 |
| to the online home of the |
| Mojo Hand Blues Band |
 |
|
| Want to book a private party, corporate bash, or other function? Own a tavern that's just yearning for some quality entertainment? Now's the time! We're often booked far off into the future...Call 716-373-8880 or email the band at mojohandbluesband@yahoo.com |
| This page has been viewed |
| times since resetting in February 2003 (500 prior). |
| "Traditional rhythm and blues, blues, soul, and funky stuff, played by folks who be diggin' the music, for folks who be catchin' the groove." |
| Highlights: The Band has been performing regularly since October 1989. Currently, the Band plays a schedule of "Wonderland Bistros," festivals, and private parties in southwestern New York, Buffalo, and northwestern Pennsylvania, playing out of Olean, New York. The Band has opened for Johnny Clyde Copeland, Little Charlie and the Night Cats, and Earl King. The Band won WBFO's multi-round Battle of the Blues Bands Contest in Niagara Falls in 1992, competing against 23 other bands from Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Rochester, New York, as well as Hamilton and Toronto Canada. The Band's magic is defintely in the live performance - 5 cats having a good ol' time playing some great tunes with soul, dynamite lead vocals, tight ensemble playing, pocket grooves, and inspired improvisation. On the bandstand, the Band varies the feels and genres of blues, soul, and trad r&b that it plays from song-to-song, so as to provide an engaging, danceable groove that builds in intensity in each set. The Band just looks like it's having fun onstage - and it is! Words of praise: "Blistering" - Buffalo News. "Southern Tier's Best Band" - Moonwinks. "Adult professionals" - WNYMusic.com ( yikes! ). Highlight gigs include regular gigs at The Hickey Tavern (Allegany, NY, home base for Mojo Hand and home of Lou's Perpetual Birthday) and recurring gigs at the numerous festival weekends in Ellicottville, NY and other western New York communities. Come get your ya ya's out! Former band members: Bruce Monroe, Gary Guckert, John McMullen, Verdun Manross, Vince Oliverio, Jason Wedlock - thanks for the memories, guys! In fond memory of Gary Guckert (1954-2007). |
| Links to Other Places: A member of The Blues Society of Western New York. Visit the Society's web site for mucho info on the WNY Blues Scene, including a calendar of blues events and the Mojo Hand Blues Band gig schedule. WNYMusic.com = http://www.wnymusic.com/ = contains an online WNY music calendar and web page index for WNY bands Bands of Western New York State = http://www.yrbook.com/music/western.htm = web page index for WNY bands Nickel City Blues, a grassroots audience-based group of blues-and-good-times-lovers! Dinosaur BBQ = http://dinosaurbarbque.com/Calendars/calendar_main.htm = the gig schedule for Rochester's and Syracuse's top blues and BBQ restaurant, the Dinosaur The Tralf - historically has been Buffalo's (upstate NY's?) premier club, featuring music and other stage events of all sorts (including, you guessed it, blues). The Tralf has been re-opened under new management, and we're looking forward to more great times here! Check the list above or check the Tralf link for the Tralf gig calendar. Well, the 24th Annual Chicago Blues Festival (June 7-10, 2007 in Grant Park in downtown Chicago) has come and gone. Here's the link to the main festival page, from which you can see performer schedules, etc.. Four days of blues on 6 stages in downtown Grant Park! Admission is free and the City blues clubs really rock with blues at night, too! Check out what's happening at this grandaddy of all blues festivals and make plans for a blues road trip in 2008 to Grant Park! The world's biggest blues festival. History: here's a quick link to the 2006 festival schedule and the Official Mayor's Office Blues Festival Page for 2005. Want to know about a specific Blues Festival - Check this out - They're everywhere! Pollstar Touring Info = http:www.pollstar.com = searchable index for major musical artist touring schedules - search by artist, venue, and city The Blue Highway = http://www.thebluehighway.com/ = great site for mucho blues knowledge and links - immerse yourself in the music! Living Blues Magazine = http://www.livingblues.com = blues in a magazine format, available online or delivered to your door! Blues Revue = http://www.bluesrevue.com = the "world's largest blues magazine," available online or delivered to your door The Blues Foundation = http://blues.org = the non-profit group whose mission is to promote and preserve blues music worldwide - join 'em and vote for the Handy Award! Check out About.com's Blues Page (mucho links and stuff!) Enchanted Mountain Studio = http://www.enchantedmountainstudio.com/ Check out Chautauqua AMP for Chautauqua County entertainment. Need more? Still confused? What is a Mojo? How about a Mojo Hand? There's a great discussion with lots of lore and lyrics at Lucky Mojo...and some great blues lingo at About.com's Blues Glossary Page |
| Now, here's the straight story, from the five finger gang... |
| ( tell' em how cool it'd be if Olean were to hold an annual outdoor blues festival !!! ) |
|
| Blues Quotes: "Love even after it hurts." -on the sign in front of Mt. Zion Christian Assembly Church, Olean, NY "You better start savin' up for the things that money can't buy." -from the song, "Savin' Up," by Bruce Springsteen |
| Also check the WNY Blues Society's Mojo Hand Blues Band Page for our gig calendar! |
| Band Members: Tom Barnes - The Doctor's growling tenor sax adds sass to the mix Drew Gaeta - The New Guy! Tasteful funky stylings and punchy groove guitar! So new he's still awaiting a nickname! Tim Sader - The Mighty One's precision backbeat keeps the train runnin' down the tracks Fontilla Timons - The Queen! How can sucha big sound come outa sucha small Lady? Andy Widger - The Funkmaster lays down the deep bass grooves for total blues satisfaction |
