Raw Mojo

Who’s Raw Mojo? How did you guys meet and get started?

Raw Mojo is A.C. (Drums), Nikki Lee (Bass/Vocals), and Dan Bee (Guitar/Vocals).
A.C.: Raw Mojo is the salve that heals your wounds… after first having caused those wounds.
Dan Bee: I see the band as my extended family; I’ve known AC since the first day of middle school and have done many musician projects with him beginning right after high school. The way we came together as Raw Mojo was a long, twisty road. AC and I were doing a 2 piece rock band and playing all over. We always had people coming up to us and telling us our shows were great but they would love to hear some low end and AC and I agreed on this. The whole time we were playing these shows as a 2 piece band we were on the lookout for a bass player. At the time we had a song in are set called “Goosetown” which we had written and it just so happened we met a person on Myspace with the handle Goosetown6 who was looking to join a band playing bass. We asked Nikki, booked a few shows before we even played together, and then started working on material for those shows. I sometimes wonder what a whirlwind that was for her.

Nikki Lee: I was looking for someone to play with and AC and Dan found me on Myspace. I was very “Raw” in the sense that this would be my first band. It was amazing how we all clicked. They were exactly what I was looking for and they were men…not girls! I didn’t want to join a “chick” band and have people come to shows just for that reason. I am stubborn and was ready to dive in head first and hold my own with the boys.



What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Dan Bee: We wanted a name which would represent the sound we were trying to get across. We would have sessions where the band would get together and just blurt out name after name. If you’ve ever tried to name a band you know it can be one of the most fun and at the same time, most frustrating experiences you can have. We finally came up with the name Raw Mojo simply because it sounded like what we sound like, and we are into simplicity. There is a certain magic in music when it is kept at its rawest level and the name helps dictate and remind us of this.
Nikki Lee: We have MOJO and our music is RAW, from the gut, hence RAW MOJO.



What are your music influences?

A.C: No
Dan Bee: I like to think we are influenced by everything around us, good, bad, and in between. It can be anything from the way your windshield wipers sound as they swipe the glass, to talking with a homeless man in the street, to the way your feet feel as they walk across the wet grass. If you are asking about what music I listen to I will give almost anything a try and whether I like it or not, it will have some bearing on how I am influenced. Obviously we all enjoy rock music but it goes way beyond that too.

Nikki Lee: Where would I even begin? Seriously, my influences could rival a novel in length and I think for the guys it’s the same. It’s great though; we are all 3 the same age and grew up on a lot of the same stuff.



I heard there’s a new music video going on. Can you talk to us more about it?

A.C.: The first rule about music video is you don’t talk about music video.

Dan Bee: The video is for a song called “DRAG” which will be on our next album. Like everything else in Raw Mojo this is a real “Do It Yourself” project we worked on. I came up with the initial story and then brought it to the band who then hammered it out and made it so much better than it originally was. We filmed and edited it all ourselves. Personally, I thought it came out pretty well for being filmed on my cell phone.

Nikki Lee: The video for Drag is very near and dear to me for many reasons. We shot it in one day on Dan’s cell phone. It is a story within a story so everyone views it differently. It’s exactly what we wanted. You have to watch it a few times and see for yourself what you think is really going on.



Can you tell us more about your upcoming new album? How was the recording and writing process? Any release date, title in mind?

A.C.: Culled from about 20 songs written over the past year, it’s a good representation of the various genres we dabble in. We rented out an old historic registrar church called “Old Brick”, set up the gear, hit record and rocked them out. It took us about 10 days total.

Dan Bee: I am a recording junkie. You could lock me in a room with a bunch of instruments, a recording device, and enough food and water to keep me alive and I could live happily for months. I’d probably like in the studio if I could. The writing process is different and evolving all of the time. You never know when a song will pop out at you like some kind of monster lurking behind the bushes who jumps out to give you a piece of gold. It can be a shock but in a good way. The thing is, you have to take that gold and hammer it into some kind of pleasing shape so it’s worth something to you. That’s how I view it anyway.

Nikki Lee: The credit goes to Dan. He is the man when it comes to recording.



