MR. BIG recently completed the Asian leg of its farewell tour, dubbed “The BIG Finish”, which sees the veteran band — singer Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbertand bassist Billy Sheehan, along with drummer Nick D’Virgilio, who has taken over for deceased original member Pat Torpey — performing MR. BIG‘s 1991 album, “Lean into It”, in full, along with other cuts from the group’s history.

Martin discussed D’Virgilio‘s addition to MR. BIG during an appearance on today’s (Wednesday, September 27) edition of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”. Asked how the 54-year-old Nick is working out, Eric said: “He’s great. He came in and he really picked up Pat Torpey‘s sound and tone on drums, but he sings just as good as Pat, if — I’m not gonna say ‘if not better.’ Pat used to have this Paul McCartney thing, and so does Nick. And he kind of emulates me too. There’s a lot of times where I was on the road singing these… I go, ‘Why the hell am I singing these choruses? This guy can do it for me.’ I’m kind of cheating a little bit… I go, why am I busting my hump right now? He kind of emulated my voice and he took a lot of my lead vocal parts for choruses. Yeah, he’s a really good guy. I’m so glad we got him. I didn’t know of him before, but Paul Gilbert told me that he played with Paul, and then learning about him over these years, he played with TEARS FOR FEARS for a bunch of years and GENESIS. And he’s just a really great asset to this band.”

Pressed by host Eddie Trunk about why he and his MR. BIG bandmates are still insisting on calling it quits if everything is going so well with Nick, Eric said: “I kind of had to be talked into it a little bit. In the beginning, I kept saying, ‘I don’t wanna do this.’ I didn’t wanna end it for a long, long time. I didn’t wanna call it quits. I always wanted things to be open-ended. Why quit? I mean, years and years from now, we could possibly get back.”

However, Martin says that there will definitely be no more MR. BIG touring after 2024. “This is it. The fat lady will sing,” he said. “We’re gonna continue to do some records and do some projects, but we’re not gonna tour anymore. MR. BIG is gonna be done… January, February, March, April, May, we’ve got USA, Europe. We’re gonna go back to the USA, and then we play South America in May, and that’s it. No more touring. That’s it.”

The first leg of “The BIG Finish” kicked off in Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August, where the band performed for hundreds of thousands of loyal fans at 11 sold-out shows, including Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. Now MR. BIG is ready to bring “The BIG Finish” to South America, Europe, and the U.S. The first batch of shows throughout the States will start January 12, 2024 in Houston, Texas at the Rise Rooftop.

Following MR. BIG‘s run in Japan and Southeast Asia over the summer, the band brings “The BIG Finish” to Europe next March and April that will see a set spanning their career, including a performance of their classic breakthrough album “Lean Into It” in full.

2024 European tour dates:
Mar. 17 – Carlswerk Victoria – Köln, Germany
Mar. 19 – Rock City – Nottingham, United Kingdom
Mar. 20 – O2 Ritz Manchester – Manchester, United Kingdom
Mar. 22 – KK’s Steel Mill – Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Mar. 23 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – London, United Kingdom
Mar. 25 – Ancienne Belgique – Brussels, Belgium
Mar. 26 – Bataclan – Paris, France
Mar. 28 – Sala Riviera – Madrid, Spain
Mar. 30 – Razzmatazz – Barcelona, Spain
Apr. 1 – Komplex – Zurich, Switzerland
Apr. 3 – Live Club – Milan, Italy
Apr. 4 – Kino Šiška – Ljubljana, Slovenia
Apr. 6 – Majestic Music Club – Bratislava, Slovakia
Apr. 7 – Barba Negra – Budapest, Hungary
Apr. 9 – Kulturpark – Kosice, Slovakia
Apr. 11 – Progresja – Warsaw, Poland
Apr. 12 – Metropol – Berlin, Germany
Apr. 14 – Muziekgieterij – Maastricht, Netherlands
Apr. 15 – Rockhal – Luxembourg, Luxembourg

MR. BIG played its first concert with new touring drummer Nick D’Virgilio on July 16 at the Majiao Music Festival in China.