I went to The Loft at City Winery in NYC to see one of my students play with his band, Mojo And The Mayhem and I was thoroughly impressed by his playing and the lively, accomplished sound of the band. Paul Lederer takes slide guitar lessons from me but he was totally polished and inspired in a bluesy, r&b inflected lead guitar style. He wielded a Gibson ES-335 through a Fender combo and got a great, woody tone out of them to go along with his flawless execution and subtly mod look.
The band is a large one, eight pieces including two female vocalists. There’s a definite chemistry about the group and it’s not that surprising when Paul explains, “My cousin, Ben Deixler, and I put together this band with friends.” It’s not the typical New Orleans-styled groove that many NYC blues/funk/r&b big bands go for, but a slightly more modern, commercial sound with a highly danceable and nonetheless rollicking feeling. I’d have to get in there with my groovometer to check on the New Orleans Quotient but my assistant is on vacation for now…
It’s hard to tell who’s in charge with this group, they all contribute so much. But front and center would seem to be Larkin McSurely Bradshaw on vocals and Jimmy Rose on trumpet (pictured above). The pair also wrote the single from the group’s new EP, “Good Day.” Keyboardist Ben Deixler also contributed lead vocals to the record and songwriting expertise.
Bassist Aiden Boardman is also an undeniable presence with a small scale but large sounding bass. Everyone it seems contributes vocals except perhaps the solid and grooving drummer Dylan Awalt-Conley. Vocalist Jennie Riverso took the lead on at least one song and the harmony vocals on the band’s records and in concert are really sweet. It’s a pleasure to hear such in tune and polished harmonies at a club gig in NYC and certainly many fans will be attracted to their sound. Rounding out the corps but not in any way second line (I still don’t know what that means although I know the sound!) is Tom McHugh on trombone.
The sound at the gig was quite good – very balanced and smooth – although I had a little trouble making out words in the verses. But the band before them also had this problem despite having a totally different lineup with two guitars and separate lead vocals in a standard configuration. So, maybe someone needs to cut or boost frequencies somewhere in the live mix.
Or maybe I just need to learn all the words to Mojo and The Mayhems songs! And you should too. You can check them out at DROM on Thursday, February 28th from 10:30 to 11:30pm and at the Parkside Lounge on March 16th from 8:30 to 10pm. Paul adds that, “later in April, we’re excited to do a mini tour in central NY state around Ithaca and Syracuse because some members are from those parts.”-Christian Botta
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