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Scotty Morris [Band Leader,
Singer, & Guitar] |
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My two cents :-) - personaly I think that Scotty
Morris is the coolest muscian around. He shows unlimited class
and style. Great vocalist and knows his way around a guitar.
If you ever meet him at a concert or something you'll know what
i'm talkin' about, the guy is classy and cool, he is a Big Time
Operator. |
Somewhat of a bio of the coool Scotty
Morris
"I've never thought of
our music as retro," says singer-songwriter-guitarist Scotty
Morris, leader of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the neo-swing little
Big Band that helped define the lounge scene when it was featured
in the hit film Swingers. "We're an alternative to retro.
We're high-octane nitro jive‹loud, wild, total edge. Back
in the forties, swing was punk rock, the black juke joint music
white guys heard and said, 'This is swingin'.' What we do is
wild and swingin', Forties music with a Nineties twist. We're
as influenced by Black Flag as Count Basie."
In 1995, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy,
decked out in pinstriped suits, fedora hats and spectator shoes,
was already a staple on the underground Hollywood club scene
when actor friend Jon Favreau, who hung out at the band's Wednesday
night appearances at the Derby, told Morris, "I wrote a
movie. Are you interested in being in it?" Morris read the
script which, as he puts it, "was very much the sort of
life we were all living. So we figured let's just do this cool
movie with our friends. We had no idea it would do what it did."
A year later, after the band
had also appeared on the Fox television series Party Of Five
(and its Music From Party Of Five soundtrack album), Swingers
was released. Thanks to its scene-stealing performance and the
showcasing of three songs on the soundtrack album, Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy was tagged as one of the hottest, hippest, coolest bands
around. Says Morris: "Good music is not a novelty. Yes,
the swing scene is a scene, but great bands can emerge from scenes.
This scene may come and go but this band has come to stay."
Morris couldn't have imagined
such widespread acceptance when, dissatisfied and jaded by life
as a young Los Angeles studio guitarist, he decided to launch
a
three-piece swing combo in 1989. "I was a hired gun playing
anything and everything, from punk to country. I was disenchanted
and wanted to do what I felt in my soul. I had started out playing
trumpet and loved Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, the wild guys,
the early primitive stuff, that Big Band mambo I heard while
growing up, when people first started dancing in the aisles,
before Big Band became so polished and clean and tame. I just
wanted to play and have fun and bring something different."-
Big Bad News |
Now here is what others think of the
leader of the Big Bad Voodoo Band-
Morris displays a reverence for those musicians who
came before, including Gerry Mulligan, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey
and Count Basie.
He's got a genuine love for this music, and isn't just jumping
on the latest fad. At the very least, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and
others in this
burgeoning genre, deserve credit for sending another generation
back in search of the classics. -Bangor
Daily News Bangor, ME Copyright 1999 Thursday, November 4, 1999
More to come :-) |
Interviews with
the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy himself-
 "For
me, music is music," says Morris. "I just happen to
be writing in the style of Forties swing. There aren't any rules
and I never questioned what my instincts told me. We just went
for it, and it's felt right from Day One. Everyone digs this
music. This music is timeless."
Explain the Swing movument.
Why has it become so popular?
It is totally Americana. It
is people standing up for American culture. Style and class
are coming back. A guy can't go wrong by putting on a beautiful
suit, a beautiful tie,
going out with his woman, and dancing one on one. No one is going
to look back at
this scene and go, "Well, gosh, I feel like a fool for wearing
a real great suit and having
a stylish tie." Nirvana was a great band; it is not their
fault they wore Pendletons and
jeans.
What did you do before this?
I owned and operated a surf
shop with my brother. I started Big Bad Voodoo Daddy with my
surf buddies. This band is a labor of love.
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Want more? Here
ya go!
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy by Seven McDonald - Photograph
by William Mackenzie-Smith
Swing's Shift -By Michele Hatty - Special
to washingtonpost.com - Monday, March 23, 1998 |
See what the
ol' bbvd website has on Scotty
Favorite Artist:Anything and everything by Henry Rollins and
Tom Waits
Favorite Sound: Syndney's voice
Favorite US City: Vegas, Baby!
Favorite Color: Blue
Biggest Musical Influence: Early New Orleans jazz
All -Time Favorite Cartoon Character: Koco the Clown
Favorite Mixed Drink : Gin and Tonic (what'd you think)
Favorite Car: '74 AMC Pacer (station wagon, lime green )
Favorite Junk Food: chips and salsa
Coolest Vinyl Album You Own: X "Under the Big Black Sun"
Favorite Flick: When We Were Kings (ali boom biyay)
Favorite Hobby: Golf, Magic and Sleep.
Favorite Actor: Sean Penn and Samuel Jackson
Favorite Actress: Patrick Swayze
Favorite Smell: good strong coffee in the morning
Favorite Ethnic Music: 40s and 50's big band mambo
Favorite Guitarist: SRV, Brian Setzer and Dave Gonzales (The Paladins)
Three Biggest Influences: Muhammad Ali, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles and
The Fonz
Favorite Underground Band: Cocktails with Joey Altruva featuring Red Young
Favorite Music: New Orleans Jazz
Most Commonly Asked Question: Hey Scotty, what's it gonna be? |
Some awsome pics
from da' fans-
# these pics are the incredible work of the BBVD nut
Lesley! :-) |
