Tally Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tally Hall
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Tally Hall performing in Massachusetts in 2008. From left: Sedghi, Cantor, Federman, Hawley and Horowitz
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| Origin | Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2002–present (hiatus: 2011–2026) |
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 Tally Hall's logo. |
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Tally Hall is an American pop rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is famous for its playful melodies, catchy vocal harmonies, and unique stage costumes. The musicians wear matching black vests, white shirts, and bright, colorful neckties. Each member of the band has a signature tie color. Guitarist Rob Cantor wears yellow, bassist Zubin Sedghi wears blue, keyboardist Andrew Horowitz wears green, and drummer Ross Federman wears grey. Former guitarist Joe Hawley wore a red tie.
The group plays many styles of music at once, blending power pop, indie rock, and whimsical comedy songs. The members call their musical sound "fabloo." They released two major albums, titled Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum and Good & Evil. They also became internet stars by making short comedy sketches and music videos. After taking a long break starting in 2011, the band reunited in October 2026 to perform live music again.
Contents
The Story of Tally Hall and Their Music
The story of the band began at college when creative students joined together to write catchy songs.
How the Band Started in Michigan
Andrew Horowitz grew up in Warren, New Jersey. He started writing his own music when he was only eight years old. Later, he studied music composition at the University of Michigan. While at the school, he met Rob Cantor. Cantor had attended high school with a friend named Zubin Sedghi, and the two had played together in a student band called listedBlack. Horowitz, Cantor, and Sedghi decided to make music together as a trio. They called themselves 540 and played small concerts for their college classmates.
Another student named Joe Hawley was studying film making at the university. Hawley created a comedy group called anonyMous. Cantor joined the comedy group and discovered that Hawley could play guitar and write clever tunes. Cantor invited Hawley to join 540. A drummer named Steve Gallagher joined the group next. The band tried several funny names, including Gallagher and PartyBoobyTrap. Finally, they picked Tally Hall. They chose this name in honor of an indoor food court located inside a shopping center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The group recorded early demo tracks and gathered them on a collection called Complete Demos in 2004. Before the collection came out, Gallagher left the group. Ross Federman joined to play drums instead. Hawley met Federman after hearing him talk about his drumming skills outside a college dormitory.
The Mechanical Museum Album and Rising Fame
In 2005, Tally Hall signed a record deal with an independent music company named Quack! Media. On October 24, 2005, the band released their first full studio album, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. The album was named after a real arcade in Farmington Hills, Michigan, filled with vintage coin-operated machines. A talented violinist named Jeremy Kittel played string instruments on the album.
Their song "Just Apathy" won first place in the pop category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2005. People all across the country began discovering the group. Tally Hall performed their upbeat song "Good Day" on late-night television on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in August 2006. Music channel MTV featured the band on their program "You Hear It First" in September 2006.
The band performed at the famous South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, in 2007. Big record label Atlantic Records signed the band in March 2007. The band rerecorded parts of their debut album and released it again on April 1, 2008. That summer, Tally Hall took the stage at the giant outdoor music festival Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Creative Projects and Children's Television
The band worked on many creative projects during their early years. They recorded a popular cover version of the hit song "Smile Like You Mean It" by rock band The Killers. This song was featured on the television soundtrack Music from the OC: Mix 6 for the teen drama The O.C..
Between 2007 and 2008, Cantor, Hawley, and Sedghi worked on an animated children's television series called Happy Monster Band. The program was broadcast on Playhouse Disney. The band members wrote music and sang songs alongside voice actress Tara Jayne Sands. The show taught young children about friendship, exercise, and trying new things through colorful monster characters.
Touring the Country and Recording Good & Evil
Tally Hall continued to travel across the United States to perform live for their growing fan base.
Special Songs and Touring Adventures
On September 9, 2009, Tally Hall shared a special track called "Light & Night". The song featured guest singer Nellie McKay. Shoppers at Walmart received the track as a free digital download when they bought the fantasy book The Magician's Elephant by author Kate DiCamillo.
In 2010, the band went on a national concert tour with indie rock groups Jukebox the Ghost and Skybox. Hawley could not travel on the tour, so musician Casey Shea filled in on guitar and vocals. Shea wore a black tie on stage to match the band's colorful necktie tradition. In 2011, the band hired a new management company called Stiletto Entertainment, which managed famous performers like Barry Manilow. Earlier, they were managed by The Hornblow Group, who managed alternative rock bands like They Might Be Giants, OK Go, and Oppenheimer.
Making the Good & Evil Album
The band recorded their second full album, Good & Evil, in late 2009. The album explored themes of balance, light, darkness, and human emotions. The release was delayed for two years while the band worked through business disagreements with Atlantic Records. Tally Hall returned to Quack! Media to release the album on June 21, 2011.
To celebrate the album, the band hosted a fun contest for their fans. The prize was an original song written about the winner. A high school student named Nathan Naimark won the contest, and the band released a silly theme song about him. Around the same time, the group released a rock version of the Flo Rida hit "Club Can't Handle Me" with Casey Shea on vocals.
Tally Hall traveled across America during the summer of 2011 to promote the record. Their close friend Bora Karaca joined them on stage, wearing an orange tie. Karaca played multiple instruments, including keyboards and an accordion. The band gave their final performance of the tour on August 20, 2011, at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale, Pennsylvania. Following that show, the band members took a long break to pursue other careers.
Solo Adventures and New Careers During the Break
During their break from 2011 to 2026, the members accomplished exciting things in music, science, and medicine.
Fun Videos and Solo Music by Rob and Andrew
Rob Cantor became very successful on the internet. In 2012, he wrote comedy songs that became an online viral sensation, including a dramatic song about actor "Shia LaBeouf". In 2014, Cantor released a solo album titled Not a Trampoline. He made a famous video called "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" where he pretended to sing like dozens of famous people. Cantor then began writing catchy songs for television shows on Disney Junior.
