Moses Mayes

For those of you who think that Winnipeg isn't capable of giving us something funky, think again. Moses Mayes is one of the hardest hitting funk outfits from the 'Peg and they're here as part of Harbourfront Centre's From The Peg External Site, a celebration of Winnipeg's arts scene.

We began with a track off Moses Mayes' album, Needle To The Groove. I'm a sucker for this sound - drum snares that sound like gunshots, fat basslines, funky guitar licks, some nice Fender Rhodes. I can't think of a better place to see these guys than down by the waterfront on a hot summer night. And that's where Moses Mayes will be Friday night at 8 p.m.

From The Peg is the first festival of its kind happening at Harbourfront and it's well-timed. According to an article that appeared in Billboard last week, the music scene in that city is really happening. It said that several bands have been signed by U.S. labels, and it attributed the scene's strength to the fact that artists feel so isolated there.

There are dance performances, screenings of short films and videos, readings, and of course, concerts. I'm predicting a ton of people will show up to see two groups from Winnipeg that have made a name for themselves outside this country: The Weakerthans and The Duhks, who make great acoustic folk-pop.

We signed off with a song called Out Of The Rain by The Duhks. It's on their new album, Migrations, which will be released September 12 across Canada. The disc also features a great cover of Tracy Chapman's Mountain O' Things. The Duhks play the main stage at 9:30 Friday night. It's free.

External Site CBC does not endorse and is not responsi - CBC Radio One - Metro Morning

Who is Moses Mayes, anyway? It's the name of a seven-piece funk fusion band from Winnipeg, and though the name might make you think of a travelling troubadour who pours his heart out in dive bars, the truth is Moses Mayes won't make you cry in your beer.

The lineup includes guitar, bass, drums, keys, horns, percussion and turntables. Vocalist Ariane Jean of Quebec vocal group Madrigaia pitches in on home turf, but when the band is touring, they create vocals using samples and turntables. Though they describe themselves as prairie funk, the result is house-like and in the vein of the Pocket Dwellers. Here, funk doesn't have to be a four-letter word.

"We've always been a very instrumental-driven band," says turntablist Grant Paley, but he says it's easy to get carried away with long solos and jams that never end.

"We're trying new things."
One of those new things is Jamie Shields. The New Deal keyboardist is producing the band's third full-length, due in the fall.

"We've always struggled to make a record match the live sound," Paley says. "He gave it oomph and cleaned up the clutter to make a solid groove."

They've tailored their live set as well, though it's hardly
buttoned-up. When people pass by a venue and hear the band's groove pouring out of the club, they inevitably ask, "Who is Moses Mayes?"

Moses Mayes and Camp Best Friends play Saturday at Maverick's, 221 Rideau St., Saturday. 9 p.m. $8.
- Ottawa Citizen

Life on the road is tough. The long drives, sleepless nights in hotels, and warm Budweiser make for some interesting road trips. Just ask Moses Mayes.

Fresh out of the studio to promote its sophomore album, Needle to the Groove, Moses Mayes brings prairie pride wherever it goes-from its hometown of Winnipeg to the shores of St. John's. But who, really, is "Moses Mayes?"

"People ask us all the time, which one of us is 'Moses Mayes,'" answers Antin Muzyka, drummer for the Manitoban septet. "'Moses Mayes' isn't the name of any guy in the band, but the collective name for all of us."

Capping off the final Saturday night of Le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Moses Mayes brought its fusion grooves back to Montreal for the first time in almost two years. During that period, the band dashed fans' hopes for more tours with the news of a band breakup.

"There was a lot of growth that happened individually during the breakup," says bassist Paul Farley. "Now, however, we're coming back together after a buildup of tension. We're coming back from more of a calm and we've been able to explore that element further in our basement studio."

Starting with acid jazz beats and thick bass lines, the band works quickly into its complex improvisational arrangements. The texture is further enhanced by effects-laden synthesizers and funk guitar riffs. Rounding out the group's nuts and bolts are the vibes of trumpeter Chuck Copanace and saxophonist Chuck McClelan. The energy and dynamics comes to a head with the group's emcee, Grant Paley, whose turntable style set the band apart from other groove bands.

Moses Mayes's matured sound is readily evident on Needle. Tunes such as the riff-heavy "Moses P.I." and the space-funk atmosphere of "Brand New Sound" show creative growth from their self-titled 2000 debut album.

"In writing songs separately and together, everyone has a bit of the puzzle, creating a 'Frankenstein effect,'" Muzyka says.

