Ahead of Big Data's sold out show in the First Avenue mainroom with Fitz and the Tantrums, Alan Wilkis and company — bassist Ben Bailey, singer Liz Ryan and drummer Gunnar Olsen — stopped by The Current to chat with host Mark Wheat and to record tracks off their latest record live in our studio.

Before Big Data, NYC native Alan Wilkis worked full time in music publishing, but he's always had an itch to create. Alan writes tracks almost exclusively on his computer — in part because he has an interest in computers ("big data" is a tech buzzword) but also because he developed nerve problems as a guitarist. When Wilkis got the news that he'd be touring with Fitz and the Tantrums, he had to put together a live band, and he had to put it together fast.

Listen to the full in-studio session to hear Alan of Big Data chat with Mark about how he and his band pull off the self-described "paranoid electronic pop music" in a live setting, the massively successful YouTube video for "Dangerous," and the influence terrestrial radio has on the success of a single.

Songs Performed

"The Business of Emotion"
"Big Dater"
"Dangerous"

"Dangerous" and "The Business of Emotion" are off Big Data's forthcoming 2.0. "Big Dater" is off of Big Data's debut full-length 1.0.

Hosted by Mark Wheat
Produced by Lindsay Kimball
Engineered by Mike DeMark
Web feature by Leah Garaas