Cody Englander
Staff Writer
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will bring New Orleans Jazz and swing music to Chautauqua at 8:15 p.m. tonight in the Amphitheater.
The band was formed in 1989 by lead singer and guitarist Scotty Morris. Their untraditional name came from Morris attending a concert by Blues guitarist Albert Collins.
“After the show, he pulled down a poster for the show and brought it up to him to get an autograph. Albert Collins wrote on it ‘To Scotty, The Big Bad Voodoo Daddy,’ ” said Kurt Sodergren, drummer for the band. “One day we were talking, I think we had a couple drinks, and we both kind of decided that would be a good band name. The next day we didn’t have any drinks on board, and we still thought it was a really good idea.”
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy originally sang Blues and covered Jimi Hendrix songs for the first two years of the band’s existence.
“Then one day, Morris said he wanted to play swing music,” said Sodergren.
Sodergren was familiar with swing music because his grandfather used to be in a band, but to him, it seemed like an unconventional choice during this era of music.
“I knew the music. I did think it was kind of a weird choice, but (Morris) just thought it was something that he wanted to do,” said Sodergren. “Nirvana was really the biggest band in the world, so most of the bands were going in that direction.”
The band had to learn how to play this different style of music and took to the task differently than their contemporaries.
“I wasn’t super versed in the style, but (Morris) had played some in school, so we kind of approached it with a punk rock attitude,” said Sodergren. “We were loud, we were brash, we didn’t really follow traditional arrangements. Since then, we’ve brought people on board that have more of a classical background.”
Other members of the band have music degrees, such as Glen Marhevka, who majored in trumpet performance at California State University Northridge; Mitch Cooper, who also attended California State University Northridge; Joshua Levy, who attended the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music; and Alex Henderson, who attended Riverside City College and California State Los Angeles. Having members with composition and music degrees helped bring in experience with traditional musical arrangements and has since helped the band gain a following with a tour that plays through the end of the year.
“We can play for a whole family, rather than if we were playing rock ‘n’ roll, where it might only cater to the younger crowd,” Sodergren said.
When noting his favorite project out of their entire collection of works, Sodergren mentioned their New Orleans tribute.
“It’s hard to pin down just one song, but I think ‘Save My Soul’ is probably one of my favorites,” he said. “That song has got a great arrangement and it’s really fun to play.”
“Save My Soul” is also his favorite song to perform live.
“It’s pretty powerful when you get five horns on the stage,” said Sodergren. “Couple that with a piano player, bass guitar and drums — it’s quintessential.”
During sound check for their performances, the band has developed new songs. While they’re touring throughout the summer, they plan on releasing new music.
“We do have plans for another record, probably released as singles,” said Sodergren.
While the group performs in all sorts of venues, Sodergren prefers to play outdoors.
“We really shine at family events,” said Sodergren. “It’s for the kids, it’s for the parents, it’s for the grandparents. So it’s a really great family event. We’re really looking forward to it.”
