Some plane rides seem like they will never end. Especially if the plane ride simultaneously marks the end of one life chapter and the uncertain start of another. On his long plane ride from Las Vegas back to Texas in 2014, Logan Woodyard spent the entirety of his flight trying to figure out what he was going to do, musically, for the next year of his life. Armed with a vague idea of what he wanted, the first thing Logan did once his plane landed was find Stephanie Cardona – his decision seemed like something the male lead of a romantic comedy would do. Logan recalled thinking “Stephanie - that very talented, kind, beautiful person, I wonder what I can cook up with her once this plane hits the ground.”
The two grew up in the same hometown of Alice, Texas, and had been friends for about a year before Logan proposed the idea of collaborating. The conversation they had on that day was the start of Voodoo Boogaloo, and their relationship. Stephanie remembered, “I was floored immediately… and I remember blushing because he was so handsome, and I was so excited to get started on whatever was coming our way.”
Since becoming a trip-hop duo in 2014, their psychedelic vibe and unrivaled chemistry on stage have set them apart from other acts. The San Antonio Express-News even coined the duo as the “Sonny and Cher” of trip-hop. So far they have released two albums, traveled on three tours, and become central Texas electro-pop darlings. 2017 was their busiest year yet with the release of their sophomore album Get in There, and their first international tour across Central/Eastern Europe which consisted of ten shows in five countries.
Danielle Trevino: How did Voodoo Boogaloo manage to go on a European Tour?
Stephanie Cardona: So we played a Halloween show in San Antonio, at Limelight. That must have been 2016 and Logan was mingling with some people and met a cool Slovenian couple. They fell in love with us and invited us on a journey, a tour that they would put together for us and they did. They absolutely came through. They just Googled “fun things to do in San Antonio” that night and we popped up.
Logan Woodyard: Stephanie and I have very intentional lives, both living our independent life together but when it comes together we are always working on a manifestation list. This is how we want our tour to go or this, we just moved a month ago (a different spot in Canyon Lake), is what we want our new neighbors to be like. And come to find out, anyone who is listening; be intentional about what you want. The universe will meet you halfway. It's kind of like a 50/50 deal... We listed what kind of tour, where we wanted to go, and then six weeks later here [it happened]. How often have you heard of one Slovenian being in San Antonio? When is the last time you met a Slovenian in San Antonio? … We went [on tour] and it was four weeks, five countries, and 10 shows. The biggest stage we have ever played on was over there. It was also the biggest audience and our first and second camping festival. The third festival was right when we got back home and did UTOPiAfest. And time for vacationing too, we went to Venice.
Stephanie Cardona: Wore all the masks, ate all the food, and drank all the wine!
Logan Woodyard: Yup, and picked up smoking, I guess. Now we are getting ready for our next tour. At the end of October [2018], we are leaving on our West Coast tour. We are going all the way up and down!
Stephanie Cardona: Start in Marfa and go all the way up to Vancouver, and bring it all the way back down.
Danielle Trevino: What about the West Coast, in particular, drew you to want to have a tour in that part of the country?
Stephanie Cardona: We did a Colorado/New Mexico tour about 2 1/2 years ago, and the response we got in New Mexico was wild. They really liked us and we knew we had to make it back out there… We constantly hear things that our music would do so well in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, and Seattle. There's a call to action. They are hungry for us out there, from what we hear, so we are ready to go and serve it up!
In regards to their third album, fans will have to wait until they arrive back from their much anticipated West Coast Tour. Although they have plans to produce and release a third album, the duo is not sure what it will sound like compared to their two previous albums. When describing their musical progression, Logan noted “the first album is like ‘let's figure this out,’ the second album is ‘WOW we are really figuring this out,’ and the third album is like ‘I think we almost got this figured out.’”
Both of Voodoo Boogaloo’s albums can be found on their Bandcamp page. Yawny, Yelly, Glowy, Floaty was released in March 2014, and Get In There was released in April 2017. Voodoo Boogaloo will be performing at a kickoff keggerhosted by Big Hops The Bridge, a local beer garden, this upcoming Saturday at 6 p.m.
