Ballyhoo!

Ballyhoo! is an American reggae rock band from Aberdeen, Maryland. The group has sold over 30,000 copies of its five albums and more than 200,000 digital tracks.[2]

For other uses, see Ballyhoo (disambiguation).
Ballyhoo!
Ballyhoo! in concert
Background information
OriginAberdeen, Maryland, U.S.
GenresAlternative rock, reggae rock,[1] pop rock, punk rock
Years active1995–present
LabelsLAW Records, Surfdog, Right Coast Records
Associated acts311
Bumpin Uglies
Dirty Heads
Reel Big Fish
Slightly Stoopid
Tribal Seeds
Tropidelic
Websitewww.ballyhoorocks.com
MembersHowi Spangler
Donald Spangler
Scott Vandrey
Nick Lucera
Past membersJ.R. Gregory
Cassius King
Josh Farley

Ballyhoo! played the House of Marley Stage on the Warped Tour of 2012. The band has opened up for bands 311, Dirty Heads, Tribal Seeds, and Slightly Stoopid on previous tours. The group played over 166 shows in 2012.

History

Ballyhoo! was formed in July 1995 by brothers Howi Spangler (vocals and guitar) and Donald Spangler (drums) with their friend Josh Farley on bass.[3] In 1997, Farley left the band and Cassius King took over on bass.

In 2000, Ballyhoo! released their debut album, 365-Day Weekend around the same time they became a quartet with the addition of Scott Vandrey on keyboard. Next, they released their first EP titled The Green in 2004. Both were released on Hooligan Records.

The band's self-released second album Do It For The Money! in 2006 (produced by Jerome Maffeo) featured their first singles, "Cali Girl" and "Cerveza". After this release, the band switched bassists again; from Cassius King to J.R. Gregory.

The follow-up third album, Cheers!, released in 2009 on Surfdog Records, was produced by Scotch Ralston (311 collaborator). The album also features mix work by 311 drummer, Chad Sexton.[4]

Ballyhoo! released a single, "Front Porch", in October 2010 (produced by Jerome Maffeo).[5]

The band's fourth album Daydreams was the group's first release under Pepper's LAW Records. The 12-track album was recorded and produced at Sound Lounge studios in Orlando, Florida by Greg Shields and Mike Stebe and released in September 2011.[6] The album debuted at #1 on the iTunes Reggae Charts, as well as #4 on Amazon. Their single "Last Night" saw rotation at various alternative radio stations including WHFS Baltimore, WRFF Philadelphia, KUKQ Phoenix, Star 101.9 Honolulu, and SiriusXM's Faction, as well as, various specialty shows around the country. The band's second single "Walk Away" opened even more doors at radio stations with its melodic chorus and sing along vibe. Pepper's drummer Yesod Williams and owner of his band's label LAW Records says of his newest addition, "Having Ballyhoo! join the LAW family is a perfect fit. They are an incredibly talented band with a really catchy style".

By this time, Ballyhoo! was listed on MTV's "Top 100 Bands to Watch" by the Artist on the Verge Project.[7] And even featured two downloadable songs on the popular video game Rock Band.

After heavily touring across the country, Ballyhoo! released a compilation album titled, Medium Rare: A collection of tasty cuts on December 22, 2012. This was a collection of live tracks, unreleased songs and early versions of their favorite songs.

Pineapple Grenade!!, Ballyhoo!'s fifth album was recorded in three weeks in January 2013 and was released on June 25, 2013. This is the first album produced under Right Coast Records, Ballyhoo!'s record label. All songs were produced by Paul Leary (Sublime) and Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More). Their first single, "Run" saw much radio play. While their second single "No Good" was produced by Rome Ramirez from Sublime with Rome.[8] The album climbed the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #189,[9] as well as reaching #4 Billboard Heatseekers and #5 at iTunes Alternative charts.[10][11]

On February 26, 2013, Ballyhoo! released a single, "Marijuana Laws". After both releases, Nick Lucera took over as the band's bassist after J.R. Gregory's departure in 2014.

The same year, the band released The Cool Down, Vol. 1 EP, along with their single "Mixtape", which was later featured on their sixth LP album, Girls. which was released on March 17, 2017 on their label Right Coast Records.

The band's seventh album, Detonate was released on September 28, 2018; again on their own label. Howi Spangler described this album as "the closest I've come to a dairy. These songs are me dealing with the passing of my Dad in 2016 and my Mom in 1996 as a kid, nearly wanting to quit music, the struggle of having a family and being away all the time..."