| By the way - check out the Tuesday Nite Blues Jam at the Hickey Tavern in Allegany, NY - a core of Terry Bellamy (guitar), Mojo Hand bassman Andy "Funkmeister" Widger and Mojo Hand drummer Tim Sader (the Mighty One) provide the foundation for an Open Blues Jam - regularly joined by numerous local musicians from all walks of life - musicians and non-musicians alike, bring your instruments, your ears, your dancin' feet, and your livers! Lou's probably thirsty... |
| Booking Information: |
| Upcoming Performance Schedule: |
| Messages from Mojo Hand: |
| Check out the new tunes that we've put in our set list! Is there a song you'd like to hear us play? Let us know! |
| New press photo coming soon (we hope) with the new lineup... |
| July 19 Private Party, Allegany, NY |
| Also check out Fontilla's side project band (Smokin' Katz), gigging regularly in venues near you! |
| * * * New dates to be announced shortly!!! * * * Check back often - it's always the right time for some hot blues - come party with Mojo Hand! |
| WNY Music Events Downchild Blues Band, June 13, High Fidelity, Rochester; Eric Jerardi, June 13, Lafayette Tap Room, Buffalo, NY; Lil' Brian & The Zydeco Travelers, July 8, 8 Great Tuesdays, Erie, PA; Jimmy Vaughn, July 10, Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY; Mickey Hart Band, July 17, Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY; The Nighthawks, July 18, Roar on the Shore, Downtown Erie PA; Carmen Getit and Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums, July 22, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY; Great Big Sea, August 15, Erie Basin Marina, Buffalo, NY; Keb Mo' / Robert Cray Band, August 16, Erie Basin Marina, Buffalo, NY; Commander Cody, August 26, 8 Great Tuesdays, Erie PA. Check back soon for updates to our choice selections from the WNY regional music calendar. Future file: TBA - check back soon! |
| The process of changing personnel is always difficult - not only must the new guy learn our portfolio of tunes, but the entire band needs to develop that tight camaraderie and chemistry amongst the new lineup, both on and off stage. It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too. One good thing is that it also can be re-energizing, and bring new musical directions and attitudes. So, don't worry - with our new lineup, we'll be working hard at continuing the good thing we've had for so many years. We're hoping you'll be suppotive of our new lineup and new sound, as it evolves. We'd still like to hear from you club owners and you good folks who'd like to hire us for private parties - we have a great bunch of tunes and we're confident that you'll like the new Mojo Hand Blues Band ! So give us a call or an email and we'll see what we can do. We also work with various-sized venues available for private parties, caterers, DJ's, and "custom event remembrance" companies to make your event a memorable one! Sound like a recipe for fun? |
| Well, if you've been a regular visitor to our web site, you already know that Jason Wedlock has left the band, moving out of state to pursue other endeavors, and we have brought Andy (Drew) Gaeta on board as our guitarist. We know you're going to like Drew's playing, and long time WNY live music fans will remember him from stints in other bands, notably including Reality Jones. Drew played his first gig with us on May 16 at the Bartlett Country Club in Olean, and it's sounding pretty nice. We'll continue to woodshed in the rehearsal studio, working up our show with Drew. We'll be working on some new tiunes as well. We're back in business, we're booking gigs, and it's full speed ahead, so check our gig calendar. |
| Keep your eyes peeled for some neat outdoor community gigs and festivals coming summer 2008! Stay tuned... |
| Flash - we've heard from Roomful of Blues by email, who are pleased that we're playing their tunes and look forward sometime to hearing us cover their stuff! Cool beans from the Providence rockers! |
| "Since 1990 - alive and kickin' it" |
| The sponsors of the Brucefest, Chautauqua County's annual charity music festival celebrating the memory of Chautauqua County's late great blues guitar slinger Bruce Peterson, held in June of every year, have decided not to hold the festival any longer. We've had good times playing at the festival several times, and it was always for good causes. We salute the memory of our departed brother-in-arms, Bruce Peterson, and direct you to visit the festival website at Brucefest.com while it's still up and running to learn about Bruce and the good work that the festival accomplished, and to purchase great Bruce memorabilia (CD's, DVD's, T shirts, hats, pins) - all profits to local charities! Last year's festival was on June 2, 2007 and featured Barrence Whitfield and the Savages. |
| August 9 Cattaraugus County Bicentennial, Onoville Marina, Kinzua Reservoir, 8:00 PM - 10:45 PM, with a break for fireworks in the middle of the set. An all day long family entertainment celebration - games, rides, food, legal beverages, and live music all day, with Mojo Hand the last act of the day!. |
| CANCELED!! The June 27 performance at the Hickey Tavern, Allegany NY has been canceled & will re-scheduled. |
| The June 27 performance at the Hickey Tavern has been canceled. For the time being, the balance of our schedule remains in place, but check back here for updates. We expect to be back up and running at some time this summer, and we'll be out on the stand for one or more short-set benefit and festival performances too. |