Truck-munching bridge immortalized in song Local duo Deer & Elk tell the tale of Big Penny

The 12-foot-tall railroad bridge on Pennsylvania Avenue, nicknamed Big Penny, is notorious for being a tad too short for truckers looking to pass under it. Since it was built back in 1928, it’s effortlessly peeled the tops off countless trailers — more than 20 this year alone.
Traditional and social media alike have given this dangerous overpass much buzz recently. The latest is a tribute in song. Deer & Elk, a newly formed duo comprising local music scene vets Jason Lantrip and Jeffery Gower, just released its “Big Penny” single and music video. The track echoes 1970s-era trucker novelty songs while telling the tale of our city’s most infamous bridge. Lantrip, who performs with Deer & Elk Dec. 20 at Looking Glass Brewing Co. in DeWitt, chatted with City Pulse about the single.
Looking back, what bands have you played in over the years? How do those bands compare to Deer & Elk?
Jason Lantrip: Calliope, my primary band in the ‘90s and 2000s, made spacey indie pop, while Jeff made country music in the Gentleman Callers. By 2009, we came together to form our power-pop band, the Stick Arounds. These former bands very much relied on loud guitars, drums and bombast, whereas Deer & Elk are a honky-tonkin’ acoustic-electric duo. We focus on classic country, AM gold and originals. It’s definitely more palatable to venues other than rock clubs.

When did “Big Penny” first start to take shape?
Over the summer, various Lansing Facebook pages had been tallying escalating amounts of collisions with the Pennsylvania Avenue bridge — three in one day! Rather quickly, Penny picked up her truck-munching moniker, a Facebook page, a Google Maps cultural landmark listing, and even googly eyes and teeth were added on the bridge itself. The Stupid Lansing Facebook page crunched the numbers and put up signs with her truck-munching stats. There was even a “Ballad of Big Penny” song. All pretty amusing and confusing to us Lansing folks. Since Deer & Elk were already playing a number of classic trucker songs warning truckers of various dangers out there, the idea came pretty naturally.

Did you and Jeffery collaborate on the track?
I texted Jeff on a Saturday: “Million-dollar idea: truck-drivin’ tune about Big Penny.” He had the lyrics by the end of the weekend. I asked him to add a bridge with a talking bit. Always great with an assignment, Jeff turned it out very quickly. It helps that he was steeped in these songs in his youth. I spent way more time trying to find truck horns in the key of the song.

How did the music video come together?

While we may have had some vague idea about the kind of iconography we might want to include, our good friend and fellow Stick Around Matthew Carlson had a plan. We spent a Sunday afternoon driving around Lansing, hunting for older semi-trucks. After a little trucker cosplay and parlor performance, Matthew spun it into gold.

What sparked the idea for you to form Deer & Elk?
In 2023, gigs for a five-piece rock band were getting harder and harder to book, and the Stick Arounds had started to focus on other projects in our downtime. Jeff and I had a history of playing as a duo, so we started booking a few gigs just to keep playing music actively. We were pleasantly surprised to find a few venues hosting acoustic acts and smaller groups. So, with a built-in rapport and a sizable repertoire, we made quick progress and now have played over 50 shows in the Lansing area this year. The format is super enjoyable and efficient, and we love getting to know all these Lansing-area small towns like Eaton Rapids, Dimondale, Grand Ledge and DeWitt.
The cover art for “Big Penny” is inspired by Simon and Garfunkel — how did this come to be? 
In a twist of fate, Deer & Elk already participated in a project with Jena McShane of McShane Photography, who’s recreating classic album covers with Lansing bands. Having already chosen “Bridge over Troubled Water” for our photo, we of course had to use it for the “Big Penny” cover art. Matthew once again lent us his talents with the layout and design work. We all love how it turned out, and Jena is planning a show featuring all of the covers later next year.

Over the years, many amazing bands have come out of Lansing. What are a couple you think more people should know about?
We had such a great wealth of music in Lansing and East Lansing in the ‘90s and quite a few opportunities to see bands between the bars and the co-ops. Apollo 9 was a great and energetic act that was always fun to see live. They wrote great and memorable songs and played with a careening energy that made you think they might go off the rails or veer into something quiet, like a lullaby. They were half acoustic, with a violin and an active rhythm section that would put them into dance-band territory in a place like Howland House in East Lansing. I loved how they intersected with other bands like El Smasho, Down MF and the Clutters. They were all great examples of how to make your band art. Great recordings are out there.

Stream “Big Penny” at deerelk.bandcamp.com.