Unveiling The BIG Reveal: Alabama’s Rising Alternative Rock Band

Bud Gambrell

Apr 7, 2025

The BIG Reveal are Off the Charts

395! Three hundred ninety-five miles. That amounts to a car ride lasting around six hours. You are likely asking yourself why this is relevant. Well, I will tell you. I was contacted on Tuesday of last week by my editor and publisher, Nicole, regarding a band she wanted me to research called The BIG Reveal. Just a quick sidenote: Nicole is the one who makes it possible for me to write these articles. She has been so very supportive of me since we first met. If you get the chance, stop by the contact page and show her some love. Let her know you appreciate what she does.

Now, back to business. I reached out to the band she suggested, The BIG Reveal, and was able to interact with their manager, Chad Parker, to get things rolling. We had a nice conversation, and he provided me with some background information. It was enough information for me to dig in and learn what I could before I interviewed them. One thing to note about The BIG Reveal is that this is a young band, which I truly enjoy learning more about the up-and-coming talent out there. They are the future of music, so we need to delve deeply into the music they are creating. The music industry has become a shell of its former self, and with so many avenues to discover music, when you think about it, there really isn’t one good avenue. It’s all so cluttered, and amongst the clutter stands The BIG Reveal.

Alabama-based alternative band The BIG Reveal — Photo provided by band

The number 395 I mentioned above represents the number of miles it would have taken me to get in my car and drive to Grand Bay, Alabama, where The BIG Reveal originates. Since that was not possible on short notice, I relied on the interwebs to assist me. We live in the glorious days of technology. We have YouTube, which hosts a plethora of videos. (Mark one off the bucket list. I got to use plethora in a sentence.) YouTube is great because you can see the video of a band, not just an audio recording. We also have social media pages at our disposal. Like many bands, The BIG Reveal has music available on their website, which is a feature that a good number of bands these days don’t even have. Can you believe that? When you can visit one spot to see it all, it makes things easier when researching a band.

Once I did my homework, it was time to call the band and have a conversation. Dive in below to learn more about The BIG Reveal.

OTC: Hello guys! Thanks for taking my call. Introduce me to the band.

Gavin Parker: I'm Gavin. I play guitar and sing.

Blake Hall: I'm Blake. I play drums.

Luke Puckett: I'm Luke. I play bass and sing harmonies.

OTC: How long have you guys been together?

Gavin: We've been together for about a year, but Luke just came in a couple of months ago to play bass for us.

OTC: How did you guys meet?

Gavin: I started the band with a couple of friends from school, and we were having fun. We got pretty good, but then it started getting serious. So, they backed out because they had other commitments at school, such as sports. Then Blake, the drummer, ended up living like five minutes away from me. Someone gave me their number, and I contacted them. After we met, he started playing drums for me, and then we met Luke online a couple of months ago.

OTC: Can you tell me about your musical background and how you got started?

Gavin: My entire family plays music. I grew up around it and just listened to the '90s pop-rock stuff. It has been my favorite since I was a little kid.

Blake: I started playing drums about two years ago. I have always liked music a lot and always loved the drums!

Luke: No one in my family is musical whatsoever. I decided I really wanted to about four years ago. I've always been classically trained on the piano. That started when I was about six or seven years old. I took lessons, and then I self-taught myself the bass about four years ago.

OTC: Did the bass clef from your piano lessons carry over to the bass guitar?

Luke: Yes, sir, it did. It helped me learn bass guitar quickly.

OTC: While I was talking to your manager, he mentioned the Arts Block Party at UAB. Tell me about that.

Gavin: Yeah, that was back in September 2024. We entered a competition they had. It was like 150 something submissions. People got to vote on four bands that they wanted to play at the Block Party. Our fans showed up to vote for us! So, we ended up playing there! Jemison Hall at UAB was really cool!

OTC: So, the competition with The Arts Block was going to be in Birmingham, and you guys are in South Alabama. Your fans must have really stepped up for that.

Gavin: Yeah, so that's when our TikTok page was starting to get a lot of traction. We made a couple of videos, and they all went and voted for us.

OTC: Tell me a little bit about your fan base. They seem to be loyal.

Gavin: Our TikTok site started picking up around June 2024. We currently have approximately 37,000 on there. The local fan base is pretty devoted! They come to a lot of our shows! Our fan base is pretty cool for voting for us in multiple competitions that we've won.

