Interview liquid groove mojo

2005 revelation, Liquid Groove Mojo gave us an interview, and gave us the opportunity to better know this Southern Blues Rock Jam band.

RTJ : First, we'd like to congratulate you for this wonderful album, for us one of the best of the year 2005!

JP - Thank you so much. It really makes us feel good to be appreciated for the music we make.

RTJ : How is born Liquid Groove Mojo ?

JP- It came about from the ending of another band, "Delta Hurricanes", that was primarily a Allman Brothers tribute band. Darrell and me were the guitarists in that band, so we just found Al at a local blues/funk jam, and Bryan drumming in another band and the four of us got together, and it was like none of us wanted to leave. It just felt right, and the four of us get along so well that we just had to do something.

RTJ : Where does come the name of the band ? Has it a special signification ?

JP- You know, their has been a lot of speculation on where that name came from, primarily from our fans trying to figure it out. It's gone as far as even people thinking it has a ''mystical'' or magical meaning. But, actually, our fans named us. We were at a local blues jam, and we got up and did a couple of songs, and some people came to us and one said, "Man, you guys got this liquid groove thing happening'', and another said, "Yeah, and you got mojo too''. So, it kind of stuck. Liquid Groove Mojo. Sounded cool so we went with it.

RTJ : Can you introduce the members of the group to us ?

JP: Darrell Davis, guitars/vocals, Al Hagood, Bassist , Bryan Blankenship, drums, and myself, Joe Pitts, guitar/slide/vocals.

RTJ : What were your main musical influences ?

JP- Growing up as a kid in the south, I was awarded the opportunity to hear all kinds of music. My older sister was a music lover, so I got the jazz influence of Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Coltrane from her, then, you had to listen to the Allmans. Dickey and Duane. I listened a lot to Charlie Daniels too. But, on the other side, I listened to Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Neil Young and ZZ Top, and Otis Redding, and some of the other R&B groups, so my musical influences were from a pretty diverse group. I love all kinds and genre's of music.

RTJ : Do you all, in the band, have the same tastes and musical influences ?

JP- No, not at all. Darrell comes from Hendrix, Clapton, SRV, Albert King. Al comes from R&B, like the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Four Tops, and Bryan's influences are out of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eagles and Van Halen.

RTJ : How do you classify your music ? jam ? southern-rock ? blues ?

JP- We're just a blues-rock jam band. We have southern influences, but when you just get right down to it, we're just a rock band.

RTJ : I've read that you have a special and personnel approach of playing live on stage. Are you a little bit like Gov't Mule that often improvises on stage and never plays the same songs every night ?

JP: Yes. And we never play the same song the same way. The structure of the songs are still there, but everything else is improvisational. There are no rehearsed solo's and no rehearsed breaks. We just listen to each other very well, and let the music take us where it wants to go, not us determining where the music goes.

RTJ : When we listen carefully to your album, it is clear that you have some great slide-guitar choruses, a little bit like Warren Haynes, isn't it ?

JP: In some places I've been told that it sounds like Warren. Not a bad guy to be grouped in with. Warren is a great player, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, so, to be compared to him, is very humbling. I've also been told people can hear Duane, Billy Gibbons and Tim Brooks too. So, hopefully I've done my homework, and taken a little from all of them.

RTJ : Is, for you, Liquid Groove Mojo a Southern Rock Band ?

JP: I guess if you just pull all the covers off of our music, we're just a rock band, that lives in the South.

RTJ : Can you tell us about the recording of the album. Who wrote the songs ?

JP: Darrell and me wrote the majority of the songs, either as a team, or individually. We put two covers on the album that our fans here liked hearing us play, one a Kinsey Report tune, and one, a Warren Haynes song. We recorded in a log cabin studio in the woods of Arkansas. Such a peaceful tranquility. We started the album in September, and had it finished in early January, but had to wait a few weeks to get Greg Calbi (Sterling Sound NYC), to master it. Jeff Brocaw mixed the album, and we can't say enough good enough things about him. He's a multi-platinum, grammy nominated mix engineer who really made us sound like we really do. Rhonda Pitts, engineered and tracked the whole album for us (she is our live engineer), and did a great job of capturing the tones on tape, for Jeff to work with. All in all, it was a great experience working with such dedicated professionals as Greg, Jeff and Rhonda.

RTJ : Do you earn your living in playing music ?

JP: We try to stay busy enough to only play music, our motto, "Have music, will travel".

RTJ : Is it easy to play such a music in the United States today ? Is there a big audience for such a kind of music ?

JP: Yes, there has been a huge resurgence of audiences coming out to hear the bands that fit into the "jam band scene", and being as improvisational as we are, we fit right in. There's something in our shows for everyone. Blues, rock, soul. A little bit of everything.

RTJ : Have you already be a support band for big groups, such as Lynyrd, Allman or Gov't Mule, etc… ?

JP: Not as much as we'd like, we're working our way toward that. We have played with a lot of big names, but, we'd like to get on a tour with a major band, to spread the word about LGM.

RTJ : Is it a special will to play with big bands, or would you prefer to stay away from the big music business ?

JP: It's our will to play our music, wherever it may take us. Big stages, small clubs. We just want to take our music to the masses.

RTJ : What can we wish you for the future ?

JP: We are going to record a live album in the fall (Oct/Nov), and then in December, we're going back into the studio to start the 2nd studio album. We're excited about the new songs that we have written for the new album, and are getting all our ideas down, so that we can give our fans, a better album than the first.

RTJ : Except music, what do you enjoy in life ?

JP: We are pretty much outdoors people. We love fishing, camping and being in the mountains. On a riverbank, or in the woods. More than anything, to get away from life, and enjoying a slowed down pace.

RTJ : Usual question on Road to Jacksonville, if you have to finish your life on a desert island, what would be the five albums you take with you ?

JP: Miles Davis: Kind of Blue, Hendrix: Are you Experienced, Cream : Disraeli Gears, The Allman Brothers: Live at the Fillmore East, ZZ Top: Rio Grande' Mud

RTJ : Have you anything else to say to your French fans ?

JP: We thank them for being so supportive of our music, and that we are looking forward to coming to France to play some shows in the near future. From left to right: Bryan Blankenship, Al Hagood, Darrell Davis, Joe Pitts