Keyboard player Andrew Horowitz started making music under the solo name Edu. He released an album called Sketches in 2012 and updated it as Sketches 3d in 2019. Horowitz also played piano and helped produce music on the Grammy-winning album Love in the Future by John Legend in 2013. Horowitz shared classical piano albums titled Etudes and Etudes II. In May 2020, he hosted an Instagram video show called Keep Up The Good Work, inviting his former bandmates to chat.
Amazing Careers in Science and Medicine
Bass player Zubin Sedghi decided to help people by becoming a medical doctor. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in neuroscience, the scientific study of the brain and nervous system. In 2016, he earned a doctorate in osteopathic medicine from Touro University California. Dr. Sedghi became a family medicine physician working for Kaiser Permanente in Orange County, California.
Drummer Ross Federman pursued higher education in science. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2013 with a degree in cell and molecular biology. He then attended Yale University and earned a Ph.D. in immunology, which is the study of how the body's immune system fights off germs and illness. Federman also performed occasionally as a music producer and DJ using the stage name "Mr. F".
Miracle Musical and Creative Side Projects
In 2012, Hawley, Federman, and Karaca created an experimental music group called Miracle Musical. They released the single "Variations on a Cloud" and a concept album titled Hawaii: Part II. Sedghi and Cantor sang on the tracks "White Ball" and "Time Machine". The songs gained millions of young fans when they went viral on video platforms like TikTok. Miracle Musical also made an 8-bit soundtrack album called Hawaii Partii for an arcade-style computer game.
In 2015, Tally Hall shared an internet album of rare tracks on Bandcamp called Admittedly Incomplete Demos. It included a recording of the traditional folk tune "The Minstrel Boy" and a fun cover of the hip-hop track "Just A Friend". In 2021, Needlejuice Records re-released the band's first album on modern formats, including the vinyl record, standard CD, cassette tape, and retro MiniDisc. A special 7-inch vinyl record was also printed featuring the fan-favorite track "Turn the Lights Off".
The Band Returns to the Stage
In 2024 and 2025, Horowitz played concerts at the Sonic Lunch music festival in Ann Arbor. Cantor, Federman, Sedghi, Shea, and Karaca joined him on stage for different songs. Horowitz released new singles titled "MONSTERS", "Fishes", and "Good Morning Mr. Butterfly". He also performed as the opening act for his friends in Jukebox the Ghost.
The band's social media pages became active again in 2026. Official posters featuring a mystery phone number appeared on bulletin boards around Ann Arbor. On October 22, 2026, Tally Hall held an official reunion concert at the Blind Pig, a historic music club in Ann Arbor. Casey Shea played guitar alongside Cantor, Sedghi, Horowitz, Federman, and Karaca. The band also scheduled a brand new concert tour for spring 2027.
Internet Shows and Humorous Comedy Sketches
Tally Hall reached thousands of early fans through online videos, internet variety shows, and quirky skits.
The Internet Show Adventures
On September 15, 2008, the group launched a ten-episode comedy variety show titled Tally Hall's Internet Show. Fans watched the episodes on the video website Albino Blacksheep, on YouTube, and on the official band website. Each short episode lasted around ten minutes and combined live-action skits with fresh music videos.
The sketches were silly and creative. In one episode, Andrew Horowitz sat in a bathtub overflowing with cooked spaghetti. In another popular sketch, the band members asked silly questions to Zubin Sedghi about natural ketchup. Another sketch featured a comical competition called the "honk war".
The show introduced official music videos for their songs, including "Good Day", "Welcome to Tally Hall", "Two Wuv", "The Whole World and You", "Greener", and "Ruler of Everything". Fans also enjoyed an animated video for the sweet acoustic song "Hidden in the Sand". The band even performed on the television show Fearless Music, playing favorites like "Banana Man" and "Be Born".
Episodes of Tally Hall's Internet Show
- Episode 1: "Good Day" (September 15, 2008)
- Episode 2: "Death Request" (September 29, 2008)
- Episode 3: "Taken for a Ride" (October 13, 2008)
- Episode 4: "Welcome to Tally Hall" (October 27, 2008)
- Episode 5: "Who Cares" (November 10, 2008)
- Episode 6: "Two Wuv" (November 24, 2008)
- Episode 7: "Fifteen Seconds of Bora" (December 8, 2008)
- Episode 8: "The Whole World and You" (December 22, 2008)
- Episode 9: "Potato Vs. Spoon" (January 5, 2009)
- Episode 10: "Good Night" (January 19, 2009)
Band Members and Their Colorful Neckties
Every member of Tally Hall has a special tie color that helps fans identify them on stage:
Current Members
- Rob Cantor (Yellow tie) – sings lead vocals, plays guitar and ukulele (2002–present)
- Zubin Sedghi (Blue tie) – sings lead vocals and plays bass guitar (2002–present)
- Andrew Horowitz (Green tie) – plays keyboards, piano, and sings vocals (2002–present)
- Ross Federman (Grey tie) – plays drums and percussion (2004–present)
Former Members
- Steve Gallagher (Grey tie) – played drums (2003–2004)
- Joe Hawley (Red tie) – sang lead vocals, played guitar and ukulele (2003–2026)
Touring Musicians
- Casey Shea (Black tie) – plays guitar and sings vocals (2010, 2026–present)
- Bora Karaca (Orange tie) – plays keyboards, guitar, accordion, and whistles (2011, 2026–present)
Discography
- Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (2005)
- Good & Evil (2011)
See also
In Spanish: Tally Hall para niños