OTC: You also won a radio competition for WCPR. Tell me about that competition.

Gavin: That was a competition to play at the Biloxi Crawfish Festival. 97.9, CPR Rocks was running an ad explaining where you could submit your band’s music, and then people could vote for you to play. So, again, the same people, the same thing. People voted for us to win. I guess they like us! We will be opening for Puddle of Mudd, Hinder, Cowboy Mouth, and Marcy Playground at the Crawfish Music Festival on April 26th.

OTC: You have a new album coming out. I'm assuming it's your first time in the studio. Could you describe the process of recording the new album?

Gavin: We tracked everything at our home studio. One of the bands that we met in Birmingham at the Arts Block Party connected us with their mixing engineer in Knoxville. So, we tracked everything at home, and then we sent it to him, and he makes it sound good.

OTC: Can you share with me a memorable experience while recording the new album?

Gavin: I'm trying to get everything right and not being too much of a perfectionist. Just getting it how we want it because it's going to be there forever. It’s our first album, so we’re trying to make it as good as possible.

OTC: Did you learn anything about yourself through your music during that recording process?

Gavin: The thing I learned is that I'm more of a perfectionist than I thought I was. It took a while for me to accept some stuff.

Blake: I learned that recording is a lot harder than it seems. I prefer the live shows to the recordings. It's just a long process.

OTC: How would you describe the music that you created for the new album?

Gavin: I'll say that it's real close to ’90s alternative rock, pop rock, post-grunge stuff. One of my favorite bands is Sister Hazel. You can hear their influence on this album. The ’90s pop-rock stuff is really what this album is influenced by.

OTC: Blake, what would you say your influences are?

Blake: My influences are bands like Foo Fighters, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin. They have influenced the way I play.

OTC: What about you, Luke?

Luke: Nirvana for me as well, and The Beatles. And then there were a lot of the 90s bands, like Green Day. However, I also really enjoy alternative rock, such as Goo Goo Dolls and The Killers.

OTC: What are your long-term goals for the band, and what are you most excited about for the future of your music?

Gavin: I think the goal has always been to do it until we can't anymore. Just keep doing it, having fun, and getting a larger and larger fan base.

Luke: I think for me, it's definitely that I want a tour. I would love to go on a tour.

OTC: What role does your social media play in the way you're focusing your career?

Gavin: Our social media got us some attention from a couple of major independent labels that we are keeping in contact with. It has really helped us out a lot. TikTok has been strong for us. We are able to record live videos of what we are doing. It’s a way to put yourself out there and let people know what you are doing.

OTC: What's the most unusual fan interaction that you've had so far?

Gavin: We had this guy at our very first show. He had a little too much to drink, and he ended up coming up and almost getting up on stage. He was pointing the finger at me and singing the wrong words. But he was having fun.

Blake: They always want me to sign broken drumsticks. I hit hard during shows!

OTC: You are a new band. Do you have a favorite venue that you’ve played at so far?

Gavin: Bozos in Pascagoula. We're having our album release party there. People always show up there, and we always have a great time. We played at The Soul Kitchen in Mobile for 92.1 the ZEW's Christmas show, which was pretty cool.

OTC: I have one more question. I'm going to ask all three of you with this one to see what y'all come up with. If your band had a superpower, what would it be and why?

Gavin: I would fly so that I could fly around. Fly around the shows and I could surf on my guitar—air surf, you know, with a wireless setup.

OTC: Like the Silver Surfer?

Gavin: Yeah, that would be pretty cool.

OTC: What about you, Luke?

Luke: My mind is a little bit more practical. Just to be able to play everything and not mess up, and just be impervious to making mistakes.

OTC: Blake, what do you got? If your band had a superpower, what would it be and why?

Blake: Probably not to run out of energy. Three-hour shows can really take a toll on you!

OTC: Any final thoughts for your fans, old and new?

Gavin: Our debut album is set to release on April 11th on Spotify, TikTok, and across all our social media platforms.

At an early stage in their musical journey, this group of young men already has a loyal following. The one thing missing from their fan base is you. Get on board!

One thing I haven’t mentioned before is the band's age. I wanted this article to be based on their music, rather than having any preconceived notions about their youth. Gavin is only 16. Luke is 18 and Blake is 17. This is a promising young band, and they are only going to get better.

Until next time,

Keep your diamond down in the groove!