By Molly Harper
The Paducah Sun
mharper@paducahsun.com
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy trumpet player Glen “The Kid” Marhevka likes being in a band that brings families together.
“We’re one of the few bands that can get grandparents, their kids and grandkids all into the same show,” Marhevka said by phone from Los Angeles, where he was preparing for the band’s 21-day tour. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party” is set for 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center.
“We play the kind of music that older people can say, ‘Well, that’s what I listened to when I was young,’ and younger people can say, ‘Hey, that’s my music.’ When people tell me, ‘My whole family came to the show and we all had a great time,’ I really dig that.”
Marhevka and his bandmates will serve their own brand of retro-swing, hep-cat holiday music with songs from their “Everything You Want For Christmas” album, including “Rockabilly Christmas” and “Is Zat You Santa Claus?” and “Jingle Bells (Cha-Cha).” Other songs are from the band’s other albums, including the newly released “Save My Soul.”
“We always enjoy really cool Christmas albums, like James Brown and Lou Rawls,” Marhevka said. “We collect them. We always thought it would be cool to do one of our own.” While Big Bad Voodoo Daddy gained mainstream notice with a performance in the 1996 film “Swingers” and helped launch a swing music movement, the band now focuses on touring nonstop, performing at least 100 concerts each year around the world.
The band was started in 1989 when Scott Morris gave up life as a studio guitarist in favor of leading a three-piece jazz, blues and swing combo including drummer Kurt Sodergren. The band was named during a post-show encounter with blues guitar player Albert Collins, who signed Morris’ poster “To Scott, the big bad voodoo daddy.” Marhevka, bassist Dirk Shumaker, saxophone player Andy Rowley, pianist Joshua Levy and saxophone/clarinet player Karl Hunter eventually joined the band.
Marhevka described the high-energy show as throwing the best party possible.
“We want to make sure everybody walks out with a smile on their face,” he said. “The cool thing is it gives us the chance to feature the whole band. Everybody has their time to come out and shine.”
The band started the Christmas tour Nov. 23 in San Diego and will travel through New Year’s.
“It’s more fun to tour at this time of year,” he said. “It’s festive. The cities are all decorated. People are out doing their shopping. It’s just a different energy than playing a music festival in the summer. It’s a good time.”
For ticket information, call 450-4444.
