By GARY DEMUTH
Salina Journal
It took a small independent film to launch the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies into the big time.
In 1995, the Los Angeles-based swing band was performing at the Derby, a Hollywood nightclub, when they were approached by a friend who told them, "I wrote a movie. Are you interested in being in it?"
The friend was a struggling actor named Jon Favreau. His film was called, appropriately enough, "Swingers."
Favreau thought the band's hip swinging big band and jive sound would be perfect for the film, which focused on the lives of three unemployed actors in Hollywood during the 1990s swing music revival.
Scotty Morris, Big Bad Voodoo Daddies' founder, singer/songwriter and guitarist, thought it would be a fun gig.
"Jon was my friend, so we did it," Morris said. "I didn't even know he was an actor. He'd come to the club and dance with my girlfriend all night."
To Morris's surprise, "Swingers" turned out to be a big hit. The movie helped launch the careers of actors Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston as well as that of Favreau, who later added directing to his resume with hit movies like "Elf" with Will Ferrell and last summer's blockbuster "Iron Man."
"No one knew 'Swingers' was going to be so big," Morris said. "We'd been together five years when we made the movie, playing 230 days a year. That movie blew us up big and fast. We went from playing 1,200-seat theaters to two or three times the size."
Christmas at the Stiefel
On Wednesday, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will bring their swinging Christmas show to the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe.
"We mix in Christmas favorites with other songs we do," Morris said.
In concert, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performs original material with titles like "You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)," along with classic swing tunes made famous by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway.
The band's Christmas show includes classics such as Lou Rawls' "Merry Christmas Baby," Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" and even a "Jingle Bells" cha-cha.
"We love the music of the '20s, '30s, '40s and '50s, jazz and big band music -- that's really what our base vibe is," Morris said. "We're really a gumbo of a lot of styles."
Morris, who was born and raised in Oxnard, Calif., started his career as a studio guitarist in Los Angeles, a hired gun who played everything from punk rock to country.
None of these musical styles satisfied him, so in 1989 he decided to form his own band to play the kind of music he loved.
"It was never calculated," he said. "I just wanted to start a band with my friends and be different. I wanted to play the music in my heart."
Started as a trio
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy started out as a trio with Morris, drummer Kurt Sodergren and string bassist Dirk Shumaker. A few years later, saxophonist Andy Rowley, trumpeter Glen "The Kid" Marhevka, saxophonist and clarinetist Karl Hunter and pianist Josh Levy joined the band.
The group's permanent name was coined in 1992 at a blues concert by Albert Collins. After the concert, Morris asked Collins for an autograph, and Collins signed Morris' concert ticket: "To the big bad voodoo daddy."
Morris thought that was the coolest name ever, and it became his band's official name, as well as the title of their self-produced first album.
Since then, the band has released several CDs, including a Christmas version. A new CD is due to be released April 4, 2009, Morris said.
"It's a tribute to Cab Calloway," he said. "I think it's the most incredible thing we've ever done in the studio."
Live performances matter
For nearly 20 years, the band has played music festivals, county fairs, nightclubs and symphony events throughout the world, along with a few unique events like the Grammy Awards, the 100th episode party for the television series "The West Wing," the halftime show at the 1999 Super Bowl and Orange Bowl, and private events for President Bill Clinton and both Bush presidents.
It's the live performances that really capture the essence of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Morris said. He called the band's live shows high-energy affairs that are "all about pleasing the audience."
"We play five songs for them for every one that's just for us," he said. "We want the audience to enjoy themselves and have fun."
nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.
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