By ANNE KAZMIERCZAK
Register Reporter
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Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, along with the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Brian Setzer Orchestra, reintroduced American listeners to the full sound of a brass-filled band.
The seven-member group formed in 1993 in Southern California, playing traditional swing music at clubs and festivals across the country.
Numerous late night TV appearances added to their fan base.
The band’s most recent release, 2009’s “How Big Can You Get” pays tribute to legendary performer Cab Calloway and Depression-era swing.
In one of many YouTube clips of the band, BBVD frontman Scotty Morris noted that bands during the depression often toured for years at a time. BBVD is in the midst of their own tour, sweeping across the Midwest. They will be in Iola Saturday at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center as the first performance in the Bowlus Cultural Attraction Series. The program is a Beth A. Ray bequest performance.
The swinging starts at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:45. Tickets, $17 floor or $15 balcony, are available at the Bowlus office, 205 E. Madison, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily or at Iola Pharmacy during Pharmacy business hours. Tickets may also be purchased at the Bowlus ticket window on show night. Full-time students get in for half the normal price.
The Bowlus show will feature songs from the Calloway tribute album as well as new numbers for an album in-progress, said their publicist, Tracey Miller.
No matter the particulars, all the songs will be rollicking swing tunes that make you want to get out of your seat and kick up your heels.
Swing music, Miller said in a press release, brings a “much-needed jolt of feel-good music to a country slogging through tough times,” similar to the release people found dancing away their cares during the Great Depression.
“People should be able to come in ad forget about everything for a while” listening to their music, BBVD trumpet player Glen Marhevka told the Register. “I don’t know if we’re trying to put a message out there, but people should walk away with a smile on their face,”
MARHEVKA said the band has been a septet for 14 years. “The band started out as a trio and added horns and piano. It’s been the same lineup since 1996.” They now have two trumpets, two trombones, a saxophone, piano, guitar and drums, along with vocals.
They are on the road 200 days out of every year year, he said, playing 150 shows in that time.
The constant working and reworking of songs through live performances has led BBVD to perfect their working relationship and their sound, Marhevka said.
“We’ve definitely made (the performances) more into a show than when we were young” he said. “The band has matured.”
While band members are all in their 30s and 40s, their suits and accessories can be much older, Marhevka said.
“We’ve been collecting vintage clothing for years. I have probably 15 suits made in the 1940s.”
Suits, ties, hats and shoes are all picked up at shops and vintage venues as they travel, he said. “Sometimes, people even bring old ties and shirts to us and say, ‘This belonged to my grandfather and I thought you might like it.’
“Surprisingly,” Marhevka said, “really old suits are easy to care for. They’re all wool,” which wears better than modern fabrics, he said.
THE VINTAGE look goes along with the vintage sound the band has become known for.
“We’ve always played it, before there was any attention on it,” Marhevka said. Then, “In the ’90s it became big and we got a fan base.” Though the big band resurgence hullabaloo died down, the band kept going. “We didn’t stop being on the road. We’ve gotten known as such a great live act that it’s one of the keys to our success,” Marhevka said.
BBVD now plays before crowds that range from a few hundred at art centers to 15,000 at music festivals, he said. Regardless of crowd size, “The show is definitely high energy.”
The nice thing about swing music, Marhevka noted, is its timelessness. And, it appeals across all age groups. Lovers of traditional jazz, big band music and even rock can enjoy the sound, he said. “Our fan base ranges from kids to people’s grandparents,” Marhevka said.
Marhevka “started playing trumpet in fifth grade,” he said.
“I was always attracted to anything with horns. I just loved it.”
The attraction was congenital.
“My dad was a sax player,” Marhevka said.
“He had a day job but he played every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from the day I was born until I was in junior high.”
He also found the young trumpeter “a great teacher when I was young,” Marhevka said.
The quality of that training cemented Marhevka’s commitment to playing, he said.
Over the years, the band has become a family to Marhevka. “They’re my best friends,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be playing together the rest of our careers.”
And he said, “We’re looking forward to coming.” He even promised “some songs we’ve never played before.”
10/21/10
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