Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Mojo

After a weekend concert preview-induced delay, here is this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, continuing our monthly features on randomly selected local metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands from years gone by! This month's selection is a band that we only belatedly rolled into our coverage earlier this year, but will be familiar to mid-late 2010s fans who frequent the weekend cover band circuit, so here's what you should know!

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Mojo

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Classic/Hard/Blues Rock

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics)

Alex D'Ettore (Bone Yard), vocals/guitar
Brad Stephen (Double Down, Bone Yard), bass
Ric Datson (Double Down, That's Chester), drums
Tyrone Souliere (5ive Below Zero), bass
Josh Norling (The Wyld Stallyns, The Hustle Brothers), saxophone

Audio/Video: A covers-only band, most official videos of Mojo in concert come from their Facebook group, but be advised that they largely come from their numerous Thursday jam nights, and thusly feature guest musicians and don't necessarily reflect how the band sounded in their traditional gigs (which were very much reminiscent of members' contemporary work in Bone Yard, if with a reduced southern rock influence). A more representative batch of songs can be seen here, albeit from a show featuring Soundcheck's Glen Thomas filling in for Ric. Here's Mojo at their lone Rotaryfest Stage 1 set in 2016, where they covered The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See"!

Info/Analysis: Debuting as jam night hosts at the former New American Pub in August 2014, Mojo are arguably best known locally for their lengthy run hosting jam nights on Thursdays there and more prominently at Reggie's West (now Jay's Piston Broke Pub). Alex D'Ettore and Ric Datson were originally joined in Mojo by bassist Tyrone Souliere, who left the band for medical reasons in February 2016 and sadly passed away just three months later. He was succeeded by Brad Stephen, uniting 3/4ths of Bone Yard's then-lineup in what effectively became their sister band for the next four years, with the two groups (and Alex and Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson's acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge) often playing triple header weekends at Reggie's West. Alongside jam nights & normal concerts, Mojo also played festivals & charity events, including two Toystocks and multiple Rides For ARCH.

Mojo last played an acknowledged public concert in January 2020, and never resurfaced from that year's pandemic lockdowns despite Bone Yard returning to the stage with the same lineup until Brad & Ric's departures in January 2022, later reuniting in Double Down earlier this year. Between Double Down and Bone Yard (who feature Alex on vocals occasionally), Mojo fans are hardly out in the lurch for similar music in 2023, but Mojo's blues-leaning set did help them stand out, and their talented lineups (even with Josh on the sax) proved to be a reliable crowd favourite, be they at jam nights or normal sets. Follow members' current projects to see what they're up to nowadays, and R.I.P. Tyrone!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return on or around September 10th when we look at another randomly selected band, this time late 2010s local hard rock quartet Halfway Loaded! They may not have enough surviving material for a solo profile, as they never played a true public concert (jam nights aside), but if I have to add a second band (also from Sault Ontario given our rotation), we'll approach that bridge next month. Stay tuned then, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!