MojoFlo

Mojoflo brings a party with them, wherever they go. They were absolutely the perfect way to start off the main stage of the Nelsonville Music Festival on Friday – enthusiastically encouraging everyone to participate in their show (and getting tons of response), while bringing full energy to their entire set. I had the chance to sit down with them all backstage, before their show, and I didn’t want to stop talking with them. Here’s what we talked about:

Michelle/Clutch: When I found all of y’all originally, part of that was because I was interviewing Angela Perley of the Howlin’ Moons, who loves you guys…when I said “who are you excited about”, that’s coming to Nelsonville, she said “Mojoflo”.

Mojoflo: Aww, thanks Angela. We’re hometown homies.

M/C: You guys are getting ready to go on (to perform)…today’s the first full day. You guys are gonna kick off the first full day.

Walter (K): Yess. Woo! We can’t wait!

M/C: I’ve seen some of your performances online, but never in person. And I’m really excited about the energy you bring to the table, to the stage.

W: It’s really just a big table.

M/C: Right? I was talking with Genean (part of their support team) about how you keep your energy up.

W: Well the audience is always a big part of it. That’s a beautiful thing-the energy that goes back and forth, when you’re up there, playing. So that’s the biggest part that keeps you going. When you look out and everyone else is out there, having a good time.

Amber: I had a more practical answer, I was like “well, I made sure I got 8 hours of sleep, last night, (laughter) and I eat an apple a day, make sure I don’t eat like, a hamburger before stage.” But that was a way better answer!

W: Get more sleep, have lots of water…

George (Barrie): A lot of us went to Bonnaroo (music festival) a few years ago (in 2013). and one of the things…huge crowds…one of the things that all the bands did was something (with) crowd interaction-get them involved, hands up, clappin’ and stuff. But Amber actually came back and she’s developed a few things, from that inspiration.

A: It was my first big festival, so I was just ignorant to the whole festival world. I didn’t even know this (world) existed (at the time). So it was really, really cool to see that.

Mojoflo0001

M/C: Forgive my ignorance, but is this the first festival you’ve performed (NMF)?

A: No, we’ve done lots of festivals, we just went to Bonnaroo as guests. It was my first time attending a big music festival. (We’ve performed at) All Good, Werk Out, Rootwire, Mad Tea Party Jam. We’ve been to a lot, over the past few years.

W: We go to Kentucky a lot. Moonshiner’s Ball, Harvest Fest, and all those down there.

A: Yeah, Terrapin Hill, PawPaw Festival.

W: Independence Fest last year with Juicy J.

A: Oh my gosh, yeah, we got snowed in. It was freezing cold.

G: I specifically remember that show because, well…we were one of the only live (instrument) bands. Everyone else was a DJ and rappers, and I pulled out my guitar…all of my strings were loose..

M/C: Oh no

G: And I’m tuning up, I’m cranking each tuner. I get this one in tune, get that one in tune. I’m all the way the way done, and my (guitar) neck is like (makes a sweeping curved gesture with his hand). And the neck snaps. And I just turned my back to the crowd. I had a backup guitar, but it was like, right before we were about to go on. It’s like you broke a bone, or something.

A: Which he has done before we went on tour once…speaking of that. He went snowboarding before one of our first big tours, we were gonna be gone for weeks.

G: I sent them a picture (laughter)

A: And he was like “guys, my wrist”

M/C: Oh no, your wrist! You couldn’t just “break a leg” and sit in a chair or anything.

G: I did the tour (it was a 5 week tour) and they didn’t put me in a full cast or anything. I had a removable splint or something.

M/C: So festivals like this one (Nelsonville)…what do you enjoy about what that brings to your band (vs. bar shows, or other environments)?

A: I love…it’s like a community thing. I was just telling someone on stage, “We know this family out there.” We were just sound checking, and we’ve known them since we started (performing as a band), and we knew them as a couple, and they have three kids now. It’s stuff like that that’s really cool. You just have people you’ve known for a long time, and have known you for a long time, and you’ve seen them from the beginning, and they’re just excited to grow with us. That happens a lot. We’ve been playing in Athens for several years. We’ve played at Jackie-O’s, and for Athens’/OU Halloween. We played at the (Stuart’s) Opera House, last summer…at festivals, it’s more of a community aspect, it’s not like at a bar…there’s still fun people at bars. But they could be strangers, every night…

W: A lot more people are here for music as opposed to (just) getting drunk. Club shows are great, but people go to a bar to get drunk, for the most part. The focus is more on the music, which is nice for us.

G: And when you get a lot of music lovers together, it’s a lot of good people.

W: Yes! I feel like I make a new friend at every single one (festival).

M/C: Is there anything you’d say is different about Nelsonville, over other festivals you’ve been a part of?

G: Some fests you might be out in the hills…this one’s kinda closer to Athens, Columbus, and it’s a family fest. Some fests might not be for kids, which is okay. But you know, we get people from Cleveland, Columbus, Athens, Cincy…all of the fan base is coming together.

