Prison’s third big one, Big Rigs on the BQE, finds our jammers of legend far away—miles from Downstate (2025) and Upstate (2023): driving further down the road, Prison’s guitar, bass and drums compel them to dream loud. An improvised rock and roll tapestry, multiple impulses, intersections and lifelines rended with gas ‘n guitar pedal on down to the metal. Reflecting real lives lived today, sprawled and recalled in undulating electroacoustic performance. 

On March 7th 2024, Prison vets Sarim Al-Rawi, Matt Lilly and Paul Major on guitars & drums were joined by Mike Donovan on fuzz organ, percussionist Ryan Sawyer and Downstate’s Matt Leibowitz (back on bass, and synth too this time) at a Sunset Park studio where they could see the fucking highway from the studio windows. It kind of set the tone. Downstate guitarist Adam Reich switched it up too; as studio honcho/engineer/mixer, he scored a couple fx/remix passages that are of the performance on both sides.

Big Rigs on the BQE is the sound of Sarim, Matt, Paul, Mike, Ryan, Matt and Adam in wicked battle and glorious play, a far-ranging scrum of Groundhogs/ Velvets/Hampton’s/Pink Fairies/Magic Band/Good Rats/Can propositions powering guitars, bass, drums and organ (&synth!) that day: a beast, imagining a better allegory for qualities of the ‘spirit of the jam/road trip’ duality.

Paul and Sarim’s vocal shouts transmit a kind of road-thoughts as they come, circular processing loosely knotted loops in different ranges and a couple different levels! These are deep, searing, multipurpose jams. Big Rigs on the BQE is a kind of travelogue, two side-long trips that take flight and fight another day in the never-ending process. It’s a beautiful opportunity to send new blasts of positive energy out to the world. Prison of one, freedom of many!