At the vanguard of this revolution stands Mojada: Marco, Chad and Wes. Formed in 2006, the boys are the reborn collective from some of the ex-members of Jada. As it happened, a friend of the boys’ encountered a psychic in Los Angeles who, with no foreknowledge of the band, suggested that if they changed their name; they’d go on to conquer the globe. Fatefully the boys were already considering this possibility, due to a US-based group of wailing nuns living off their good name, and thus evolved Mojada. It seems the psychic was right.
Mojada’s metamorphosis dates back to 2001, when Marco Yellin and Chad Kendrick were touched by the hand of God while laying down some sounds at their Bondi studio. “There was a massive electrical storm building and, probably quite stupidly, we stuck a metal microphone out the window to record some thunder and rain as we jammed. We were blown away to discover, on playback, that the sounds of the storm fitted perfectly with the song, we could not have planned it better, right down to the storm’s final thunderclap blending perfectly with the song’s last note. This was a sign. We just sat in excited silence, knowing we were on to something.” With musical influences as diverse as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin and the Doobie Brothers, it’s no wonder that their unique sound refuses to be typecast. Funk, groove, rock, blended with slide guitar and melody.
“It’s become apparent that if you’ve seen Mojada at one of their shows recently that sexy, hip, and wild young people can’t get enough of them, and neither can I.” [Tim Holland, Music Network/ABC Records]
“Mojada produces straight up catchy groove-rock, which wouldn’t be out of place with your Beautiful Girls, Pete Murray or the like, but it is their stronger sense of melody that sets them apart from those other acts” [Mark Neilson, Drum Media]
The next step for the guys was to escape the very city that formed them, in the quest for direction and perspective. Solitude beckoned in the surfer’s haven of Ulladulla, on the south coast, and it is in this auspicious setting that the band and its songs found their legs. Here also the boys were keyed-up to meet legendary muso and fellow surfer Jack Johnson, whose tour piano was later used to record Put Your Hands Up. A new energy was born, to be complemented on their return to Sydney by the discovery of the super groovy beats of drummer Wes Roy. “Wes blended his funky drumming style with our song writing and the core of the band was unearthed. The sound had been completed, and we knew that if we just played as much as we could up and down the east coast we’d get people stoked. All we wanted was to get rooms full of people up out of their chairs and moving. We never have problems rocking into a town and connecting with a bunch of locals just wanting to leave their cares behind for one night, and have a good time.” On the road, Mojada have shared the stage with Thirsty Merc, Ozomatli, The Beautiful Girls, Pete Murray, and Ash Grunwald. They released their first EP through MGM, which debuted at #4 on iTunes, above artists like Coldplay, Wolfmother and Bernard Fanning. The single Sacrifice was named iTunes’ Single of the Week, and, that week alone, over 4000 copies found new ears. They recorded the single and music vid Put Your Hands Up, produced by Craig Portiels (Guns N Roses, Fleetwood Mac and Shannon Noll), and enlisted ex-Frenzal Rhomb bass player Lex Feltham and keyboardist Niall Anderson to hit the road, including some big Sydney shows in venues like The Basement, where word was spreading and the venue was at capacity by dusk.
Mojada have all the right ingredients to fulfil their promise of being a new musical force: a fresh sound leading a new musical trend, the feel of summer that’s synonymous with their laidback vibe, and a serious need to live in the moment, party like there’s no tomorrow and extract every drop of life from their brief time on this fantastic earth.
