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Michael Atwood is a busy man. When not teaching English at Oliver Ames High School or freelance writing for Boston-based publications, he spends his time with his four-year-old son and his eight-week-old daughter. Any extra hours, minutes, or seconds are devoted to his passion project, the self-described three-piece power-pop/alternative/country band: Big Amp Envy.
These days, Big Amp Envy is the collaborative musical effort of three local musicians: Atwood, vocals and guitar, Tom Stearns, backup vocals and accordion, and Carl Schneider, sound engineering. Atwood and Stearns began playing as Big Amp Envy in 1996 with bassist Steve Mckenzie, performing steadily at venues in Boston, Cambridge, Providence, and Attleboro. They released a 4-song EP with a brilliant local producer, Schneider, and gained a band member in the process.  However, career and personal moves over the years prevented Big Amp Envy from maintaining the band. By 2002, Atwood was in California, Mckenzie was in Chicago, and Stearns had joined popular local band Slycee Jenkins.
Atwood, despite the musical prowess he currently contributes to Big Amp Envy, didn't start considering a life in music until his years as an undergraduate student at Boston College, where he began playing guitar and became interested in recording.
"I spent my twenties in my parents' basement doing the four-track," he said.
All his work in the basement paid off. A friend played one of Atwood's compilations at a party and Stearns, also at the party, offered his talents after hearing the recording.
"He mentioned he played accordion," Atwood said. "I remember thinking 'How's that going to work?' He mentioned his neighbor played bass. We all lived in Attleboro."
From there, Atwood, Stearns, and his neighbor, bassist McKenzie, started talking about forming a band. Big Amp Envy began playing, with all three members moving to the same neighborhood, and launching a six-year campaign of regular practice and close friendship.
At the time, Atwood was teaching English at local high schools, but he'd always meant to write. By 2002 he had moved to California to pursue a master's degree in professional writing at the University of South California.
"I was writing stand-up comedy and screenplays," said Atwood. "I was trying to meet people-do the Hollywood thing-but it's tough."
While in California, Atwood had meant to take a three-year break from music to concentrate on his screenwriting career. Instead, in his frustration, he found himself writing songs. He started thinking about heading back to Massachusetts, and back to Big Amp Envy.
It wasn't until 2005 that a devastating turn of events brought Atwood, Stearns, and Schneider together. A friend, and fellow musician, Rick Crawford, foreman of Slycee Jenkins, passed away at 36 from a heart attack. His sudden death brought many area artists together for a tribute concert, in honor of his memory. Big Amp Envy reunited for Crawford's tribute concert at Johnny Mac's in Attleboro, for a four-song set.
For Atwood, Crawford's death held a particular poignancy: "We were huge creative outlets; both of us wrote the music for our bands."
Only four months later, Atwood lost his mother.
"There's something about death," he said, "that makes you feel guilt, remorse, loss. All these losses were taking place. I couldn't stop thinking about the lost time we didn't have to spend with these people."
The losses may have been what provided the impetus for Big Amp Envy's upcoming album, titled Penance, and several of Atwood's newest songs.   
For the last two years, band members have been working on their musical masterpiece.
"We have so many new instruments," said Atwood. "We brought in a fiddle player and a pedal steel player."
Big Amp Envy's album Penance will be a test of the new order of things: the technical order.
"We built this off of craigslist," said Atwood. "The three bass people and Gracie [Savastano] were hired off of craigslist."
Last June, production began, with Butch LeBeau recording drum tracks. Each contributor received a copy of the tracks. Band member's wrote revisions and compiled their own parts using LeBeau's drum tracks, in, what Atwood calls, a "building block like process." With each member writing and revising their own part for the album's songs, recording with their own equipment, and then reworking with band members via computer, Big Amp Envy was able to record in 45 days what most bands take years compiling.
Penance is a 12-year-old passion piece in the making. For Atwood, the album will feature the sound he's carefully sought for years.
"[Before] I sang because I wrote the lyrics and no one stepped up. But now, with Gracie, her voice can go with any sound."
The album will include many new collaborative songs, including two covers, but several arrangements will be original 12 year-old songs from the early Big Amp Envy revamped for their new album. Several musicians were brought in to add a particular sound to certain pieces, including percussionist Rick Stattler, former Slycee Jenkins band member, Pete Crawford, and original Big Amp Envy bassist Steve Mckenzie; Savastano was tapped to lend her ethereal soprano to several tracks.  
Atwood admits that it hasn't been easy.
"Tuesday nights I'd be in the studio with Carl. And then we'd all try to do an occasional Saturday. But we're all busy with kids and school and work."
Despite lacking the resources of other talented bands, Big Amp Envy is almost ready to submit their home-made, from-scratch fresh new sound.
"Right now, we're looking at two options. We can sell it, or self-release it. We'll probably self-release it, but we want to humor ourselves first."
They know to well, that regardless of their hard work, part of the business is "having a tough skin."
But Atwood isn't wasting any time. During his time at home, he screens his music for his family.
"I play all my songs to my son. He is my biggest fan."
You can catch Atwood at local open mic performances. Look for Big Amp Envy's new album to be on sale in September. Check out Big Amp Envy and a selection of their songs at http://www.myspace.com/bigampenvy.