Mini-Moho Tour number One . . .

Posted by The Moho Collective , Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:46 PM

So it has been almost two weeks since we returned home from our first legitimate mini-tour. Starting in Hornell at Rick Brown's Institute (RBI), we kicked off the weekend with a killer show in what might be considered an unusual setting for The Moho Collective. We have played RBI before, but only in the VIP room which is rather detached and independent from the "bar" setting - it's more of a "venue". However, for various reasons (no opener and an anticipated slow night b/c of events around town) they decided to put us in the bar - which we were a little nervous about, seeing as how our typical show does not lend itself well to accompanying televised sporting events and competing with a jukebox full of pop music - but RBI is a special place. With the help of our good friend Milhouse, RBI can morph itself into an open-minded and left-of-center place, fully accepting of the arts. Milhouse has done a lot of work over the last 6 months to help make RBI more than a sports bar. So barring some crazed fan issues which resulted in very little sleep for all of us - especially Rister - the evening put another great show in the memory bank. We explored new musical territory, we jived with dedicated dancers and spectators, and impromptu interviews were conducted by Milhouse throughout the set (Milhouse is also the head DJ of WRBI Radio - "325 watts broadcasting absolutely nowhere all over the world"). I also must add that I most definitely experienced what will no doubt go down as one of the top three musical moments of my life - Ryan and I accompanied Milhouse on drums and percussion respectively as he scratched his funky turntables to the entire sequence of Mario Brothers theme songs! Talk about nostalgia at its finest! That was an absolute blast! We didn't end up with many pics of the evening - but it is rumored that there was quite a bit of video footage recorded, so stay tuned! Also worth noting is the Beatles cover we learned in the van on the way down - Across the Universe. It went over real well and above all it had an incredible energy about it - Rister and I did some spontaneous arranging by screaming at one another throughout the tune - and it turned out real well. We decided to keep it.

We'll be back to RBI on Saturday, July 17th for the Hornell Beer Olympics.



ahhh . . . home.


Next was an early departure off to Binghamton to the University's eclectic radio station WHRW. All was going smooth until we were about 25 minutes outside of Binghamton when the van made a funny little jerk and started running a bit differently. We could all feel it, but it was our recently appointed (literally minutes before the breakdown - we should have knocked on wood) band mechanic that noticed our volt meter had plummeted into oblivion - BEYOND THE RED! We lost all power in the van, yet luckily made it to a Velero where we could pull of and assess the situation. I must say, and I think I speak for everyone, that this breakdown was truly a great couple of hours, as it really showed us how well we work together OFF of the stage as well. With a scheduled radio show in an hour and a half, a busted van, and a trailer full of gear, AND two more shows for the weekend, we could have easily freaked out and given up, but we immediately started throwing ideas around and making the appropriate phone calls to try and remedy the situation. Within about 20 minutes the radio show was rescheduled to 6pm, AAA was on their way to get the van and drop it off where we were staying, G. Scott Corey (our featured artist for the night) was on his way with his dad's vehicle to pick up the trailer and bring us to the radio station, and our good friend Jeff Marsh was lined up to pick us up from the radio station and get us to the gig that night. Once this was all taken care of, we had hours of beautiful weather to kill, which we took full advantage of. We made sure to grab the essentials from the van - a cooler of beer, baseball mitts, etch-a-sketch, and the Dali Lama's "Book of Transformation" which we took turns reading aloud from. We spent the next couple of hours hanging in a nearby field and making the best of the situation. The logistics of getting the trailer from place to place, and which gear we needed for the radio show, but not for the gig and vice versa is all very confusing - but in the end it did all work out somehow.
The radio station was AMAZING! They supposedly have the largest collection of jazz and avant-garde vinyl this side of the Mississippi, all kept in a vault which our host Andrea was nice enough to let us into! WOW! All I can say is wow . . . I really wish we had more time to explore this incredible collection, but it was infectious just being there! The show went great - we had about 50 minutes of air-time and it was yet another typical Moho situation - us doing our thing in a new context - always adapting and always evolving. The station focuses on experimental music, so we felt very free to do what we enjoy most and just explore. Ryan played with a rigged up high-hat because of misplaced gear in all of the vehicle/trailer confusion - and of course our 4th member was there - the soothing but cacophonous buzz of my 1958 Gibson amplifier.