But while their songwriting process may comprise of snippets from previous jams, the end product is what makes their sound draw the size of crowds such as the one at FIJM. Of no coincidence to Moses Mayes's touring strategy was the timing of Needle's release. Getting the album out in time for the various jazz fests across Canada was a big concern for the group.

"By doing so, we hope that rather than having to coax people into the clubs, they will remember our jazz fest performances and will come back to our club gigs," Muzyka explained. "We grow by word of mouth, existing by more of a cult following rather than promotion."

"The first time we played out of the province was in Saskatoon. There were four people," reflects Farley. "I closed my eyes and started playing, and there were 150. I blinked and everyone came-like a fractal image."

As the band prepares for its fall tour of clubs and universities, Muzyka is quick to acknowledge the support that Manitoba has given the band, saying the province provides more funding for the arts than any other province. With a strong home fan base and steadily growing crowds across Canada and the northeast US, expect to see bigger and better things from Moses Mayes.

"Anyone who sees us, likes us," says Muzyka. "The hardest part is getting our sound out there." - McGill Tribune - University of McGill - By Spencer Ross

FFWD Magazine (Calgary) - Music
Issue: Thursday October 23, 2004

MUSIC PREVIEW
Thursday, October 21
Liberty Lounge (MRC)

Apparently funk is alive and well in Western Canada. Better known for BSE, oil and alienation, it seems that the West can’t get enough of Winnipeg funk-fusion group Moses Mayes. Complementing the release of their second CD, Needle to the Groove, the band is hitting the road and making their way through the Prairies to the Rocky Mountains to bring audiences the music that they want. According to Grant Paley, MC and turntablist for the group, they’re excited to be coming back.

"The type of music we do seems to be embraced more in the West," he says. "Right now in the East, it’s all about the indie rock. It’s tough for bands like us. It’s really hit-and-miss, but in the West it’s continually building. We’re not a traditional MuchMusic-type band and we understand that. So we tour to get the music out there. I kinda felt like when we were in Ontario our scene was struggling. The whole time I was thinking, ‘What the hell’s going on here? Where is everybody?’ The rave culture and the DJs are struggling. I think when people get older and they can’t do as many drugs, they find our band much more intriguing because they’re not so fucked up."

The key, for Moses Mayes, according to Paley, is the diversity of their influences and their audiences’ desire to move.

At one event, Paley happened to look out on the dance floor and see an 80-year-old woman getting down with a crowd of twentysomethings. Speaking for the group, Paley says, that’s what Moses Mayes is all about.

"We consider ourselves a ’70s funk-fusion for the modern day," says Paley. "People can connect with our music. It reminds them of old jazz songs because of the horns, but really it’s just music people can relate to – music to dance to."
- FFWD Magazine (Calgary)

Moses Mayes Needle To The Groove (Dublum)

If you grew up a trashy white surburban brat in the early ‘80s watching blaxsploitation at 3 a.m. while working off the night's buzz, it's pretty tough not to hear any kind of funky ‘70s style, groove-out as having killer soundtrack potential. Right or wrong, many impressionable minds were indoctrinated by all those Fred Williamson movies. Moses Mayes would have fit right in with Williamson’s cookin' instros, sparked with a funky urgency that demands monolithic strutting across a 50 foot high movie screen. At the same time, they know when to chill. Moses Mayes stays very true to the whole ‘70s spirit while still encompassing some Latin, jazz and modern elements.

- Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski


- Chart Magazine - www.chartattack.ca

Wholly Moses Moses Mayes • With Slow Nerve Action • Sidetrack Café • Tue, June 22

“We really think we hit on something with this new album,” says Grant Paley, DJ with funksters Moses Mayes over the phone from his Winnipeg home. “We liken it to a modern-day jazz/funk fusion. Think of what guys like Herbie Hancock were doing in the ’70s—it’s like a 2004 version of that.” Comparing yourself to a jazz great like Herbie Hancock may seem a little boastful, but it’s all in a day’s work for Paley and the rest of the Moses Mayes boys.

Since releasing their self-titled debut four years ago, the seven-piece band has logged some 300 gigs, toured across the country several times and shared stages with the likes of James Brown and the Puente Brothers.

Given the band’s tremendous live itinerary, Paley says that when the time came to re-enter the studio, the focus was on representing their live show as closely as possible. “Obviously, in the studio you’ve got more time to work things out and there’s a lot more structure,” he says. “I’m not sure if we totally captured the live show, but I think we did a pretty good job. The first album was a really bouncy, happy funk sound—this one is a little darker.” The result: Needle to the Groove, 12 funky tracks that range from house-inspired stompers to laid-back breezers.