M/C: Last question. Is there anything in all of the interviews that you’ve had that you wish people would just ask you, and they just don’t?

A: I like to talk anyways, so whatever questions people think to ask me, I think “that’s cool”. I guess “this” is a question I’ve never heard before.

G: Create your own question, huh? I see what you’re doing here, Michelle (laughing).

W: What is this, a Mad Lib?

M/C: I feel like often, people can research the basics (how did you meet, etc.), but there might be a purpose you’d like to share, little traditions that you love…

W: I guess that hasn’t come up before is “why are we doing this”? It’s good people…you meet a lot of good people everywhere you go, and you make connections.

A: I think every time I think about not doing it (performing, music), I just get really, really sad about the people I’m not gonna see anymore, and I ask myself if I’m ready for that. “Noooo”. I’m gonna piggyback on that. Piggyback, we also love to do piggyback rides. (more laughing)

M/C: If you want to share anything you have coming up, I’d love for people to know:

W: Be sure to check out our newest single. It’s called “Crazy 4 U”. It’s on YouTube, it’s our new video.

For more, follow Mojoflo on Facebook and check out their website. - Clutch MOV

One of the greatest genres of music is alive and oh-so-well here in Columbus. MojoFlo is a blazing ball of musical talent with Amber Nicole (lead vocals) and George Barrie (guitar) joining us on this episode. We explore the depths of funk, soul, and discover stories the group has never told before. We also get a couple exclusive acoustics that will make you wonder how the funk you didn’t listen to more of this band. - In the Record Store

...However, I was present to witness MoJoFlo bring the fucking house down.

While the horn section left a sour first impression, coming in slightly off at the top of the show likely due to nerves, the act as a whole was remarkable. These performers are too young to demand musical perfection from start to finish, but what they lacked in experience they more than made up for in soul.

These performers have a finger on the funk, a solid grasp of soul and a heaping helping of heart which when accompanied by the sheer tightness of the group, leaves audiences in awe.

MoJoFlo consists of lead singer Amber Knicole, guitar player and vocalist George Barrie, Walter K. on sax, Adam Bidwell on trumpet and Dave Klassik holding down the bass.

The band played their first number without Amber, then, with the lights out she made her entrance. And what an impression this funkadelic femme fatale made. Using every inch of the stage as her playground, this versatile artist showed what she could do in an extremely memorable performance featuring some originals and a delightful mix of classic covers.

You can catch MoJoFlo at Tribal Connection Art and Music Festival at Frontier Ranch on May 7-9. - NID Magazine

#1 - Mojoflo

Swinging horns, funky beats, and killer vocals. What more could you want? Mojoflo’s got the music you didn’t even know you were craving. Their unique style spans genres; it’s hard to know whether to call it jazz, soul, rock, or hip-hop, so let’s just go with really good music. - 614 Columbus

Best Local Band

MojoFlo (22 percent) - Columbus Monthly

“Mojoflo: It’s as fun to listen to as it is to say. Playing both horn-driven instrumentals and vivacious ditties with accompanying lyrics, Mojoflo successfully mixes elements of jazz, funk, hip hop and rock into an eclectic groove they can only call their own” - Toledo City Paper

A couple weeks ago, we played a thank you reception for The Big Table. A man approached us afterwards and said he saw us perform six years ago. He said that he was in a car accident a few days after that performance, putting him into a weeklong coma, and that the first thing he remembered when he woke up was seeing Mojoflo, and that he had a damn good time.

Yeah, Mojoflo is kinda that good.

In many ways, this somewhat unbelievable anecdote epitomizes the raw power of Mojoflo’s music, a band that has become the apex of Columbus neo-funk—their trumpeting melodies and soft, delicately crooned hooks reminiscent of an art-damaged James Brown tinged with an Erykah Badu swoon. Their sound is luscious and smooth, funky and raucous, and, as demonstrated above, sincerely unforgettable.

“It’s high energy, party music, but there is newness to it. It’s all of our experiences as musicians coming together,” said vocalist Amber Knicole. “What we are doing is classic funk music filtered through the 2000s.”

And lately she’s been doing all that from roughly 20 feet off the stage.

It’s the latest installment from a band that prides itself on coma-busting concert presense: Knicole, on an aerial hoop, belting out notes with each hypnotic swing, mesmerizing the crowd with her funk-meets-performance-art.

“Yes our music is great, and you can throw the record on the player and have a good time,” Knicole said, “but I always wanted to be that band that you just have to see in person.”

And that is the case in many ways—Knicole is fierce and hypnotizing live, her voice booming off the same ceiling she’s dangling from.

“Performing live is such a communal experience,” said saxophonist Walter Kolhoff, one of the three core members of the group. “It is all about taking everybody in the room on a journey, and once we are finished everybody feels a little better—well, at least until you wake up in the morning.”

Or, after a weeklong slumber.