We eventually made it to Cyber Cafe West which, despite our first impression, turned out to be an amazing venue. This place may be considered the Boulder Coffee of Binghamton - only better and more cozy - (sorry Boulder - we love you still). The owner is this super-right-on guy named Jeff whom has done an awesome job putting this place and its vibe together. The brief opening description on their website says it all - check it out - http://www.cybercafewest.com/. Jeff ran sound for us and we got an exceptional soundboard recording, so stay tuned for some new live tracks! (We're in the editing process now). Lots of magic happened that evening as we reconnected with some old friends. G Scott Corey was the featured artist for the evening, and his display of work was immaculate. I've known G Scott for quite a few years now and I must say that I have always found both his music and his art to be very inspiring. He's very prolific - everything he displayed that night were pieces that he's created within the last two years. As someone who is familiar with G Scott's work - I was, as always, blown away by the fact that they were almost all pieces I had never seen before. I guess what I'm saying is - when you check out G Scott's work - just know that there is PLENTY more where that came from - having once lived with him, I know that this is a dude who can't help but just create all of the time. G Scott's live painting was right on - he was right there with us the whole night and totally hip to the idea. Check out G Scott's website at http://gscottcorey.com/







We also befriended some professional mural painters from New Zealand that are now basing themselves in Binghamton when they travel and paint in the states. We're looking forward to working with them in the future . . .

That night ended up being a long one - the boys sang the Tetris theme in harmony as I packed the trailer on a spiteful bet that it wouldn't all fit. It fit - but we DO need to get a bigger trailer. We also had to hook the loaded trailer back up to the van on a rain soaked 40 degree slope at 3 in the morning after many good beers. Just a few hours later, Rister, Ryan, Jeff, and Mr. Marsh (Jeff's dad - our incredibly helpful host) were out on that 40 degree slope in the pouring rain, replacing the alternator to the van! I was told to sleep in and I didn't argue. Mrs. Marsh had an incredible spread put out for breakfast, and we definitely left our mark. The Marshes are super nice people and have been out to see the Moho a couple of times - they definitely helped us defy the potential nightmare that out breakdown could have been.


By 11am we were on our way to the Lime Hollow Arts Festival just outside of Cortland. Lime Hollow is a nature reserve that promotes local artisans and musicians. They have 10 miles of hiking trails and a whole bunch of bird watching posts. There were musicians set up all along the trails - solo folk acts, a drum ensemble, a pretty gnarly didgeridoo player, and much more - It was a totally new experience for us, as we had never before attempted our tunes SANS ELECTRICITY! Above all, we had a total blast hiking with our instruments and setting up along one of the trails. The music translated real well, and those passing by were all approving. I can say for myself that it was eye-opening to play the tunes on just an acoustic guitar without any effects or tube overdrive . . . I'm glad to know that we can do THAT as well. I can see that being a part of what we do on tour next summer - busk acoustically during the day to make a little extra food money and promote our show that evening.
We also got some video and audio footage of this performance - so stay tuned for that as well. We did find it kind of funny that the only vegetarian food you could get at the nature reserve was salt potatoes - and there was PLENTY of meat to choose from - all served in Styrofoam and augmented with plastic utensils - EWWWW! I can't bash but we found it humorously disappointing at the very least.
Regardless, this place was very cool and a great way to finish up the weekend.



In the end, I think I speak for all of us when I say that despite some total weirdness and some unfortunate mishaps, our first mini-tour was a total success. We proved to ourselves that we do in fact work as well together off the stage as we do on the stage - AND we actually came home with money for the band fund! Enjoy the pics, video, and audio - it will be surfacing more and more over the next few days . . .

We'll be back to WHRW and Cyber Cafe West on Friday, November 12th to promote the autumn release of our debut album, as well as a show at Cyber Cafe West that night. The artist for the night is TBA, but some very promising and exciting prospects are developing!! Stay tuned!