The band will unleash the new disc on hometown audiences in Winnipeg this weekend before packing up the gear and embarking on yet another cross-Canada jaunt. Even with the band’s hectic gigging schedule over the past few years, Edmonton has been a bit of an elusive market. “Edmonton always seems to escape us,” Paley chuckles. “It always seems that we can’t get a good show lined up or it doesn’t work in our itinerary. We’re playing jazz festivals right across the country, and even though we’re not playing Jazz City in Edmonton, we still landed a pretty cool gig.” (JS) - Vue Weekly - Edmonton

"Has it really been five years already?” chuckles Grant Paley, DJ and frontman for Winnipeg’s Moses Mayes, a septet of groovy troubadours readying to embark on a Canadian and American tour in celebration of their well deserved anniversary. “Between two albums and countless tours, it has been one of the most difficult undertakings anyone of us has ever done,” he reflects. “The best part of it, though, is thinking of what we can do in the next five years after watching how much we have improved over the last five.”

And improve they have. After achieving modest success as Moses Mayes and the Family Funk Orchestra for three years, the septet, riddled with member changes and touring exhaustion, decided to take a year–long rest to refuel, rewrite and redevelop their funk. Since then, the group has reinvigorated themselves, collectively reinstating the respected status they tediously developed throughout the nascent years of the band.
Dropping the moniker “Family Funk Orchestra,” Moses Mayes solidified their line–up, recorded the album they were always capable of and became touring workhorses, hell bent on crafting a finer, groovier hybrid
of their original, funk fusion sound. That album is 2004’s Needle to the Groove, a crisp, consistent full–length that cleverly accentuates the band’s chops, highlighting how carefully and effectively they listen to each other. This creates a funky Cobb salad of sorts, with each element added in at equal parts to complement the overall product. Lashes of house, jazz, rock, Latin and hip–hop are whipped together to form climactic funkified peaks, bursting at the seams with the soul of Otis Redding, the showmanship of the Godfather of soul himself and the dance–floor contagiousness of Jamiroquai.

Fronted primarily by Paley’s scratching/ sampling along, with the powerful demanding interplay of sax player Chuck McClelland and trumpeter Chuck Copanace, Moses Mayes’ marinated funk drips with the sweat of its influences, and is just as labyrinthine as it is welcomingly austere. In abiding by such a purely eclectic mantra, the septet has performed at both jazz and folk festival appearances as well as alongside the aforementioned James Brown, The Pocket Dwellers, Ivana Santilli and the New Deal.

“We have so many tastes in our band’s personal music preference that is reflects the music we create together,” explains Paley. “We like to think of ourselves as something you wouldn’t really hear anywhere else—a
band that includes a variety of diversified sound, both funk and non–funk.” That diversity—crafted with clever call–and–response improvisation sections between Paley and his bandmates, chunky bass work from Paul Farley and Mark Penner’s adroit, tasteful guitar melodies—accentuates the overall funk canvas, creating the sound that Paley intrinsically embodies; a sound that does not exist outside Moses Mayes.

Following their extensive summer tour, a new batch of Moses Mayes material is set to be recorded during Winnipeg’s trademark freezing fall and winter. “Come this fall we embark on the adventure of writing, preproduction and the recording of a new album,” comments Paley. “Our studio computer has become a comprehensive archive of ideas, and we toy with so many of them all the time. While things may change, I
can say that we will release something next summer. While it may not be full length, we will certainly get something out for the people.”

While many bands churn out bottom heavy funk or climactic house, few get the hips shaking like Moses Mayes’ jazzy emulsified hybrid of the two. Come join the seven–piece in celebrating their five–year anniversary
with a good, old fashioned shakedown on Thursday,June 24 at the Pepper Jack Café. East Coast via Toronto funk collective High Plains Drifter will be supporting.


- View Magazine - Vol. 11 No. 24 • June 16-22

They teased earlier this year with a funky little three-song EP called Rock It So Hard, and Moses Mayes fans have been hungry for some prime new dance floor cuts ever since.

It's a good thing a full-length album wasn't too far behind.

The Winnipeg electro-funk collective have been partying down the Trans Canada over the last few weeks in support of their latest offering, Second Ring. The 10-song record, released on Tuesday, lays down a fusion of funk grooves and modern electronica with no shortage of '70s strut to create an album that begs to be moved to.

They teamed up with producer Jamie Shields (The New Deal) and a whole host of new musical contributors — including Sherry St. Germain, Madrigaia's Ariane Jean and God Made Me Funky's Phatt Al — for their new jazz-inflected, full-band sound. When a group member can only describe the result in enthusiastic curses and unintelligible noises, it has to be good.

