Two well-dressed friends, one cocktail drum, one 12 watt amplifier. A short set list of songs, all covers and routinely requesting the opening slot. All these things worn as a badge of honor, running antithetical to the aspiring musician's professional modus operandi. Really, what's there not to like about this band? HUGElarge are Robert Malta and Matt Norelli, two musicians who have years of experience in the professionals game of extensive touring, long recording sessions, hauling pounds upon pounds of equipment - your usual soul crushing tedium. Convinced that it was possible to regain the excitement of banging out songs for fun, Malta bought a tiny Silvertone amplifier at a garage sale and talked Norelli into playing just one drum, "purely as a way to get together and have fun," insists Malta. Their minimalist approach is intact, and a HUGElarge show is a damn good time, owing in part to the duo's impeccable taste in choosing cover songs by the likes of ? & The Mysterians, Roky Erickson, The Standells, T. Rex, and The Stooges among others. You could call HUGElarge purists; the group's version of "When The Levee Breaks," well-known as a Led Zeppelin song, is religiously credited onstage to its original author, Memphis Minnie. Their self-titled album is a tour-de-force filled with powerful versions of garage, rock, and pop classics recorded by studio master Karl Derfler (Tom Waits, Roky Erickson) and available as a 180-gram high-quality clear vinyl album collector’s edition at bluerosemusic.com