Internet users have probably heard of Tally Hall, or, at least, their music. From the eccentric “Turn the Lights Off” to the particularly meme-able “Ruler of Everything” to the tiktok-popular “The Bidding,” it seems that Tally Hall is everywhere at once. Their music has graced many playlists. The real shame, though, is the fact that everyone seems to know Tally Hall without truly knowing Tally Hall. Unless one is an adamant fan of the band, an individual has likely never heard of Zubin Sedghi, the band’s blue-tied bassist turned doctor. The truly interesting thing about the band, however, is the fact that they went on hiatus twelve years ago.
In one article published in 2021, Anthony Garone of “Make Weird Music” described “Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum” as “a modern-day Abbey Road, but with the genre-defying variety of Phish’s ‘Picture of Nectar.’” The band themselves have defined their music as “fabloo,” a genre entirely invented by the band in an effort to be undefined by any one genre.
The band of Tally Hall was created at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with Andrew Horowitz, keyboardist, vocalist and green tie; Rob Cantor, guitarist, vocalist and yellow tie; Zubin Sedghi, bassist, vocalist and blue tie; Joe Hawley, guitarist, vocalist, and red tie; and Steve Gallagher, drummer and gray tie. Two years later, Gallagher left the band and was replaced by Ross Federman, cementing the band members of Tally Hall until their hiatus.
On October 24, 2005, “Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum” – the band’s first studio album – was released. Later, on September 12, 2006, the album would be revamped with some songs being completely redone. The most notable song that has been redone is arguably “Taken for a Ride,” which has had many different versions. On April 1, 2008, the album would be updated yet again. Shortly thereafter, Tally Hall garnered national attention, appearing on “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson twice, gaining an interview on MTV’s “You Hear it First,” and even landing themselves at the “South by Southwest” music festival in 2007.
On September 15, 2008, a little known gem of bizarre humor made its first appearance on the internet. “Tally Hall’s Internet Show,” or T.H.I.S., as dubbed by the fans, was a ten episode variety show that was posted on their website. All music videos by Tally Hall, with the exception of “Turn the Lights Off,” debuted first in an episode of their internet show. While it is rarely recognized, it is an important piece of the band’s history.
On June 21, 2011, their second album, “Good & Evil,” was released to positive reception. After this release, however, Tally Hall became inactive, citing that they were on hiatus and that they still existed as a band. All of its members, though, had gone on to new projects. Andrew Horowitz has released several songs under the title of “Edu” and even worked with John Legend.
Joe Hawley has released a self titled concept album and even spearheaded “Hawaii: Part II,” which is a project well-known for songs such as “Murders,” “The Mind Electric,” “Introduction to the Snow” and “Dream Sweet in Sea Major.”
Ross Federman still works as a percussionist and even DJs occasionally, though his main passion seems to be immunology. He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology and graduated from Yale University with a Ph.D. in Immunology in May of 2019.
Rob Cantor went on to work on multiple projects with Disney, such as working on songs for “The Ghost and Molly McGee.” He, however, has also released a solo album.
Zubin Sedghi now works as a board-certified family physician in Orange County, California. Although the band members are still on good terms, there has been no confirmed reunion as of 2023.
Since the band’s hiatus, they have risen to unprecedented fame. In 2020, they reached an impressive milestone – 1 million listeners on Spotify. Though they had a cult-like following before, it is nothing compared to the ironic level of fame they have reached now. Where they used to have a handful of avid fans, the band now has 3 million listeners on Spotify, a fanbase that is still growing rapidly, thanks to the virality of the internet.
