Big Medicine

Big Medicine was a Toronto, Ontario rock band formed around singer, guitarist and songwriter Frank Wilks during the early 1990s. Wilks had previously fronted Buffalo Springfield Revisited alongside original Buffalo Springfield members Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin, touring extensively throughout Canada and the United States.

Big Medicine brought Wilks together with his brother John Wilks, Derek Atherton and Jay Thomas. The group’s self-titled recording featured twelve original songs composed principally by Frank Wilks, John Wilks and Thomas, with additional songwriting contributions from Atherton and A. Mack. The recording was produced by Tim Felton and Frank Wilks and was associated with Victory Drive Studio in Toronto.

Frank Wilks later recalled that Big Medicine also recorded the song ‘Nairobi’, for which a promotional video received exposure on MuchMusic. The song does not appear under that title on the known cassette edition and may have been recorded for a later version of the project. Derek Atherton remained associated with Big Medicine and Buffalo Springfield Revisited into the late 1990s.

Following Big Medicine, Wilks continued recording and performing as a solo artist and with Ontario-based projects including The White Buffalo Band and Frank Wilks & The Freedom Express.

-Robert Williston