So, I understand you guys are planning to hit the road. Can you give us more details about it?

A.C: We are?
Dan Bee: We are working on getting some show dates in the surrounding area like we always do but as of right now I can’t say anything about where those will be until we solidify those dates.



What has been the funniest moment you guys have been or took part in while touring?

A.C: We are a BORING rock band!
Dan Bee: We aren’t that boring. A.C. can be a lovable curmudgeon sometimes. We might not be the sex, drugs, and party monsters some rock bands are but we have our fair share of laughs. Most of it is stuff we can’t really talk about because we need to keep our musical career going.



What’s your method at the time of writing a song?

A.C: Throw it up against the wall, if it sticks; hit it with a shotgun blast full of mojo. Most are from jams, occasionally, someone will bring in a structure or something will form around a drumbeat.

Dan Bee: I agree with A.C. only I will add that being good friends who hang out together a lot while not playing in the band adds to the process as well. Ideas get tossed around all of the time in settings like restaurants or watching television. They might just be a seed or never even planted but they do spring up when music time comes around.
Nikki Lee: It changes minute to minute with us. That is why I think we are successful; you got to keep it moving and be open to everything around you and in you.



Are there any plans for the future?

Nikki Lee: To reach as many people as possible with our music. I think we all agree that Raw Mojo has something to offer everyone. Anything that comes from such a primal place, like our music does, is bound to strike a chord within.

A.C: Only to rule the world. From the backburner though, even and steady so that it is thoroughly ours. Cooked all the way through.

Dan Bee: It’s always about taking it to the next level , no matter if it’s writing a song, getting that bigger gig, or learning about our fans. I want to keep things moving upwards and onwards always. The immediate future is finishing and releasing the latest album, at that point the next level should make some waves.



Where can we find more about your music?

A.C: Everywhere there is music, we are there.
Dan Bee: If you are reading this on the internet you can simply Google “Raw Mojo” and you can find a ton about the band. Being an internet addict I have made sure we are easy to find. Check us out on Facebook if you can, we interact with everyone there. In fact, we are a very accessible band in general. If you want to know anything all you have to do is ask us. Our fans are very important to us.



Do you feel you guys are moving on the right direction?

A.C: Yes, unless the bus turns left.
Dan Bee: I think George Harrison put it best when he said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” - Vents Magazine

Iowa probably doesn't appear to most as a hotbed of musical talent. If you've been there, you can certainly attest to the endless expanse of cornfields jam packed between gravel roads joining the small towns. Of course, there are cities scattered throughout the state, Des Moines and Davenport both holding their own against most highly populated areas in the Midwest, but if you visit any other area in the state, you're likely to have a good amount of space between you and next person.

Maybe it's just this type of isolation in Iowa that has bred some really talented bands as of late. In the metalcore scene, For Today has become one of the most noted names, while in the indie rock world, Unknown Component has been plugging away under the radar for years. Iowa City trio Raw Mojo are yet another rising band from the Midwest, the trio fusing a gritty and powerful blend of rock, blues, punk, and garage rock into a quick listen of infectious riffage and charged basement rock.

Veins leads off with “Decay,” which is one of the best tracks here with its driving guitar work and female vocals that are complemented by gruff male backing vocals. It's a solid alt-rock tune that sounds like it could have been sandwiched between a Local H and Seaweed video on 120 Minutes circa 1993. The following track, “Satan's Floor,” slows the tempo, yet builds into a blast of furious energy toward that end. Though Miss Nikki takes the lead on vocals through much of this, on tracks like “Dethroned” and “Punk” Dan Bee's raw voice is at the forefront, the latter reminding me of Page Hamilton (from Helment) spearheading a garage rock band.

With the absence of any studio tricks, effects, or computer-generated fluff, this is a straight up rock 'n' roll disc with plenty of catchy hooks and memorable choruses. The almost blues like feeling of “Hollywood,” the stop and go dynamics of “Eddie G,” and the closing ballad “Take Her Away” add some diversity, though to be honest, if every song here followed the formula of loud guitars and bombastic drumming evident on a good chunk of Veins, you wouldn't hear me complain.

