modo

By Maegan Outzen

Pensacola native Jake Rosenbloum moved to Asheville, N.C., in 2004 to attend the University of North Caroline at Asheville, and has recently graduated with a jazz performance degree.

"I love jazz," he said. "To really grasp jazz makes learning everything else so much easier. It's such a complex form and there are so many different styles. It's not only jazz (music); you learn how to play Latin music and all these other languages and styles of music. So jazz is just like an overall energy that covers a lot of stuff. Once you know jazz theory and music theory, everything else just opens up."

Now that he is finished with school, Rosenbloum can focus all his energy on his increasingly popular band, Modo, and is "trying to figure out how to juggle the business and artistic side of things." Modo, with members Rosenbloum (guitar), Benjamin Falcon (drums), Craig Larimer (keyboards) and Justin Powell (bass), started "gigging heavily" last April, making an impression on the Asheville music scene.

"Our main message is really trying to create something new," Rosenbloum said. "We're constantly trying to get away from what is already done. We're trying to create our own sound, so when people hear us, they can't really call it anything."

The members of Modo don't want to be labeled into one category because they "try to cover a lot of ground." They can play everything from jazz sambas to '80s party music to rock tunes.

"Basically, our music is a mixture of a lot of different elements," Rosenbloum said. "There's a high energy rock kind of thing, where it's really danceable. I think a lot of people who are really open to different genres will be really into it because, although our foundation is kind of like a rock/blues sense, we cover Latin genres and jazz and Caribbean and stuff like that. So it's pretty easy to like, I think. We want to do everything from playing the big jam festivals to hitting urban, indie markets. It's kind of like a reflection of all these different genres that we're trying to appeal to."

The name Modo, which means different things in different languages, even ties into what the band is trying to do, bringing back the idea that "we want to be something real and different and current and new and old and modern all at the same time." In Spanish, modo means "the way" and in Latin, their band name means "the now."

Modo is set to release its self-titled CD in April, something Rosenbloum claims the band should've already done because "places are a lot more receptive when you have a product to market."

"Instead of making (the CD) like a collection of songs, we really want to create a story, like a big piece of art, that flows really well," Rosenbloum said. "And that shows that we're really trying to do something different. That's what we really want to do, so that we don't get lumped into one category and we don't get lumped into one genre, and (we want to) be accepted into as many markets as we can."

Modo also just set out on its first full-length tour, and will bring its indefinable sound to Pensacola, performing at 10 p.m. today The Break, 65 Via de Luna on Pensacola Beach.

"We really want to put Pensacola on the musical map," Rosenbloum said. "That's another big goal, because (Pensacola) really needs help to make it a stop and not just a pass by. I can tell every time I come back that there's more and more stuff going on. There's more bustle downtown. (Pensacola's music scene) really needs a good kick in the ass. The recycling is starting, that's good. And I see all the art festivals going on, that's awesome. And the music will come shortly. And we want to be a part of the thriving Pensacola scene." - Pensacola News Journal, The Weekender

"It's indie to say you're not indie, so we're not indie-rock indie rock-jazz-fusion," says Craig Larimer, the vocalist and keyboardist for Asheville's Modo. Modo's sound is an amalgam of jazz-influenced rock, with an art-poppy undertone that can be heard on the band's new self-titled EP.


Photo by Lydia See
Larimer and guitarist Rosenbloum say their music represents connective, challenging layers which appeal to a wide audience, noting that the single from their record, "The Blood That I Need," is about the dichotomy of social norms (mass and social media, spirituality) and a mechanical, methodical life path. Their arrangements are sultry and gritty, yet have a certain pop appeal thanks to Larimer's cheeky, upbeat lyrical style, exemplified on "American Grit."

That style is informed both by scholarly backgrounds (Rosenbloum, who grew up listening to The Beatles, Weezer and '90s grunge discovered jazz after enrolling at UNC Asheville; Larimer count classical piano and the jazz of Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau among other influences like Southern rock) and by the Internet: "We're a band that totally spawned from social media Web sites," says Rosenbloum. "We met on craigslist."

Rosenbloum, who moved to Asheville from Pensacola, Fla., in 2004, says that placing the ad that connected him with the band's original drummer, Ben Falcon, "was about me trying to become a serious and eager musician.

The next step in the band's evolution — following a self-propelled tour around the Southeast — was to record: For that venture, Modo chose Echo Mountain Studios.

"We had our tunes worked out but we didn't know how we wanted to display them. We allowed the space and the duality of the modern and retro technology to inspire us, says Larimer, "Going into the studio was definitely a big move for our sound. It made us realize there are better ways to craft the music. The production is a new form of mechanical thinking, of connectivism."



[Contact Lydia See through her Web site ]http://lydiasee.wordpress.com.]

who: Modo
what: EP release party with Pavane and Galliard
where: Emerald Lounge
where: Friday, Nov. 20 (10 p.m., $10 includes CD. modomusic.net)
- Mountain Xpress

Modo has been one of those bands that has sat in my inbox for a while. Not because they aren't good enough to post about, but outta sight, outta mind. Straight out of Asheville, North Carolina, Modo is two guys- Craig Larimer (vocals) and Jake Rosenbloum (electirc guitar). Together they create a sultry electric-tinged rock mix. Larimer's voice creates a urgency in their best track Blood That I Need. Blood is all rock swagger with electronic synths. Modo has found the perfect blend. Their self-titled EP comes out on November 20th and features tracks that build upon one another. While none can match the catchy nature of Blood That I Need, they sure can layer the various sounds with skill. Too bad that a lot of their songs kind of blend together. A bit more variation will propel this band into the great category.
- http://diggingfordays.blogspot.com/