The Mojo Birds don’t come around often. Most of them hail from Colorado, with one member residing in North Carolina and one local member from Shrewsbury. If you have the chance to see them, I highly recommend doing so. I got to see them last summer at the Killington Block Party. They put on a banger of a show. Their eclectic mix of music is amazing, with something for everyone.
This summer, they’ll be touring Vermont for a week with several area shows, including Friday, June 27, at the Shrewsbury Meeting House at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, July 1, at Pittsford Village Farm at 6 p.m. They’ll finish their tour on July 4 at the Clear River Tavern in Pittsfield at 7:30 p.m.
The band describes themselves as, “A funky flock. Roots rock, soul music—inspired by the likes of The Band, a touch of Al Green, and a healthy dose of Afro-Peruvian mojo.” Joining Jay Harootunian (guitar/vocals/Peruvian flute) and Silas Hamilton (upright bass/vocals/fiddle) are Alexi Leon (vocals/percussion), Brian Aherne (guitar/slide guitar/vocals/harmonica), Ted Moore (drums/vocals/percussion), and Alex Taub (keys/vocals/melodica). This lineup of the band has been together for a year. The block party was Hamilton’s first gig with them. Mojo started a year before Hamilton joined. You can find them on Facebook and Instagram under their band name Mojo Birds. or visit: mojobirds.com.
Hamilton spoke about the band as “roots groove,” adding, “We do a dynamic show. We’re a dance band.”
“The live experience is what makes it fun and different. Alexi is really infectious. She gives positive energy. For me, a big inspiration is The Band with Levon Helm. We all love hanging out with each other, we’re having a great time on stage. Hopefully, that is conveyed to the audience: celebrating getting to play music with each other,” said Harootunian. “It definitely is, you can see the fun they’re having.”
“There’s a lot of soul going on. Having Alex on keyboard really brings in that soul aspect.” added Hamilton.
Hamilton has always played the upright bass. He said he can play the electric, but he’s more “comfy” on the upright.
Mojo Birds traveled to Nashville to record their first album, which will receive a vinyl release. They hope to have the album out later this summer. I listened to it, and it made me a big fan. “Good Things” gives you a good time listening to it. I can see myself dancing to that. “Blame it on the Day” is a soulful number. Harootunian’s lead vocals are sweet, but what makes this song is the music of the band and the harmonies. It’s such a cool-vibe song. “Las Callas” features Taub singing in Spanish. “Someday,” led by Harootunian, is another feel-good favorite of mine. The band really shines with “Arrow V3”, especially Taub. Every track was awesome. My favorite music is music that moves you, and Mojo Birds do just that.
Jay said, “That’s the fun of our band,” said Harootunian. “Everybody writes, and we bring it together. We’ll try out songs live and see what happens. This Vermont trip is really awesome for us. We built in some downtime. We’ll just post up in Shrewsbury or Plymouth, where there are no distractions, and write together. The same thing happens out in Colorado when Silas is here; we just sit down and start from scratch. We sing, write, and play together.”
At their live shows, they most often improvise without a setlist. Harootunian will have a song list to remind him of the options he has.
“We just call audibles and feel what the audience is doing,” said Harootunian. “We’ve done it enough that we know what tunes to put where. The fun part is sometimes you throw in a tune that doesn’t seem like the best one to put in at the moment, but it works, so now you have a good time learning why you were able to put a song in at an odd time in the set.”
Even though they’re both originally from Vermont, Hamilton and Harootunian met in Colorado. Hamilton was out there with the bluegrass band Tone Dog. They were neighbors. One day, Harootunian noticed Hamilton’s Vermont plates, so he asked where he was from. Hamilton told him, “From a little town you’ve never heard of.” But Harootunian had heard of it. He responded, “I knew it real well.”
Before Hamilton joined, “Moon Birds” was discussed as a name because of a curious fact: back in the day, people believed birds would fly to the moon. They liked the word “bird,” and “mojo” had a nice ring to it.
“The name represents the band. We’re all a flock of birds. We’re songwriters, we all work together, it’s a real band, with equality being a big part of it. Sharing the work and having a good time together. Mojo represents magic, and there’s so much magic in music,” said Harootunian.
Hamilton encouraged people to come out and catch one of their upcoming shows in Vermont.
“I would go see this band if I weren’t in it,” said Hamilton.
“I like being able to throw energy into something and get even more energy back.” Harootunian said, “There’s some shows where you literally feel like you’re floating. There’s no other feeling like it. It’s excitement, adrenaline. You’re with your friends on stage. The audience is what we feed off of. If it’s a good night and everyone’s dancing and having a good time, it’s just a celebration. The audience really does affect the music fully. The real answer is, it’s simply fun.”