To say that Raw Mojo is a decent band that no one has ever heard of would be doing them a disservice. To say that Veins is a fantastic effort that anyone with an interest in grunge, garage, or alt-rock will appreciate is more accurate. The band has a new album coming out this fall – keep an ear out, these Iowans deserve to be heard. - The Daily Vault

Iowa probably doesn't appear to most as a hotbed of musical talent. If you've been there, you can certainly attest to the endless expanse of cornfields jam packed between gravel roads joining the small towns. Of course, there are cities scattered throughout the state, Des Moines and Davenport both holding their own against most highly populated areas in the Midwest, but if you visit any other area in the state, you're likely to have a good amount of space between you and next person.

Maybe it's just this type of isolation in Iowa that has bred some really talented bands as of late. In the metalcore scene, For Today has become one of the most noted names, while in the indie rock world, Unknown Component has been plugging away under the radar for years. Iowa City trio Raw Mojo are yet another rising band from the Midwest, the trio fusing a gritty and powerful blend of rock, blues, punk, and garage rock into a quick listen of infectious riffage and charged basement rock.

Veins leads off with “Decay,” which is one of the best tracks here with its driving guitar work and female vocals that are complemented by gruff male backing vocals. It's a solid alt-rock tune that sounds like it could have been sandwiched between a Local H and Seaweed video on 120 Minutes circa 1993. The following track, “Satan's Floor,” slows the tempo, yet builds into a blast of furious energy toward that end. Though Miss Nikki takes the lead on vocals through much of this, on tracks like “Dethroned” and “Punk” Dan Bee's raw voice is at the forefront, the latter reminding me of Page Hamilton (from Helment) spearheading a garage rock band.

With the absence of any studio tricks, effects, or computer-generated fluff, this is a straight up rock 'n' roll disc with plenty of catchy hooks and memorable choruses. The almost blues like feeling of “Hollywood,” the stop and go dynamics of “Eddie G,” and the closing ballad “Take Her Away” add some diversity, though to be honest, if every song here followed the formula of loud guitars and bombastic drumming evident on a good chunk of Veins, you wouldn't hear me complain.

To say that Raw Mojo is a decent band that no one has ever heard of would be doing them a disservice. To say that Veins is a fantastic effort that anyone with an interest in grunge, garage, or alt-rock will appreciate is more accurate. The band has a new album coming out this fall – keep an ear out, these Iowans deserve to be heard. - The Daily Vault

When a band gets in touch asking us to imagine what would happen if we were to mix elements of rock, blues, punk, grunge and a touch of shoegaze together in a meat grinder, we tend to sit up and take note. This is exactly what the guys in Raw Mojo say as a description for their alternative/grunge/rock styled music. Formed in 2006, the guys have been working to achieve the style they want to achieve, never afraid to try new things and take a different approach to things, and instead staying true to their beliefs about what their music should sound like. As such, when they dropped us a line about their album, Veins (released in December 2009), we figured we should take a listen to what was going on!

Decay gets things off to a punk fuelled start, the opening moments leaning on a heavy guitar tone to get things in motion whilst the rolling drums back everything up. Ushering in the female vocals to get things fully formed, the track adopts a sound akin to grungy type punk, but with a harder edge, it’s a mix which seems to cross boundaries of different genres and leaves the listener sitting and thinking about how they’ve achieved the mix on offer. If the opening moments are anything to go by then we’re in for a raw and powerful journey through the album, offering up the sort of sound which is hard hitting, powerful and packed with hard melody, it’s a solid start to things for sure. Satans Floor continues this approach of combining different styles to achieve a new and unique sound, this time sounding almost like a White Stripes track as it gets going, pulling in some blues influences and combining them with more of that sludgy guitar work. Layered vocals add a sense of depth to things here, developing the track from something that could be quite simple, into something more powerful and intriguing, it’s a clever mix and one I’ve not come across before. Two tracks in it’s evident that these guys don’t go for simple, instead combining their different approaches to form a sound that’s new, exciting and fresh – even if it was released in 2009!

