fact that she rode a motorcycle from her folks. Instead of finishing college she met Preston and they formed Big Hat.
Char Malloy:
Born in Evanston, the closest northern suburb to Chicago, Char comes from
a tight-knit family (her parents are almost always at the band's local
shows). She majored in art (mainly photography) in college and then putzed
around taking photographs and waitressing after graduation. Preston called
her up when he and Yvonne decided that they wanted a violinist: Char and
Preston had been friends for several years and she's played the violin
since she was six years old.
James Stallman:
Herr Stallman is the only member of the band from the Atlantic Northeast
and that's as close to the "Seattle sound" as Big Hat is likely to come.
Jim has been a drummer since year dot, he even went to Berklee School of
Music in Boston, where he was inundated in the intricacies of jazz fusion.
Jim shares with Preston his love of Miles Davis, but he'll share his life
with Char (they're married now).
