You know Matt & Mojo from their long-running gig playing as Grateful Sundays in the Santa Cruz area. You may also remember Jonny Mojo from his gig at the Barn with the Achilles Wheel Trio -
Now, Jonny is back with partner Matt Hartle to again grace us with masterful guitar work and inspired song choices. We're so Grateful that Matt & Mojo will spend an afternoon with us at the Meder Street Barn!
Guitarist Matt Hartle was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania, but his playing and his music resonate with a musical and cultural aesthetic that is pure San Francisco Bay Area. His playing exemplifies the uniquely American music form that had it's birth in the Bay Area during the late 1960's and early '70's - a fusion of blues, rock, folk, and jazz performed with an exploratory, and at times mystical, spirit and a penchant for genre bending and blending. After studying jazz and earning a BA in Jazz Performance from the University of North Texas, Matt continued his migration West where he ultimately found his way to the coastal enclave of Santa Cruz, CA where he has made his home since 1995.
Hartle is equally at home with, and notably proficient in, bluegrass, folk, straight-ahead jazz, fusion, and all manner of rock, country, and blues stylings. His signature playing style is marked by an instantly recognizable fluidity and sonic intensity which ebbs and flows in organic currents. Ecstatically melodic themes can erupt into blistering torrents of blues-rock fury or devolve into mysterious, dissonant, yearning explorations, or placid contemplations of a multitude of colors, forms, textures and moods. It's no surprise that his fretwork has garnered favorable comparisons to such psychedelic guitar luminaries as Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, and Steve Kimock, as well as a host of more traditional fretboard icons, including Lowell George and Mark Knopfler.
Coming from Northern California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, Jonny Mojo has created quite a name in his local area. Jonny has been noted in the Mountain Democrat as “Placerville’s hardest working musician – hands down.” Performing at many venues, Mojo plays at local wineries, cafes, and bars.
In addition to being a local performer, Mojo has begun playing up and down the West Coast with his regional band, Achilles Wheel. Jonny Mojo has also performed at festivals including the Strawberry Music Festival, American River Music Festival, Hangtown Halloween Ball, Northern California Blues Festival, and Kate Wolf Music Festival. Jonny Mojo has also opened for acts such as Elvin Bishop, Roy Rogers, Joe Craven, Dead Winter Carpenters, and Hot Buttered Rum; and has co-billed music festivals with artists such as Richard Thompson, David Grisman, Bill Kreutzmann, Scott Law, Poor Man’s Whiskey, and Railroad Earth. Other notable venues include Terrapin Crossroads, Sweetwater Music Hall, and the Great American Music Hall.
With a foundation in blues, Jonny Mojo transcends genres blending rock, folk, fusion, bluegrass, jam band styles and more. What really shines through in a performance is his heart felt passion for music.