Marking an end to a decade-long hiatus in full-length album releases under the Big B moniker, Bryan Mahoney reemerges with Wellness Check, out now via Regime Music Group.
The new album echos the Hip-Hop, Punk, and “street culture nursery rhymes” Big B fans have come to expect, but also reflects “a new lease on life, embracing deep-seated passions outside of music, and fostering a ride-or-die network of friends, collaborators, and confidants.”
Those collaborators include motocross competitor Carey Hart, 4x Grammy-Award-winning Hip-Hop artist Killer Mike, and the production duo TAVALANE, comprised of Johnny Baldaray and Jared Palazzolo who have served as Mahoney’s backing band and collaborators for over 15 years.
During Mahoney’s hiatus from the Big B epithet, he has joined forces with best friend Hart, embarking on a series of ventures from bespoke Indian Motorcycle builds to supporting Hart’s 501(c)(3) charity Good Ride, and Las Vegas-based tattoo shop H&H Tattoos, and even appeared on early episodes of Inked.
This period also saw Mahoney pursuing music through the launch of his Americana-inspired Outlaw Country group The Felons Club.
When he felt it was the right time to record some new Big B songs, Mahoney conferred with TAVALANE (Baldaray and Palazzolo), they decided to “escape into the serenity” of Joshua Tree, California for an undistributed week in a mobile studio. In just over a week, they crafted eight songs that sparked Mahoney’s realization that “Big B has more stories to tell and more life to share through music.”
Once Mahoney, Baldaray, and Palazzolo set the goal to release a full-length album, he decided Wellness Check was the “perfect descriptor” for his musical renewal after a decade-long hiatus from Big B albums.
Adding more to the meaning of the title, in 2021 Mahoney had to go under the knife for a heart valve replacement surgery, forcing him to face mortality head-on, prompting a “deeper introspection about his health and preciousness of time.”
He comments:
Wellness Check is essentially a loud shout that ‘I AM OK’ to the world that knows me as a recording artist. And for those who wrote me off, I am here again to say a few things and celebrate where I am now.
