OC Sunfest: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to perform Sept. 21

You can't talk modern swing music without mentioning Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The group comes to Ocean City for Sunfest on Thursday, Sept. 21, to perform. 

Kurt Sodergren, drummer and founding member talks about the group's impact and staying power with Delmarvanow.com and The Daily Times.

For the people who are not in the know, what’s the best way to describe the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert experience?

The Big Bad Voodoo Daddy show is a powerful and exciting experience. With our little big band we play swing music and traditional New Orleans jazz paying homage to our historical influences and, hopefully, adding to the great American songbook.

Big Bad Voodo Daddy helped lead the swing music revival in the 1990s. What is it about your music and swing in general that continues to stay relevant for people decades later?

I think the music we play resonates with all ages. Swing music just feels good.  Real music played by real instruments is always exciting to see and we do our best to bring a great, high energy concert experience to every show.  

The group has played some big venues over the years, such as the Super Bowl, but you’re not above performing at smaller events like Ocean City’s Sunfest. Do you all favor bigger shows, or do you enjoy the more personal performances?

One of the great things about being on the road is playing a variety of shows from large venues to intimate dinner theater. They both are fun and I feel fortunate to have a band that successfully navigates all these venues, it really keeps things fresh.  

One of your key songs, "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)," made random appearance on the Simpsons last year. Had you heard about that before the episode came out? What’d you think about it?

Actually, I'm not always privy to the licensing of our music and I actually found out about this on an Instagram post and missed the original airing. Likewise our mention in the movie "Never Been Kissed."

We were watching the movie on a flight and when they mentioned I used to date Drew Barrymore's character, Josie, the band all turned to look at me because they know I have a thing for her. Love it.