Warsaw Native Is ‘Big Damn’ Drummer
Just over a year ago, Ben Bussell had resigned to selling office supplies door to door. A musician without a band, the 2000 Warsaw Community High School grad had become tour manager for his Indiana University roommates’ band, Murder By Death. That gig, though, only lasted a few months out of the year.
“To be a drummer, you need a band. I found it was easier to find a career as a tour manager,” he explained. “It’s definitely less glamorous on the other side of the stage. After two to three months of touring, I was back to making pizzas, washing dishes and going door to door.”
It was at this point last April when a call from a friend informed him The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band needed a tour manager.
“He wondered if I wanted to apply for the position,” said Bussell. “The band tours heavily, so it was going to be steady work.”
Bussell wound up getting the job, and admits it has been the best year of his life.
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is an Americana country and blues band hailing from Brown County, Ind. They play over 250 shows per year in the U.S. and Europe at venues ranging from bars to festivals. To date, the band has released seven albums. The newest, “Between the Ditches,” was released in August.
The band consists of Rev. J. Peyton on guitar and lead vocals and his wife of 10 years, Breezy Peyton, on washboard. Until last month, Aaron “Cuz” Persinger was the drummer, but a few days before a stint to Europe, he needed to step down.
“Aaron left us kind of abruptly before the European tour,” said Bussell. “We decided to rent rehearsal space, and I played emergency fill-in on drums. Watching them play 200-300 shows over the past year, I knew the routine. The next day, we flew to Norway with plans for me to fake it through the tour on drums, and then audition for drummers when we got back.
“I hadn’t played much for three or four years. It took a few weeks to shake off the rust. But it wound up going so well, we decided to interview for a new tour manager instead of a new drummer.”
As of this month, Bussell is the official drummer in The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, fulfilling a lifelong dream of being a traveling, thriving musician. He plays a small drum kit, augmented with a five gallon plastic bucket fitted with drum hardware.
“We come from Indiana, but we perform across the world. We need a world class drummer. Ben not only is world class, but he has the work ethic, disposition and toughness that is needed to be in this band,” shared front man Rev. Peyton. “It is actually amazing the way he came into our lives at just the right time. It really just feels so right, like it was meant to be.”
“It was in sixth grade, after the high school brought in all the instruments to show the middle schoolers, I decided to play drums. In seventh grade, I asked my parents if I could start a band, fully expecting them to say ‘no’ because it seemed like something way too cool for them to say ‘yes’ to,” said Bussell of his parents Tom and Barb Bussell of Warsaw. “Fortunately, they said ‘yes’ and I got a drum set. They’ve been entirely supportive ever since.”
Currently playing on the East Coast, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band will soon head to festivals in the Midwest and then back to the UK. They’ll make their way to the Indiana State Fair to play a show on Friday, Aug. 16. Also in August, they’ll be featured as a musical guest on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show. The exact date is yet to be announced.
“We’re all over the map, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love it,” said Bussell. “Before this, I had gotten my license to drive big rigs. That’s how much I wanted to travel and see the country.”
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is known for energetic, foot-stomping shows. With original music, they bring a fresh spin on boogie rhythms and open-chord guitar tunings, creating genuinely fun, 21st-century blues.
“As the Rev. says, ‘we just want to play music,’” said Bussell. “We really have as much fun on stage as it seems we’re having. Our fan base is everyday, working people and families.
“I still have to pinch myself sometimes. I had no idea one year ago that today I would be playing in Europe in front of thousands of people. I’m just super pumped.”
For more information about the band and where they’re touring, see their website, www.bigdamnband.com.