The Mosier Brothers Band
Atlanta, Georgia, United States | INDIE
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Peter Rowan, who has see-sawed between traditional and experimental music throughout his career, has announced a four day run of dates with alt-grassers The Mosier Brothers in June.
Rowan, of course, needs no introduction to most Bluegrass Today readers. He burst onto the scene as guitarist and vocalist with the Blue Grass Boys in the 1960s, along with future legends Richard Greene and Bill Keith. He and Greene then founded a rock group, Seatrain, which enjoyed some modest success, before teaming with Keith, Greene and Clarence White as Muleskinner. He later collaborated with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Vassar Clements for a pair of classic recordings as Old And In The Way.
Pete has continued to record and tour to the present day – sometimes with a very bluegrass vibe, and others times in more eclectic settings, keeping his rebel and preservationist cards up to date.
The Mosiers, especially banjo-picking brother Jeff, are equally legendary in the progressive, jam grass, space grass world. Jeff started Blueground Undergrass in 1998, which lit a spark that has led to dozens of other bands merging rock and bluegrass rhythms and instrumentation. Their sound, like The Mosier Brothers, is loose and jammy, with more of the fusion sound than would get Mr. Monroe’s blessing. Brother Johnny Mosier serves as guitarist with both outfits.
Their June tour together, which both Rowan and the Mosiers hope is the first of several, is titled Roots and Branches - An eclectic A-Z musical journey of songs and stories from the life of Peter Rowan, and Pete is raring to go.
“I am always ready to collaborate with Jeff Mosier and his fine musicians, to explore the musical tree of Americana-bluegrass roots. We might even find some new branches on the old tree! We can harvest new fruit from old roots!”
The four shows are concentrated in the southeastern US.
June 13 – Riverbend Festival Chattanooga, TN
June 14 – Pisgah Brewing Black Mountain, NC
June 15 – The Pour House Charleston, SC
June 16 – The Handlebar Greenville, SC
You can watch a number of videos on YouTube from a show they did together in 2011. Further details on the June shows can be found online. - Bluegrass Today
Awendaw Turns Blue
The Charleston Bluegrass Festival debuts with the Mosier Brothers and more
by Stratton Lawrence
Way down upon the Suwannee River, on a venture at Florida's Springfest in 2003, I awoke on Easter morning to banjo music. The Rev. Jeff Mosier, ordained in the church of Col. Bruce Hampton's Aquarium Rescue Unit, hosted Sunday morning "services," drawing the weary from their tents for a communion of mimosas and bluegrass.
Nine years later, he's still spreading the gospel. His band, the Mosier Brothers — with brother Johnny and fiddle player David Blackmon (a longtime Widespread Panic collaborator) — have taken the wheel from Blueground Undergrass as Mosier's main project lately.
"It's more song-driven, but we still have hippie psychedelic tendencies," jokes Mosier.
They'll headline the inaugural Charleston Bluegrass Festival this Easter weekend at Awendaw Green. The two-day event transpired after Surf Bar co-owner Perry Darby and Awendaw Green exec Eddie White started discussing their varied connections and a shared dream of a real bluegrass showcase in the Lowcountry. Darby and White called on many of their old friends along with some nationally touring acts.
The two-day fest starts on Friday at 6 p.m. with Whoa Nelly, the South Carolina Broadcasters, Angel Snow, and Town Mountain. On Saturday, the festival runs from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. The roster includes Old Joe Clark, Jordan Igoe, L Shape Lot, Gravel Road Acoustic Trio, Guilt Ridden Troubadour, Doug Jones, the Bad Popes, Blue Billy Grit, Pierce Edens and the Dirty Work, Corduroy Road, Underhill Rose, the Mosier Brothers, and Hit or Miss.
Vendors will provide food and drink, including alcohol sales. No coolers will be allowed. Tickets are available online as well as at the Surf Bar, Sewee Outpost, Sewee Dental Care, and at Ye Olde Music Shop in Hanahan. Co-hosted by the Sewee Outpost (home of Awendaw Green's weekly Barn Jam series), the group hopes the event will generate funds for the Cape Romain Sea Turtle Programs and build staying power to become an annual affair.
Artists like Mosier probably won't hesitate to return — the banjo player expresses more faith in the Charleston scene than many locals might.
"I'm telling you, man, we drive five hours to play there because there's heart, not because we love the food," Mosier gushes. "The fans at Awendaw Green really get the power of live music. It's not just an audience and fan thing, but a community builder, and they're doing it."
- Charleston City Paper
The Mosier Brothers are a bundle of positive energy, good karma and beatific vibes. Brother Jeff on electric banjo and lead vocals can hardly stop smiling, and brother Johnny cut it up on both acoustic and electric guitars. Much of their full sound and jazzy interplay was there from their days as Blueground Undergrass, but so was some uplifting songwriting, full of good news and tributes to the healing force that is music. I especially enjoyed talking to this Atlanta-based duo, because they’ve been in the vanguard of bluegrass fusion for decades and they’ve given the scene and the art a lot of thought. I need to see these guys perform outdoors in the summer...