Dethroned moves us away from those blues style riffs and once again returns us to the more punk fuelled approach, this time upping the ante with the rock elements which are combined with it to produce a track which harks back to early punk rock of the 70’s and 80’s. To me, these guys have a sound much like Grey Goes Down in some ways, they share that raw and unfaltering approach to music that makes for hard hitting tracks, moments that make you want to get out to a show, and moments which remind you why it was you started listening to the rock side of the spectrum of music. Hollywood once again marks a change in things, this time slowing things down but continuing to keep them sludgy and dark, the mix forming a dirty and rock style approach designed to get beers flowing and asses shaking, it’s a mix you want to dance to and know is going to sound cool on a live scene. Once again the rawness is the key here, refusing to over-produce the track and instead capturing the sound of the band as you’d hear them, something which all too often gets lost on records.

So Fucked Up is a serious high point on the album in my eyes, slowing things down further to form a sound which perfectly reflects the title of the track. To me, this track sounds like I imagine I look after a heavy night out when I’m making my merry way home, it’s got that walking beat which allows it to form a soundtrack in your head to work with memories of times in life, it’s a clever approach to song writing which has resulted in a track that I really like, and one which is going to get a lot of play on my stereo for sure. Dildo, Eddie G, Realistic and Punk all continue to push different approaches out of the record, each track coming as a new take on the bands unique style and each one showcasing the abilities within the band. It’s left then to Take Her Away to close the album once and for all, finishing with a track that opens calmly and with a sense of emotion built throughout it. Soon returning to the sludgy and dark approach of the earlier moments of the album, this track closes the album for us but shows there’s still more to come, and given that this was released 3 years ago, I’m looking forward to seeing what else they’ve come up with in the time since then – a fitting close to a solid album.

I really don’t know where to place Raw Mojo as simply, their style encompasses so many different styles and approaches that it would be unfair to put them in one particular category or genre. From start to finish this is an album which is going to surprise and excite those who listen to it, the sort of thing which is going to make you question what you thought you knew about music, and show you that there’s more out there yet to be discovered.
- Loud-Stuff

Raw Mojo is a 3 piece rock band you may have seen at shows around Iowa City. Their M.O. is to deliver short, concise stabs of pure rock and roll, without frills, pretension or irony. They deliver 10 songs in less than a half hour, and each song comprises the same ingredients — raw-throated singing, overdriven guitar, bass, and heavy drumming. Skipping around between songs in ITunes I notice that nearly the same guitar tone is used on every song. And yet the songs don’t all run together — perhaps relentless brevity pays off. And besides, Angus Young of AC/DC has never done anything but plug a Gibson SG into a Marshall Stack, so there’s a strong precedent for Raw Mojo’s willingness to pick a formula and stick to it.

As for the songwriting, well here’s the curious thing. I like the songs fine, but there’s nothing stellar about them in and of themselves. The personality, attitude, and execution is the thing with Raw Mojo; it’s as though they don’t want to waste time on song-writing that could be spent on rocking. And on the whole it works. On songs like “Punk,” Raw Mojo riff like their lives depend on it. The song wind up being catchy, even with the hook of the chorus being nothing more than a telegraphed pentatonic bleating. The album closer “Take Her Away” has bassist ‘Miss Nikki’ getting her Joan Jett on to good effect in the CD’s only ballad. Nikki fully commits to the persona of Rock&Roll Mama, and has the pipes to back it up.

I’ve only got MP3s of the album so it’s hard to comment definitively on the production, but the choices Raw Mojo made during recording seems to be stripped down and, err, raw. I can hear Miss Nikki’s bass and the kick drum, but the sound is almost all midrange, which emphasizes the sharp edges of their live sound. There’s so little studio trickery on this CD that the few songs on which the vocals get treated with a wet reverb it stands out as a surprising texture. What comes through most of all is how tight the band is, as though they’ve been practicing these songs in their basement forever. And that’s Raw Mojo’s secret: they’ve focused on the pure joy of playing rock music so completely that virtuosity or ‘originality’ or sophisticated song writing would be an unnecessary distraction. - The Little Village