Local band The Mighty Wallops are bringing the sound of New Orleans to Northern California

The season of Carnival is upon us and there’s no better way to get into the Mardi Gras spirit than music! 

The Mighty Wallops play the prohibition-era songs of Cab Calloway and Fats Waller with a modern flair. And performing contemporary covers from the likes of Lady Gaga and Radiohead in the style of yesteryear. Throw in a host of quirky originals and you’ve got The Mighty Wallops. 

They joined us at the station earlier this month to record some of their music in-studio and you can check out the tunes below. Including a special fourth bonus song we didn’t play on air!

Their annual Mardi Gras extravaganza “Party Gras” is Friday the 13th at Father Paddy's Public House in Woodland. 

Lead singer and guitarist Bobby Waller and drummer/washboard player Peter Halldorf joined Insight with Vicki Gonzalez, to talk about their signature sound and Friday’s performance.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

Okay, so this band started in 2024, but the four of you in this band are all very accomplished musicians. How did The Mighty Wallops come about? 

Waller: Well, I'd been doing Irish music oddly, another holiday band for so long and we needed a bass player one time and we got a tuba player named Portia Njoku to stand in for us. So she played Irish tuba and I'm like this is fun, let's do something where tuba kind of maybe feels more at home and that was the birth of The Mighty Wallops.

How do you define the sound of New Orleans style jazz that you all play?

Halldorf: It's a combination of a lot of things. I think it's definitely a little more what I would call ricky tiki than what a lot of people think of as jazz. Especially bringing in the washboard for some of the smaller gigs and things we do.

Normally I play a full kit but the washboard definitely brings some of that almost zydeco sound too. Plus we have a trombone player, Matt [Albright] who's just phenomenal. Adds that real kind of wah-wah stuff that I think really fits.

The Mighty Wallops recording tracks in CapRadio's community room. Left to right, Bobby Waller, Matt Albright and Portia Njoku.Photo by Andrew Garcia

Was it just a natural progression to play covers like Lady Gaga and Radiohead?

Waller: Peter and I especially have always done a lot of covers. Peter's in another band, how would you describe it?

Halldorf: Yeah we do a lot of modern covers in Bluegrass style. So I was already familiar with taking a modern song and seeing like, ‘okay how can we kind of wrap this around a different genre.’ But then Bobby and I also for a little while at least, were in like an acoustic 80s cover band. So we had also already had some experience together. 

Quite the range! Well, we were so lucky that the entire band came to CapRadio and performed some music. Let’s take a listen to your rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.

Peter, of course, you're a skilled percussionist. Bobby says you’re also a comedic drummer?

Peter Halldorf playing his intricate washboard setup during The Mighty Wallops recording session at CapRadio.Photo by Andrew Garcia

Waller: That's the thing I say all the time because you know jazz drumming is its own thing and then to do it with a comic flair is a totally different thing. Peter has this goal for every practice and every show.

Halldorf: The point for me is always [to see] if I can get Bobby to lose his place in a song cuz he's laughing. That's a win. I picked up drumming later in my musical history. Most of the drumming that I did for a long time was with a theater company. And so I learned drumming around theater and story.

And so it's always been something that I've strived [for], to bring a little more than just keeping the rhythm, more than just trying to show off, which I also do too much. But I try to also just kind of add to whatever the actual story of the song is. 

Let’s listen to the next song, which is an original called, “The Devil Made Me Do It.”

All right, Bobby. What was the inspiration behind this piece?

Waller: [laughs] It's actually based on a true story. I was raised in a very conservative Quaker tradition. And there was only one book we were allowed to read and it wasn't comic books. But I found a comic book one day and it was like my window into the wider world and I'm like, ‘whoa that's what goes on, this is great.’

We do have one more song that we're going to listen to and this one I think listeners might be familiar with Iko Iko. It's a mainstay of the genre so let's take a listen. 

So if people want to check you out, they can this Friday, the 13th in Woodland? What time is it happening?

Halldorf: 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. is when we'll be playing and you know, talk about engaging with the crowd, Bob, you'll have some interactive stuff during our breaks as well, some trivia, some competitions.You can come win some fabulous prizes. 

Waller: Fabulous prizes are like boxes of Zatarans and hot sauce [laughs].

Hey, I like that. That would be a win for me! 

Listen to the special bonus song The Mighty Wallops performed at the CapRadio studios, a tongue-in-cheek original called “Your Cat Will Eat Your Body When You Die.”