Meet The Big Easy

Despite what one may think, Stephen Berthomieux is not from New Orleans — he just swiped the moniker. Originally a Jersey boy, Berthomieux plays as The Big Easy, and trades in indie, lo-fi, punk tunes. Mardi gras beads not required. 

Fresh off his release The Answers We Never Had, we discuss the cleanliness of black jeans, his cinnabun and pork chop dreams, and the benefits of producing at a smaller scale. 

Grab a to-go cup and boogie on down to read these wise words. It’s gonna be a hoot. 

NAPOLEON a Mad-lib by The Big Easy

Although he was Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte was actually a Corsican, born on a small BIKE in the Mediterranean Sea. When he was just ten years old, Napoleon was sent to a military VIBRAPHONE in France, where his YELLOW stature earned him the nickname of "The TART Corporal." At 24, he was made a WET General and married Josephine, the daughter of a well-known piece of URANIUM. Soon after that, he defeated the Italians at CAZZO and in 1804 was proclaimed Emperor of all the GEESE. But he made a UNIQUE mistake and attacked Russia. He reached Moscow, but the STICKERS had burned all their PLANETS and his men got frozen CHAIRS. In 1914, he was THOUGHT and sent to Elba. But a year later, he came back to France and for 100 days was again the MORTICIAN. However, he was defeated at Waterloo and imprisoned on the island of St. Helena, a PASTEY place that resembled TUSAN.

Would You Rather

have to perform a cover of the cha-cha slide, the macarena, or cotton eye joe? How would you do it?

Oh I looooooove cha cha slide! That song is hysterical so I’d probably end up doing that one. But I mean, there isn’t too much going on with that one. So I guess I’d just have the bass and kick handle the thump until the cha cha parts, then they can grove and get a little freaky with it. The parts when people have to hop, I’d do a quick loud guitar chord. There you have it… the cha cha slide. Although that’s a song I’d love to do in a karaoke form, so now I know what I’m doing next time I do karaoke.

Some questions with The Big Easy

What are your top five favorite animals?

Ducks, wild cats, cows, goats, and people.

Do you have a single favorite article of clothing? What makes it the favorite?

I guess it’d be my black jeans. Easily what I wear the most. They’re the best cause they go with anything and they don’t get ‘dirty’. When on the road I take like one or two pairs of jeans and we’re good to go.

If you could bottle the smell of one of your live performances what would it smell like?

Oh I have no idea. But I can tell you what I smell whenever we’re performing… my breath. So yeah, probably that. So depending on the day/time it can be good or disgusting. Mostly disgusting.

What is on your grocery list?

Some assortment of fruit, ground beef for pasta, eggs, some assortment of veggies, sausage, chicken breast. But if we’re talkin when I’m rich and can buy the fun stuff: lemonade, sprite, salt and vin chips, cookies and cream ice cream, cinnabuns, steak, pork chops… I can go on forever. One day I’ll go back to being vegetarian, but not today.

If you had to pick one cartoon to be your reality what would it be? Why?

Hmmm.. that’s tough! I love cartoons. I think I’d have to go with Rick and Morty. Even though loads of crazy shit happens in that show, for me, it really gives you perspective on what the world could be like. I find it so clever how the creators present these very deep philosophical and scientific concepts to the viewer in a hilarious way. It makes me think that it’s probably the reality in which we already live in and we’re just working our way up to that point. That and I love the idea of going to distant galaxies and universes.

Are there benefits to a smaller production scale?

Totally. First off, fewer mouths to feed. Secondly, with a smaller production you get a more hands on approach to things which I find fun. In other words, more control over the vision. Which might actually be the most important part to any of this. That being said, it does also mean that one must be able to handle multiple facets of the production which can be taxing as well. For example, without a big team or label behind you, everything is on you. Booking, art direction, PR, online presence, and the list goes on. Oh and not to mention, writing the music/ creating the content. There are totally benefits to a small production scale but there are also some cons in there. Gotta take the good with the bad.

Have you spent a lot of time in New Orleans?

I haven’t! It’s funny cause I named the band ‘The Big Easy’ without knowing it was the nickname for Nola. At first, I couldn’t understand why people kept asking if I was from there… now it’s my expected follow up question. I actually named the band after a Cursive lyric. I think the song is called ‘A Little Song and Dance’.

Who are your favorite bands active in NYC right now?

This is going to sound horrible but I’ve been a little out of the loop lately. I’ve hardly played locally as of late so I haven’t been able to check out some of these acts popping up but I’ve been seeing a lot of recurring names so I have some homework to do. We did just get the pleasure to play with Top Nachos earlier this week and those boys are some rippers for sure. Being a band from Jersey and relocating to Brooklyn, some of my attention is turned that way at times. That being said, we’ll be playing with Nachos again and our buds, Teenage Halloween in Jersey city on 1/26 so that should be fun!

What was the most fun you had during a live performance?

I’d say it’s usually the bigger shows we’ve done. Maybe the times we’ve played Webster? Just sharing green rooms with friends, a buzzing crowd with friends and family, and being comfortable with how things are sounding make for a great experience. Either way, all shows we play are fun!

Where did the photography come from on your latest few singles?

The camera roll on my phone or disposable photographs I took while on tour. Yeah I know, big time photographer over here.

Who did your album artwork? What was the rationale behind it?

Up until now, I’ve done all of the artwork for our releases. Mostly they’re photographs I’ve taken of different experiences or moments I wanted to capture. For the First Friday Series, I wanted to create an overall ‘feel’ to all of the artwork similar to the weird lo-fi sound for the whole EP. So they all have the same theme, scenic shots or moments that serve as reminders.

If you could rename New York City what would you call it?

Watch Your Freakin Step… City.

Was there a catalyst that brought this project to life? What was it?

I’d say so. When my last band broke up, I got tired of having to start over. I had these songs I was just starting to write and I figured, if I just put it out as myself then it wouldn’t matter who was around me. As long as I kept writing music then The Big Easy would always survive.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Check out our new First Friday EP on all your fav streaming platforms, out February 7th! We’ll be touring this February so look out for that and stay tuned for our debut album coming later this year. Thanks!