The Mighty Wallops
MADCAP jazz & vaudeville Blues
The Mighty Wallops consist of Bobby Waller on guitar, harmonica, and lead vocals; Peter Halldorf of Burning Daylight People on drums; Matt Albright of The Blowbacks on trombone, and Portia Njoku on tuba. They specialize in quirky, humorous, upbeat originals and cover songs made popular by Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, and more.
Show me the way to go home / HOW DRY I AM
"Show Me the Way to Go Home" was written in 1925 by English songwriters, Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly, but when The Mighty Wallops crank it up to hot jazz speed, you'd swear it was born on the bayou.
THe Devil made me do it
Like most of the band's originals, "The Devil Made Me Do It" is a humorous story song, inspired by the music of the swing revival. It's a cautionary tale about comic books as a gateway to sin--inspired by "Hell" by Squirrel Nut Zippers.
PREVIEW: Minnie The Moocher
The Mighty Wallops are headed into the studio soon, but, in the meantime, here's an extremely rough one-mic, one-take practice recording. "Minnie the Moocher" has been one of the world's most beloved call-and-response songs since Cab Calloway rolled it out in 1930, and it's still get audiences to call back, "Hi De Hi De Hi De Hi," today.
PREVIEW: Still in the Game
Lead singer Bobby Waller wrote this one for his Irish band (Stout Rebellion) when a brush with illness nearly killed him. He never imagined it would translate to a Prohibition-style jazz band like the Mighty Wallops, but trombonist Matt Albright's slow, sloshy slides give "Still in the Game" the distinct feel of a New Orleans funeral march.
PREVIEW: look what they've done to my song ma
Because the 1960s are so closely associated with psychadelia, it's easy to forget that many hippies--not unlike The Mighty Wallops--were fascinated by the songs and sounds of the 1920s. There was "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by Mama Cass, "When I'm 64" by the Beatles, and this little classic by Melanie.
PREVIEW: Worried Man Blues
Nobody knows how old "Worried Man Blues" is, but it was collected by A.P. Carter of the original Carter Family, who recorded it in 1930. With Matt Albright on trombone and Portia Njoku on tuba, The Mighty Wallops put a distinctly jazzy spin on this timeless classic.
PREVIEW: AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS
Another one-mic, one-take practice recording, "Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own" is a revved-up retooling of a jazz/blues standard made famous by "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith, and later reimagined by Taj Mahal.
PREVIEW: Bad Romance
While The Mighty Wallops' repertoire consists mainly of first-generation jazz and blues standards as well as humorous originals written in hot jazz style, the band also loves to put a retro spin on more contemporary songs. This is their take on Lady Gag's "Bad Romance."
PREVIEW: St. JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES
Another crude, one-mic, one-take practice recording, this is the band's spin on the jazz standard, "St. James Infirmary Blues"--made famous by Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and many others. If you've never heard the chorus before, that's because the band invented it. Nothing like a solid hook to draw crowds in, eh?
Mighty wallops vids are on their way, But in the meantime...
The Mighty Wallops are really new and will have fancy, professional videos to share in the very near future. But, in the meantime, here's lead singer, Bobby, performing a solo version of a song that's in the band's repertoire. Apparently, he thinks his dad is a bigfoot.
The band that gave birth to the mighty wallops
Oddly, The Mighty Wallops evolved partially from a classic country band called Trouble Creek. Here's that band's version of a song that the Mighty Wallops have recently converted to a jazzier style. Be careful, though. It's not for the feint of heart.