Baltimore blast

Ballyhoo! brings rock-reggae to ‘MMR Spring Break ‘06

 

By Michael Lello

Philly EDGE Correspondent

 

 When a band that has shared stages with the Beastie Boys and Hoobastank and performed several times at Washington D.C.'s HFStival calls out an upcoming show as a career milestone, you take notice.

 "That'll be our biggest show we ever played," Ballyhoo! frontman Howi said in a recent phone interview to advance the Baltimore/Washington-area group's appearance at WMMR Spring Break ’06. The Friday event at Temple University's Liacouras Center will feature headliners Switchfoot and Soul Asylum.

 The show will be the latest in a string of area shows for the Sublime-inspired reggae rockers who have found a home away from home in Philly area clubs and on local radio airwaves, namely WMMR.

The Ballyhoo! track "Last Breath" was released on ’MMR's Local Shots Vol. 1 last December, and Howi said the song will be put into rotation on ’MMR. Ballyhoo! also got props from Philly’s Y100 (before it became an online-only entity) when it nominated the band for Best Unsigned Band in a 2004 poll of its listeners’.

Conceding that Baltimore/D.C.-area fans might not be thrilled to hear him say it, Howi noted the extra juice a Philly crowd brings to a Ballyhoo! show.

"There's a different vibe than there is in Baltimore," he said. "I don't know what it is, but I feel Philly has a little more appreciation for live music."

Ballyhoo! — which includes current Philly resident Blaze on turntables, Howi on guitar and vocals, Dino on drums and bassist Mista J — has been together for 11 years and released two full-length albums and an EP. The most recent album, Do It For The Money!, was released in January. Upcoming dates include a quick return to Philly on May 4 at the Pontiac Grille.

With accolades like the inclusion of its version of "40 Oz. To Freedom" on a Sublime tribute album released this year (which also featured Ozomatli and Voodoo Glow Skulls interpretations), at least one frontier remains relatively unconquered for the Ballyhoo! boys: Japan. The band is not a totally unknown quantity there, however; 15 to 20 Ballyhoo! CDs have been sold in Japan, including seven copies sold to one fan, Howi said.

 "I always wanted to say I'm big in Japan," he said, laughing.

 

What: WMMR/Bud Light Spring Break ‘06

Who: Soul Asylum, Switchfoot and Ballyhoo!

When: Fri., Apr. 14, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Liacouras Center, 1776 North Broad St., Philadelphia