Have you ever "done the fusion"? Perhaps you have tapped your foot to "Mormon Rap." Many Utahns, as well as others throughout the world, did so in 1989. And they did it courtesy of Salt Lake songwriter Walt Gregory and his Walter & Hays Band.
Recently, Walter & Hays won over more fans in Tampa, Fla., which could ultimately bring $50 million into Salt Lake City's economy, predicts Richard Gilliland, vice president of sales and marketing for the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau commissioned the band to be an integral part of recruiting the 4,000 voting delegates of the Women's International Bowling Congress for 1994, says the marketing director."Walter & Hays is one of the best bands in the Intermountain area," praises Gilliland. "It plays to the audience, its costumes are clever and original, and the appeal is versatile."
By a 4-1 margin, the bowling congress voted to hold its 1994 convention in Salt Lake City, rather than in Indianapolis, Ind. The voting delegates were most impressed "by our hospitality, the quality of our theme nights (Beach Party, OctoberFest and Fabulous Fifties) and our friendliness," says a proud Gilliland. "They also have a desire to come to Utah."
The marketing executive notes that the music of Walter & Hays "was one of the key ingredients" to the recruiting effort. "The band was able to gain and hold the crowd's enthusiasm and match the music to the theme night."
Gilliland also notes that the band "pulled out all the stops in its tap dancing routine and costume changes. We will use Walter & Hays again." Not bad for the first time the visitors bureau ever used a band to help recruit a convention.
Walter & Hays specializes in a type of music unique to Utah. "Mormon Rap," a take-off on the Mormon subculture, has sold almost 80,000 cassettes worldwide. "Do the Fusion" is a satirical tune taking shots at cold-fusion skeptics, while Walt Gregory's latest recording features the BYU-University of Utah rivalry: "BYU of U."
Gregory comes from a musical family. His father, Herold, was the executive director of the Utah Symphony for 30 years, while his mother, Mary Ethel, an actress, has appeared in "Footloose" and "The Executioner's Song."
"I grew up loving music," says Gregory, "and I loved the classics."
Other band members include singer/keyboardist/trumpeter Tony Hays, bassist/vocalist Cory Brown and drummer/vocalist Dan Stephensen. Gregory sings, plays keyboard, trumpet and guitar.
Until "Mormon Rap" took off last year, Walter & Hays never had any success to speak of. Gregory had spent 15 years writing, arranging, performing, producing and selling radio and television jingles, besides arranging and producing other people's albums and songs. He performed in bands six nights a week and released 12 singles "that flopped and, until recently, all the radio stations treated me like I was a pest," says Gregory.
Not any more. In fact, Walter & Hays has already booked 43 contracts for 1990 alone and is on track to its best year in its six-year history. "We're trying to record, but we're so busy with (local, national and international) contracts," explains the songwriter.
"We don't have any promotion to speak of, but it's amazing what a hit song like `Mormon Rap' will do." And he's loving it. After 15 years of relative obscurity, finally, "I can make a living at what I do."
"The best thing in life is to have confidence, which breeds success, which breeds confidence," Gregory says, quoting former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. On the way to success, the songwriter was able to find unusual ways to sell his music. " `Mormon Rap' is a good example," he says. "It just made sense. We're who we are and we're not trying to be anybody else. There is a difference."
"Who" Walter & Hays is apparently is a dark mystery to some people. Different reactions of laughter, bewilderment and embarrassment are likely at every show the group does. Consider band members' attire for the "Liberace Brothers" act: floor-length fur capes, with skin-tight tiger jumpsuits underneath. The suits feature sequinned cummerbunds; also included in this farce are six-foot feather "boas," plume hats and glove-ettes for each band member.
"We shock a lot of people," but "it makes us all look pretty," says Gregory, straight-faced, "as we sing and move to a Las Vegas medley of songs by Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, Guns and Roses, Def Leppard and AC/DC."
But this isn't all. In Walter & Hays' rendition of the "Nerd Tap Dance," "we dress as geeks." Band members dance in '60s-style plaids and patterns, while their arms seem to be flying everywhere.
Normally, though, "We start out our shows dressed in tuxedos, playing straight," Gregory explains. Even though they begin "legitimate, then we lead the audience down the primrose path. If not, it's too much for them."
Even with the zany antics, the world can't seem to get enough of Walter & Hays. "Fortunately, enough people like us so we can keep the calendar booked," says Gregory.
Gregory seems to have been doing a lot right, because he still receives calls and letters worldwide concerning "Mormon Rap." The tune is still played by the nationally syndicated Dr. Demento radio show, which airs locally on Rock 103-FM Sundays at 10 p.m. Other tunes written by Gregory have also been on the show: "Funny, Funny" and "Do the Fusion."
Hans K. Sorensen of Denmark praised Gregory in a letter for the "funny and good taste of `Mormon Rap.' It is popular among youth who listen to Danish radio stations."
"We try to make people feel good about themselves; life is not that serious," contends Gregory. "If it was, we'd all have heart attacks."
Inspiration for "BYU of U" was helped along by a "BYU student who told a friend and me that no beards were allowed on (the Provo) campus," says the bearded Gregory.
Another of Walter & Hays' tunes, "I'm So Good Lookin'," is self-explanatory, Gregory says. "Enough said."
The songwriter's top jingles include "We're Bigger, We're Better," written for the Utah Jazz's first-ever division championship in 1984 and a recent National Silver Microphone Award for the best utilities radio commercial, written for Mountain Fuel. Gregory has also received Addy (national) awards for writing and producing music for First Federal Savings advertisements.
Gregory is proud, too, that Massey's Jewelers and Inkley's still use music he wrote for their jingles.
The songwriter has recorded and toured worldwide with Donny & Marie and the Osmonds as their keyboardist, back-up vocalist and show announcer. He also performed with the Osmonds on TV's "Hee Haw" and for Ronald Reagan's first inaugural ball. Performing for two national conventions in Las Vegas is also to his credit.