The band released a two-song singles sample called Sounds of Summer '19 on August 23, 2019, which featured "California King" and "Dark Sunglasses". These two tracks are also on the 4-song EP, Fighter that was released on Valentine's Day. The EP also included the single "Renegade" featuring Red Bowne of Passafire.[12]

The band's latest album, Message to the World was released on June 5, 2020. Top tracks are, "Social Drinker" and "Renegade" featuring Ted Bowne from Passafire, as well as the self-titled single.

On August 21, 2020, the single "I'll Be Ok" was released with Howi Spangler on acoustic guitar. Wanting to "shed light on depression and help people find the resources they need to cope", he explained, "I wrote this song when I was feeling really down one night...Nothing felt right. It was hard to be happy in that moment. So I wrote about it."[13]

Tours and Other Works

Tour highlights include: 311 Pow Wow Festival in 2011, the 311 Caribbean Cruise in 2012 & 2013, The Bamboozle Festival in 2012, the entire Vans Warped Tour in 2012, and the California Roots Festival in 2013.

After releasing Pineapple Grenade, Ballyhoo! co-headlined the Summer Sickness tour in 2013 alongside Authority Zero and special guests Versus the World.

In 2015, Ballyhoo! joined a tour with Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake.

Ballyhoo! performed the entire Vans Warped Tour in 2016.

In 2018, Ballyhoo! joined a tour with Reel Big Fish once again, this time to promote their new album Detonate.

In 2019, Ballyhoo! joined Rebelution and Collie Buddz on the Good Vibes summer tour.

Ballyhoo!'s music has appeared in numerous surf/skate videos and compilation albums including "Forever Free: A Tribute to Sublime", which featured a cover of "40 Oz. to Freedom". Ballyhoo! songs also appear in the feature films, "Beach Kings" and "Road Trip: Beer Pong".

Discography

Studio albums
Ballyhoo! Chart History[14]
YearAlbumLabelBillboard peak
2000365-Day WeekendHooligan Records—
2006Do It For The Money!Hooligan Records—
2009Cheers!Surfdog Records—
2011DaydreamsLAW Records—
2013Pineapple GrenadeRight Coast Records#189
2017Girls.Right Coast Records—
2018DetonateRight Coast Records—
2020Message to the WorldRight Coast Records—

Extended play (EPs)/Live Albums
Ballyhoo! Chart History
YearAlbumLabelBillboard peak
2004The Green (EP)Hooligan Records—
2012Medium Rare: A Collection of Tasty CutsN/A—
2014The Cool Down, Vol.1 (EP)Right Coast Records—
2020Fighter (EP)Right Coast Records—

Singles
  • "The Front Porch" (2010)
  • "Marijuana Laws" (2013) Right Coast Records
  • "Beautiful Day (Halo)" (2014) Right Coast Records
  • "Mixtape" (2015) Right Coast Records
  • "This Chick is Wack" (feat. Eric Rachmany of Rebelution & Reel Big Fish) (2018) Right Coast Records
  • "California King" (2019) Right Coast Records
  • "Dark Sunglasses" (2019) Right Coast Records
  • "Renegade" (feat. Ted Bowne of Passafire) (2020) Right Coast Records
  • "I'll Be OK" (2020) Right Coast Records

Band members

Current members
  • Howi Spangler – Lead Vocals/Guitar (1995–present)
  • Donald Spangler – Drums (1995–present)
  • Scott Vandrey – Keyboards/Programming/Vocal Harmonies (2000–present)
  • Nick Lucera – Bass (2014–present)

Former members
  • J.R. Gregory – Bass (2004–2014)
  • Cassius King (UNKSTA) – Bass (1997–2003)
  • Josh Farley – Bass (1995–1997)

Timeline

References
  1. Gomez, Adrian (31 August 2012). "Life on road rarely will pull over for break". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  2. "Ballyhoo!". Archived from the original on 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  3. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ballyhoo%21-mn0002091945/biography
  4. "Rock/reggae band Ballyhoo! to play On The Rise series". Archived from the original on 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  5. "Maryland punk rockers Ballyhoo! return to Knoxville". Archived from the original on 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
  6. "Review: Ballyhoo! – Daydreams".
  7. "AOV Top 100 Chart". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
  8. http://www.stanhopenj.com/2019/10/05/ballyhoo-oct-17/
  9. https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2013-07-12
  10. https://californiarootsfestival.com/ballyhoo-artist-of-the-week
  11. https://www.whatsupmag.com/culture/howi-spangler-talks-dreams-music-fame/
  12. https://www.thetartan.org/2020/2/24/pillbox/ballyhoo
  13. https://www.bandcamp.com/track/ill-be-ok
  14. https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2013-07-12
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