In the
grand scheme of things, reggae-rock is still relatively young. Since the heyday
of Sublime, the genre has enjoyed a major growth spurt, and on the plus side, popularity
and visibility are on the upswing. But as new bands continue to pop up left and
right, it’s also becoming increasingly difficult for groups to stand out and get
noticed. Yet Ballyhoo!, a quartet from the unlikely reggae-rock town of Aberdeen,
MD, has managed to do just that.
With high-energy
guitar jams and fast-paced beats, Ballyhoo!’s sound is distinct and immediately
recognizable. Yet the band also maintains a feel-good groove that roots them
deeply in the genre. Since they first stepped on the scene in 1995, they’ve released
three albums and focused heavily on touring, building up a devoted underground
following wherever they go. Now, Ballyhoo! is embarking on an East Coast tour
and working on a big new album. Before they hit the road again, EasternSurf.com caught up with lead
singer and guitarist Howi Spangler to discuss energy, inspiration, and Ballyhoo!’s
hard-earned success.
ESM: So what have you guys been up to
lately?
Howi Spangler: Well, we’re heading down
to Florida starting on February 15th, and we have a new single out called “The
Front Porch.” But we’re definitely itching to get the next record out. We just
signed a deal with LAW Records, which is owned by the band Pepper, and we’re
really excited about that. We’re going to be in the studio this spring recording
for an album released in the summer.
ESM: I bet your fans will be thrilled
to hear that. How hard has it been to find your own sound?
HS: There are a lot of bands doing a
lot of good stuff, but you don’t want to just try to sound like Sublime or
Slightly Stoopid. You have to really try to find your own sound, and I think
that’s what we’ve been doing. We do wear our influences on our sleeve for sure,
but I think we’ve kind of developed into something that people recognize when
they hear it.
ESM: What exactly makes Ballyhoo!
stand out from other bands in the genre?
HS: I think we may be the least
reggae of them all. We don’t like to force it. Whatever sounds good we put
together, but if it doesn’t go together, we just think of something else. And
there are a lot of bands out there that talk about smoking weed all the time,
and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I try to go a little deeper. Our
lyrics come from life situations. We’ve got songs that deal with the loss of a
loved one or a friendship, and songs about being bored and wishing you had more
money. Just things like that.
ESM: What first inspired you guys to
play this particular brand of music?
HS: I guess it was the feel-good
nature of the songs and the way the melodies of the guitar and the vocals make
me feel. The grooviness of a reggae beat or riff gets into me, and mixing it
together with rock and punk keeps us on our toes and excited. We can play
different types of songs for different crowds and just make it more of a roller
coaster ride.
ESM: Speaking of playing for a crowd,
Ballyhoo! is known to give one hell of a live performance. How do you prepare
to release so much energy while onstage?
HS: We usually have a beer or two
and a couple shots just to get loose. And, literally, we’ll be backstage
stretching, warming up our voices, warming up our fingers, and just getting
pumped for the show. When we go out there we just want it to be explosive. We
try to make it an all-around great experience and lots of fun for the crowd so
that they can just have a blast.
ESM: How’s life on the road been treating
you after all these years?
HS: We love it. It’s definitely
exhausting, but we do it because we love it. In the beginning, it was tough learning
how to deal with each other on a daily basis and being stuck in a tube on
wheels for months at a time. But we’ve grown up in the last few years, and
we’ve been doing it so much that now we know how to handle everything.
ESM: What do you guys do to relieve stress?
HS: Well, some of the band likes to
go Frisbee golfing. Whenever we have a day off or some down time, we find a
Frisbee golf course somewhere and go kill a couple hours that way. And everybody
is insane about Angry Birds and Call Of Duty: Black Ops. There are plenty of guilty pleasures
on the road like that [laughs].
ESM: At the end of the day, what makes
it all worthwhile for you guys?
HS: Getting out there and hearing
the crowd get super excited is the biggest thing for me. I like to get out in
the crowd’s face and get people excited, trying to get them to sing along. It’s
really cool to see them singing our lyrics. That’s my favorite part of it,
getting paid to go perform songs that we wrote for people who want to hear it.
Upcoming
Ballyhoo tour dates:
2/11 The
Norva………………………………. Norfolk, VA
2/12 Cat's
Cradle……………………………. Carrboro, NC
2/13 The
Masquerade……………………… Atlanta, GA
2/15 Culture
Room…………………………. Fort Lauderdale, FL
2/16 Freebird
Live………………………….. Jacksonville, FL
2/17 Levelz…………………………………..
Melbourne, FL
2/18 Jannus
Landing……………….……… St Petersburg, FL
2/19 Club
Firestone………………………… Orlando, FL
2/20 Guanabana’s………………………….
Jupiter, FL
2/22 The
Pourhouse………………………. Charleston, SC
2/23 The
House……………………………. Columbia, SC
2/24 Boone
Saloon………………………… Boone, NC
2/25 Martin's
Downtown…………………… Roanoke, VA
2/26 The
Soapbox……………………….. Wilmington, NC
3/05 Magerk's……………………………..
Bel Air, MD
4/07 Hard
Rock Café…………………….. Pittsburgh, PA
4/08 Blockley
Pourhouse..……………… Philadelphia, PA
4/26 Pitt
County Fairgrounds…………… Greenville, NC