-Craig Havighurst, Music City Roots - Craig Havighurst, Music City Roots
CD Release - Hittin' the Note
Since their days in Good Medicine, Jeff and Johnny Mosier have been an integral part of the Southern bluegrass scene. Recently Jeff and Johnny revived their musical bond, and that inimitable family chemistry between Jeff (on banjo and vocals) and Johnny (on guitar and harmony vocals) is still intact. The Mosier Brothers is their best collaboration yet. The focus here is on good honest songs, played well by a great band that includes fiddle virtuoso David Blackmon and former Col. Bruce cohort Kris Dale on bass, with Jack Watson on drums.
Jeff Mosier’s deeply sincere voice and way with a song are the secret ingredients that set The Mosier Brothers apart from more jam-oriented bluegrass outfits. The Mosier Brothers can jam, and tracks like Johnny Mosier’s “The Red Hand of Ulster” show that this band can pick with the best of them. Still, Jeff’s heartfelt vocals on songs like “I’ve Endured” and “Never Wonder Why” are a distinctive highlight of The Mosier Brothers.
Speaking of Johnny Mosier, he plays more electric guitar than ever on this disc, and people who are used to thinking of him as an acoustic specialist are in for a surprise when they hear the ripping electric leads on tunes like “Any Mother Nature Would.”
The highlight of their new CD is “The Man In The Chair In The Sky,” a delightful send-up of organized religion featuring Col. Bruce Hampton in an amusing cameo. Mosier’s sense of humor and wise, witty delivery make this song an instant classic. - Hittin' The Note
Discography
"On My Way" - 2011
1. On My Way (Jeff Mosier)
2. I've Endured (Ola Belle Reed)
3. Any Mother Nature Would (Jeff Mosier)
4. Old Dangerfield (Bill Monroe)
5. Leaves That Are Green (Paul Simon)
6. Nothing Like A Hundred Miles (James Taylor)
7. Never Wonder Why (Jeff Mosier)
8. Meet Me On The Corner (Rod Clements)
9. The Red Hand Of Ulster (Johnny Mosier)
10. The Courier (Richard Shindell)
11. Man In The Chair In The Sky (Jeff Mosier)
12. Shining Man (Jeff Mosier)
13. Gentle On My Mind (John Hartford)
With special guests:
Oteil Burbridge (bass - tracks 6, 9, 12)
Ike Stubblefield (Hammond B3 organ)
The Count M'Butu (percussion)
Leah Calvert (harmony vocals)
Col. Bruce Hampton Ret. (track 11)
CD on sale at: http://www.hittinthenote.com/cart/p-1194-the-mosier-brothers.aspx
Songs from the CD receive airplay on these radio stations and more:
WNCW 88.7 Spindale, NC - www.wncw.org/
Wildman Steve Radio live365 - www.wildmansteve.com/
WUSC 90.5 Columbia, SC - wusc.sc.edu/
Inner Fm 96.5 Melbourne, Australia - www.innerfm.org.au
WRFG 89.3 Atlanta, GA - www.wrfg.org
WGOW 102.3 Chattanooga, TN - www.wgow.com/
WAMU 88.5 Washington, DC - www.bluegrasscountry.org/
WETS 89.5 Johnson City, TN - www.wets.org
WMNF 88.5 Tampa, FL - www.wmnf.org/
WUWF 88.1 Pensacola, FL - wuwf.org/
WRFN 107.1 Pasquo, TN - www.radiofreenashville.org/
Photos
Bio
"The Rev" Jeff Mosier is the founding member of Blueground Undergrass, the earliest music pioneer that merged bluegrass instruments and traditional tunes with the magnetic energy of rock and roll. The band he fronted for more than a decade recorded four albums and built a sizable national following by combining bluegrass purism with a jam band sensibility. As the jamband scene became more jam-tronica and less roots-driven, the public formation of a more song-driven rock/bluegrass ensemble, The Mosier Brothers Band, made sense.
The band is fronted by the founders of Blueground Undergrass: brothers Jeff Mosier on banjo and vocals and Johnny Mosier on guitar and harmony vocals. Backed by the solid bass playing of Col. Bruce Hampton alumni Kris Dale, alongside Atlanta drummer Will Groth, the rhythm section gives the MBB band the ability to travel seamlessly through many musical genres. The jamming is still there, and so is the intuitive musical interplay that was the hallmark of Blueground Undergrass. However, Jeff Mosier views The Mosier Brothers band as a middle ground between the traditional bluegrass flavored sound of Good Medicine, a band that he and his brother fronted for 23 years, and the “wall of twang” jamband sound of Blueground Undergrass.
They still jam, but the lyrics — and the sweet harmonies of the Mosier Brothers — now sit in the front seat.
Mosier says, "I hope that the sound of The Mosier Brothers will open up new avenues for the original music that me and my brother Johnny have played together for more than a decade, allowing us to better tell our stories, and bring our years of experience into a connection with the people and audiences of the ever-growing and eclectic world of Americana; which, to me is a market place that holds great value in preserving live music's value in our world and culture."
- MBB interview and article by Scott Freeman - Author of "Midnight Riders - The Story of The Allman Brothers Band" and "Otis! -The Otis Redding Story" (revised)
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In addition to creating the full band sound, The Mosier Brothers are also available as a duo, trio, or quartet. This versatility provides a more intimate and acoustic listening experience where needed, while still showcasing their rich vocal harmonies, life-affirming original songs, and the energetic, powerful, and positive presentation that is a signature of The Mosier Brothers live show experience.
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