They have had plenty of time to perfect their presence—eight years to be exact—cutting their teeth in campus-adjacent dives five nights a week during their inception, a grueling task when splitting $100 seven or so ways (depending on the night) means doing it for more than the money. Nowadays, they have earned the right to call themselves career musicians.

“I was filling out a form for jury duty the other day, and when asked my occupation I answered ‘musician.’ That was a really weird feeling, to see how far we have come,” said Knicole. “It is extremely validating; Columbus has always shown us a lot of love. I think it something that we had to earn; nothing has ever been handed to us. We have never been a ‘what’s hot right now’ band. We have always been this slow burn.”

Lots of love is right—our dear readers voted Mojoflo Columbus’s Best Band of 2016. Their momentum has gained them a sponsorship with Gateway Film Center, who recently premiered their most recent music video, Crazy 4 U, this past February.

In many ways, this partnership demonstrates the full turnaround of the band, as one their first gigs was a street performance playing Christmas covers outside of the theater in the middle of the winter. Now, PromoWest has brought them into the fold, putting them up at the iconic Newport Music Hall December 2.

Talk about a serendipitous full circle.

“We did things just for the hell of it back then,” said Kolhoff. “Now we have schedules, debuts, and recording session. It is just crazy.”

In addition to the upcoming show, the band is working on their first full-length album, arguably one that has been eight years in the making.

“The point of doing this album is so that we could take everyone on a journey, “said Kolhohf. “Our EPs have always been little 30-minute tastes, but now we are finally ready to take people away. That is the existential side of things at least.”

Mojoflo will be debuting songs from their new album at Newport Music Hall December 2. Their first full-length record will drop next summer.

Danny Hamen - (614) Columbus

A couple weeks ago, we played a thank you reception for The Big Table. A man approached us afterwards and said he saw us perform six years ago. He said that he was in a car accident a few days after that performance, putting him into a weeklong coma, and that the first thing he remembered when he woke up was seeing Mojoflo, and that he had a damn good time.

Yeah, Mojoflo is kinda that good.

In many ways, this somewhat unbelievable anecdote epitomizes the raw power of Mojoflo’s music, a band that has become the apex of Columbus neo-funk—their trumpeting melodies and soft, delicately crooned hooks reminiscent of an art-damaged James Brown tinged with an Erykah Badu swoon. Their sound is luscious and smooth, funky and raucous, and, as demonstrated above, sincerely unforgettable.

“It’s high energy, party music, but there is newness to it. It’s all of our experiences as musicians coming together,” said vocalist Amber Knicole. “What we are doing is classic funk music filtered through the 2000s.”

And lately she’s been doing all that from roughly 20 feet off the stage.

It’s the latest installment from a band that prides itself on coma-busting concert presense: Knicole, on an aerial hoop, belting out notes with each hypnotic swing, mesmerizing the crowd with her funk-meets-performance-art.

“Yes our music is great, and you can throw the record on the player and have a good time,” Knicole said, “but I always wanted to be that band that you just have to see in person.”

And that is the case in many ways—Knicole is fierce and hypnotizing live, her voice booming off the same ceiling she’s dangling from.

“Performing live is such a communal experience,” said saxophonist Walter Kolhoff, one of the three core members of the group. “It is all about taking everybody in the room on a journey, and once we are finished everybody feels a little better—well, at least until you wake up in the morning.”

Or, after a weeklong slumber.

They have had plenty of time to perfect their presence—eight years to be exact—cutting their teeth in campus-adjacent dives five nights a week during their inception, a grueling task when splitting $100 seven or so ways (depending on the night) means doing it for more than the money. Nowadays, they have earned the right to call themselves career musicians.

“I was filling out a form for jury duty the other day, and when asked my occupation I answered ‘musician.’ That was a really weird feeling, to see how far we have come,” said Knicole. “It is extremely validating; Columbus has always shown us a lot of love. I think it something that we had to earn; nothing has ever been handed to us. We have never been a ‘what’s hot right now’ band. We have always been this slow burn.”

Lots of love is right—our dear readers voted Mojoflo Columbus’s Best Band of 2016. Their momentum has gained them a sponsorship with Gateway Film Center, who recently premiered their most recent music video, Crazy 4 U, this past February.

In many ways, this partnership demonstrates the full turnaround of the band, as one their first gigs was a street performance playing Christmas covers outside of the theater in the middle of the winter. Now, PromoWest has brought them into the fold, putting them up at the iconic Newport Music Hall December 2.

Talk about a serendipitous full circle.

“We did things just for the hell of it back then,” said Kolhoff. “Now we have schedules, debuts, and recording session. It is just crazy.”

In addition to the upcoming show, the band is working on their first full-length album, arguably one that has been eight years in the making.

“The point of doing this album is so that we could take everyone on a journey, “said Kolhohf. “Our EPs have always been little 30-minute tastes, but now we are finally ready to take people away. That is the existential side of things at least.”

Mojoflo will be debuting songs from their new album at Newport Music Hall December 2. Their first full-length record will drop next summer. - 614 Columbus