"It's like, holy shit," turntablist Grant Paley says with a laugh. "On this one, I really think working with Jamie opened our eyes.

"On the EP, it was more about adding to the stuff that was already tracked. This one is a full band — 10 artists including us. It really turned into a collective. It's the same and different. It's like a classic Moses Mayes album, but better produced."

Though the album will probably be comfort food for old fans, it'll definitely pique the interest of new ones. "People who don't know us will enjoy it too," Paley insists.

"It's definitely the most accessible record we've ever made. We thought, if we're going to do this again, we're going to do it right. I mean, we're all hitting 30 now, and there are certain things you want to accomplish."

One of those things is to develop a solid fanbase beyond the 'Peg. The hometown CD release party at the Pyramid Cabaret on Nov. 11 will no doubt be packed with Winnipeggers looking to get funked up, and the Moses Mayes craze is finally starting to strengthen outside the Perimeter Highway.

"The Pyramid shows are always awesome," Paley says. "And out west, it's like Winnipeg in a lot of other places.

"I'm not really sure when that 'next level' happens, but the west coast has really been embracing us. Every show has been sold-out and every one has been a party.

"Touring is tiring now, but it's been really fun. If there's anything I can stress, it's that we're having fun."

Here are Moses Mayes' tour dates:

Nov. 11 Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid
Nov. 23 Montreal, QC @ Jello Bar
Nov. 24 Ottawa, ON @ Maverick's
Nov. 25 Toronto, ON @ Reverb
—Jen Zoratti - ChartAttack - Canada

October 5th, 2006
Moses Mayes - (Dublum Records)

Rock It So Hard
Lara Purvis

Winnipeg-based band Moses Mayes have earned a reputation for ferocious energy during their live performances. Their latest EP, Rock It So Hard, is an attempt to capture that intensity in the studio while demonstrating their versatility. It succeeds, but only just so. The mediocre title track, Rock It So Hard, carries a hint of '80s disco through the generic heavy beats, electronic keys and turntables. Transitioning to Come out to Play, the danceability increases, bouncing into hip-hop with quick-witted and pointed lyrics. The final track, Flow, is simply in a league of its own. Slow, smooth and sweet as dripping honey, the female vocals glide deliciously over liquid bass lines. And for this song alone, this EP is worth a listen. - Hour - Montreal/Ottawa

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Sweet fancy Moses
Steve Lalla


Moses Mayes: Leading through the musical desert

When I was growing up, electronic music was an entirely different planet. The people that listened to it were freaks, weirdoes and druggies and you could spot them a mile away just by their clothes. Or so you thought, until that day your girlfriend slipped psilocybin into your pasta sauce and you spent four hours playing with the equalizer while listening to the Tiga and Gnat show, and then bang! You went over to the other side. You disavowed "real" music, bought new clothes and started fiending for repetitive beats, vinyls and the DJs who would play them.

Things have come full circle now with pop, rock and even metal acts fully embracing electronic methods, and with DJs and electronic music producers heartily exploring the options of live music. Nowadays people from all walks of life can appreciate an act like Winnipeg's Moses Mayes, a seven-piece band of exceptional musicians performing complex jazz, funk and soul with a DJ as frontman, triggering vocal samples and scratching here and there for emphasis.

"I started out in my basement when I was 15," Grant Paley, the band's DJ, tells me. "I never planned to get into music. I was mostly a bedroom DJ playing electronic music and hanging out with a lot of house guys. What got me out of the bedroom was the band."

Performing with the band slowly turned Paley into one of the most competent and innovative scratch DJs touring today. "Playing with a band like Moses Mayes, I'm scratching to faster beats, at a house tempo, and it really contributed to my ability to play tight, 'cause with a band you can't fuck up - you're playing with everyone else, not just by yourself.".. Begin - Site: Voir Format: BigBox -->

Last year saw Moses Mayes release the three-song EP Rock It So Hard, exploring conventional hip-hop sounds more than ever before, and the well-received full-length Second Ring in November, on which the band's clever musicianship is evidenced through 10 tracks that touch heavily on house music and the band's jazz and funk roots.

Thanks to Paley's innovative use of new DJ technologies such as Serato, Moses Mayes can tour all their songs live, whether they feature guest vocalists or not, on some Coldcut meets Medeski Martin & Wood type shit. Witness the cool killing machine that is Moses Mayes live at Jello Bar, March 9 (info: www.mosesmayes.com).

Link to the artical here - http://www.hour.ca/music/LallaLand.aspx?iIDArticle=11541


- Montreal Mirror