Mojohand is awesome.
Yes, these intros are supposed to give you some sort of sweeping overview of the sonic and lyrical tapestry of the bands that perform at Asbury Jams … but it’s hard to not be blunt about how good Mojohand is. The Toms River, NJ-born band which steeps itself in the type of “Cosmic Americana” you’d hear from Sturgill Simpson is one of those bands that when you hear the first 30 seconds of a song, you’re immediately adding them to multiple playlists. (For the record, “Highway Girl” and “Heaven’s Gate” currently reside on three of my playlists).
Recently I caught up with the guys from Mojohand to talk about Mojofest (their annual festival in Toms River), what drew them to their genre of music, the future of the band and more.
Mojohand is (Band Members & Instruments They Play): Elijah Klein – Guitarist and lead singer, Joe Dinardo – Bassist, Ian D’Arcy – Keyboardist and singer, Jasper Mahncke – Drummer and singer.
Year We Formed In: Elijah, Joe and Ian founded Mojohand in late 2016 with a rotating cast of side musicians. We played around the New Jersey music scene regularly, but it wasn’t until Elijah met Jasper in 2018 that the current lineup was formed.
The Story Behind Our Name: We got our name from the Grateful Dead song “Ramble On Rose.”
Bands That Inspired Our Sound: The Band, Tom Petty, Dawes, Steve Reich, and Gram Parsons.
Famous/Awesome Bands We’ve Shared the Stage With: Probably the most famous was opening for Oteil Burbridge in September of 2020. We’ve known Oteil for a few years and he’s a great guy to be around, so we jumped at the opportunity! Another is Whitey Morgan from Flint, Michigan – we drove to Texas in March to play Bandit Town USA, a music festival outside Austin. Whitey’s a fantastic performer, as were the other acts Summer Dean, Henry Conlon and Jesse Daniel. Lastly, we opened for Taz Niederdauer in September 2021. That was an awesome show, Taz’s band is killing!
Your sound is described as “Cosmic Americana,” which is a wild subgenre that acts like Sturgill Simpson, Townes Van Zandt and Cass McCombs being some of the more recognizable names from it. What is it about this sound that drew you to it and inspired you to be the official sound of the band?
We’re drawn to the Americana genre because it’s the genre that rewards good songwriting and arranging. It gives us a lot of flexibility and options to make our songs the very best they can be – I mean what is Americana really besides “American music?” It means we can play country, Motown R&B, free jazz, and stadium rock all in one setlist. And we like all that.
You released the album Songbook in 2021 and it’s fantastic — can you let us know if there’s a new record in the works?
The answer’s yes; anyone who’s seen us multiple times knows we’re always adding new songs into the repertoire. We play new songs live for months before we even think about recording them, because you have to see how audiences react to them, see what works and what doesn’t. Elijah’s a walking song factory, so there’s no shortage of stuff to record. As for dates; all we can say is that it’s coming.
I’m a big fan of the album artwork and the artwork for the singles — who drew this and how much input did you guys have on its creation b/c it fits the music so well.
The artist for Songbook is T.W. Rushing from Atlanta, Georgia – shoutout to him! We gave him a lot of artistic license; for all our singles artwork and T-shirts too, we’ll give the artist the song or album and just let them draw what they see from listening to it. Sometimes there’s revisions, but letting a professional artist do their job relatively freely will more often than not get you an even better piece than you could’ve come up with yourself. Other artists we’ve worked with include: Nick Potts, Chakra System and Wolf Bomb. Check them out!
Mojo Fest 6 happened in Toms River earlier this year with one of our favorite acts Jackson Pines. For someone who’s never attended Mojo Fest — can you tell us about the vibe and what people can expect if they want to come out for a potential fest next year? Also, can you talk about the fun/stress of putting your own fest together?
Mojofest is the best! Everyone shows out. We spend so much time out of the year playing in other states, so Mojofest gives us an opportunity to see all of our oldest friends and fans, it’s great to get bands and fans together who would’ve never met otherwise, and do it at an outdoor green spot. Mojofest 4 was especially special, because it was the first show we played in 2020 since COVID shut everything down, and it was a lot of people’s first social event at all since March of that year. It can be stressful, mostly when it comes to the logistics of gear and the possibility of rain. It’s always worth it, though – people always tell us how much of a great experience it is.
If someone wanted come out to Asbury Jams at Wonder Bar to hear you guys play – what song of yours would you suggest they “pre-game” with (listen to before they come to the show) in order to fully get what Mojohand is all about?
Put Songbook on shuffle – you’ll hear a bunch of those tunes. Or, check out “Sweet Cactus Flower”- it’s older, but it’s a fan favorite!
What do you love about being in this band?
It would be shorter to list things we don’t like. Being in this band is interesting, because it’s work but it’s also a privilege – yeah, we’re always busy on the weekends and going to bed late, but to be afforded the opportunity to travel around the country to play your music, meet new people and have adventures is such a luxury that a lot of people don’t get. We’re grateful for any show experience, whether it’s to five or five hundred people, because both we and the audiences get so much out of it.
What’s been one of your favorite experiences on the road so far this year?
Touring the South was everything we hoped it would be and more. We’ve played in the northeast – Pensylvania, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts – but Texas was the farthest we’d ever been on the road. Culture was so different, the music and crowds totally different than here in New Jersey. Going through Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee also gave us some incredible food experiences; it was honestly just as much a food tour as it was a music one.
