Throughout his wildly impressive filmography, director Martin Scorsese has always made sure that music plays an essential role in his movies. Last year’s brilliant "The Wolf of Wall Street" was no different – though it might have been hard to notice underneath all of the cocaine, prostitutes and general debauchery on screen.

As expected, the soundtrack was filled with terrific, perfectly selected songs from the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Eartha Kitt, Bo Diddley, and The Jimmy Castor Bunch. However, one of the standout songs from the film (other than the obvious highlight: Matthew McConaughey’s chest-pounding song) came from a band called 7Horse, whose "Meth Lab Zoso Sticker" not only made the movie – namely the scene where Jonah Hill and Jon Bernthal have a testy exchange in a parking lot – but also played a significant role in the marking campaign.

The country-tinged rock duo of Phil Leavitt (drums, vocals) and Joie Calio (guitar) worked together for years in the band Dada. 7Horse, however, marks a fairly new project for the guys, a step away from their previous efforts. And there are certainly worse things to put on an early band’s resume than being associated with an Oscar-nominated Scorsese film.

Post "Wolf of Wall Street," 7Horse is now on tour with a whole new album – "Songs for a Voodoo Wedding" – of rollicking rock with a touch of twang and a stop scheduled at Shank Hall on Friday, Sept. 19. Before then, however, OnMilwaukee.com got a chance to chat with Leavitt about the band’s origins, its Milwaukee connection and getting the rare Martin Scorsese Stamp of Approval. 

OnMilwaukee.com: How did 7Horse really come into being?

Phil Leavitt: Well, after about 20 years of together in Dada, Joie and I were in a situation where we really had a desire to still be creating some music and get a new record out, but that just wasn’t going to happen with the lineup as it was, with the trio.

We created a lot of music together, the three of us, and we toured quite a bit over the years – and obviously have been to Milwaukee many times. But it just became increasingly clear that if we were going to continue as Dada, it was going to be more or less an oldies band, playing a medley of our hit. The prospects of that were just not that appealing to us. We love to play, but we didn’t feel like we were at that stage in our career where we just wanted to look to the past.

With that in mind, we took advantage of some studio time that we had set aside for Dada but that wasn’t actually going to be used. We went in there as kind of an experiment to see what we could do, the two of us. He had been working a lot on guitar for the last 10 years, and we had trading some ideas leading up to the studio. We kind of decided on the fly that, in order to really set it apart from what we had done previously, not only would (Joie) be playing the guitar and of course I’d be playing drums, but the way to really make it sound different would be to switch it up vocally.

So we created a new sound based around blues, early rock ‘n’ roll, classic country – kind of combining all of those elements with what we had already done and decided that vocally that I would step up to take the lead, while Joie would sing second voice. And day two in the story, we cut a song called "Meth Lab Zoso Sticker," and we were off and running at that point.

OMC: That’s really the song that shot you guys into fame, especially when it turned up in "The Wolf of Wall Street." When did you find out that Martin Scorsese wanted to use your song?

PL: We came off the road from (a joint Dada/7Horse tour) and started making a new record for 7Horse. In the middle of that process, we got an email from somebody representing Scorsese saying they were interested in "Meth Lab Zoso Sticker." We never found out how they came upon the song or who heard it where. It didn’t get a ton of commercial radio play; it did get some play on satellite radio, and we always assumed that maybe they heard it there.

It took months. Once you give them permission to use a song, he was still cutting the film together. All through the summer we were waiting, and they basically said, "Look, if we’re going to keep you in, you’ll hear from us eventually; if you get cut out, you’ll never hear from us again. Good luck."

So by the time we actually found out, we had recorded three songs off the new record in Milwaukee at Third Ward Records. We were at the airport flying back for Halloween, and we got a text message from Joie’s brother saying, "Hey man, heard you in the trailer. Sounds great." That’s the first we heard about, that we made the film. That was a tremendous break for us; it really established our project.

OMC: Especially with somebody like Scorsese, who throughout his career has been known for the way he uses music. How does it feel to be a part of that legacy now?

PL: It’s a real honor. You’re absolutely right; from the Stones to Howlin Wolf to so many others, he’s so well known for his work in music – from all kinds of music documentaries to the way he uses music in his films. We were thrilled. It was a real feather in our cap, and it’s something that lasts forever. Every time we see that movie, it’s always going to be something to enjoy.

OMC: The movie was fairly controversial when it came out, with all of its drug and sex-fueled debauchery. Did you take anybody to see it?

PL: Yeah, the whole family went Christmas Day when it opened. It was a little bit uncomfortable. (laughs) It’s no family-friendly movie, but we all enjoyed the moment when the song came on and then when the credit appeared on the screen at the end. That was very exciting.

It was a little bit weird, but you know, I was really happy to be in a movie that was so controversial because nobody remembers the movies that aren’t controversial.

OMC: You released a new album just this last summer, inspired by a voodoo wedding.

PL: Yeah, some friends of mine decided to get married in New Orleans. I had been down there a couple of times on tour, but I had never really gotten to dig into that city and get a real feel for it. So I had the idea that I was going to keep my eyes open and see what happens and walk around and see what I run into down there and see if anything is inspiring. That’s your job, basically, as a songwriter.

As it was, with that frame of mind, it was very influential. I suppose it could’ve been anywhere, but I ended up down there, and boy that place really does fire the imagination. It was quite the experience down there, getting a feel for the culture and the music even just over the course of a few days. I have a lot of love for it.

OMC: What all takes place at a voodoo wedding?

PL: (laughs) Well, first of all, we were at the home of a voodoo priestess, and she had a special ceremonial room that was just filled with little voodoo dolls and altars for honoring certain gods. She asked if there was a drummer, and I said, "Well, here I am." So she gave me a drum, and there was some music playing, so I played along.

The wedding couple, when they were pronounced man and wife, they jumped the broom, an old African tradition. It’s all about binding them together. Their wrists are tied together. They’re presented with little voodoo dolls that they’re supposed to keep safe at all times over the course of their lives together. The vows are totally different. There’s a snake involved, a white albino python that she had wrapped around the couple’s neck. It’s all about binding them together and transitioning into a new reality as a couple.

It really wasn’t all that heavy or serious; we were having a good time there. We came out of the wedding and spilled out onto the French Quarter and started to explore a little bit. Ate some terrific food and wandered around and got a sense of the place. They still have a lot to overcome down there; there are parts of the city that still haven’t been repaired from Hurricane Katrina, which to me is kind of unbelievable in this country that we can let one of our greatest cities sit there with that kind of devastation. But it was a great time down there; I have a lot of love for the South and for New Orleans in particular.

OMC: It sounds like you make a lot of stops in Milwaukee nowadays, too?

PL: I look forward to coming back to Milwaukee because that now holds a special place for us. We always had a good time coming there and playing gigs, but now we worked in the city and recorded some of our new record there. After the last night in the studio there, we had a great night. I got super hung over (laughs) and that’s when we were sitting in the airport and got the text from Joie’s brother. That cleared my head a little bit.            

But yeah, it was fun working in Milwaukee, and that Third Ward Records is a great studio. You kind of get relationships going with different cities and the people you meet there make a really big difference. I’m looking forward to coming back.