Bull Halsey, was formed in 2001 when Wally and Dave decided to start a blues band while camped out next to the bar at Garth's wedding reception. They had already been in more than one garage-rock band together over the previous fifteen years, so the idea of screaming amps turned to eleven had lost its' cachet.

The first thing they agreed upon was that this band needed to be a three piece. Limited instrumentation would help keep the songs as strong, elegant and unadulterated as possible. Also, the music couldn't be staid, self concious, or preoccupied with whether or not a particular song or arrangement sounded "bluesy enough". They wanted to follow the path cut by greats like Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Elvis, Duke Robillard and Hollywood Fats. Like them, their songs would be built upon traditional blues, jazz, country and swing forms without being trapped by any one of them.

Now, all they needed was a bass player. Someone with similar influences and creative aspirations who also happened to be a talented singer/songwriter. Unfortunately, the only person they could think of that fit all the criteria was Garth, and he was already involved in other projects, regularly sitting in on upright bass with quite a few local blues bands. They asked him anyway.

He agreed to help out until Dave and Wally could find another suitable candidate. They never really looked very hard, and Garth never really planned on leaving. The songs were too good and they came too easily to even consider fixing something that obviously wasn't broken.

They started playing local shows and immediately developed a strong following. Soon after that, they recorded a self-produced EP, the Mighty Fists of Joe Frazier and started to get a little air play on local blues shows such as Thayrone's Bone Conduction Music Show (107.1 WKQL FM). They continue to play locally and around the Midwest in addition to recording new original material for a future full length release.