BEST BET: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

By Diana Nollen

Trends come and go, but the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies plan to keep doing that voodoo that they do so well, regardless of society's musical mood swings.

The band helped blaze the trail for the swing music revival in the '90s, but trumpet player Glen Marhevka, 38, says the band wasn't fazed by that passing craze.

“I don't think there's much of a trend of (swing music),” he says by phone from his home in Los Angeles. “We were playing it and there was no trend for quite a few years. Then it became popular and all these bands popped up and kind of went away. We've just been doing our original swing music since the early '90s and kept doing our thing.

“For us, it's a matter of doing something we've always been doing. Trends come and go. ... We're on the road nonstop. We've built up a really great fan base from playing on the road for so many years.”

That road will lead them to the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City today, Dec. 10, for a holiday concert at 8 p.m. Reserved seat tickets are $34 and $41, through the Englert Box Office, (319) 688-2653, or www.iowatix.com

Marhevka has fond memories of playing the Englert in years past and is looking forward to the return trip.

“I remember there being a lot of people really into swing music there - it should be a lot of fun.”

The concert will be a mix of music from the 2004 “Everything You Want For Christmas” CD, as well the band's other albums. While Big Bad Voodoo Daddy generally plays original music, Marhevka is especially fond of the band's cover of the R&B “Merry Christmas Baby,” recorded by Bruce Springsteen, Otis Redding, B.B. King and Chuck Berry, among others.

The band also breaks out of its original-song mode with its latest album, “How Big Can You Get: The Music of Cab Calloway.”

Next up, their music will be featured Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. on the Disney channel's “ Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation.”

“My little kids love that show,” says Marhevka, who has a son, 2, and a daughter, 5. They don't follow their Voodoo Daddy on the road, but they did get to hang out with him at Walt Disney World this fall. No doubt that made him one cool cat in their eyes.

FAST TAKEInformation: www.englert.org

What: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10

Where: Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City 

Tickets: Reserved seats: $34 and $41, through the Englert Box Office, (319) 688-2653, or www.iowatix.com