MONDO GECKO AT BEAR’S, OH MY!

Mondo Gecko, Blue Mountain Bustdown, Superfrog, Dirty Paris- 11/6/10 T.T. the Bear’s Place

Mondo Gecko performed their 100^th show last night at T.T. the Bear’s Place in Cambridge.  The boys played with the tightness and precision that, to any new listener, could easily have sounded like their thousandth.

One of Boston’s most promising neo-jam bands, Mondo Gecko possesses a courageous  willingness to trespass into uncharted territory, and a relaxed confidence in their ability to return. When improvising, most jam bands give off a meandering vibe, as if searching to find the riff that will melt all of our faces.  Mondo Gecko, however, gives off the impression that their sound is continuously where they want it to be—  And to any listener, it is definitely an adventure. Luke Stratton wails on his guitar, and I mean wails.  His psychedelic licks stem from a great emotional intensity, which pulls the audience in and allows them to join in on the fun.  Luke’s sound contrasts well with Eric McEwen’s keys, especially his synth leads.  Eric plays with an energy that is reminiscent of a mad scientist, fervently concocting a spirited sound.  Luke and Eric are grounded by Matt Drummey’s Phil Lesh-like bass.  His lines are creative and explorative, while maintaining a funk that would have your arthritic grandmother out of her walker and onto the dance floor.  Once she’s there its going to be hard getting her to stop gyrating to the jazzy house beats coming from Aaron Morey’s drums.

“Wounded Dreamer,” a Mondo Gecko original, had the crowd dancing feverishly.  The tune featured the talented Steve Malinowski of Blue Mountain Bustdown, the impressive quartet who played directly before. Malinowski gleefully joined Eric on keys as the band explored a jam that teased Phish’s “Tweezer.” At one point in the night, the band also teased a daring yet carefree version of “Naughty Girl” by Beyonce.  The set was closed with a funkified version of “UFO” in which the band gracefully demonstrated their ability to share and harmonize vocals.

Last night was truly a rollicking, freewheeling time.  I have shin splints from grooving, and I’m pretty sure I suffered loss of hearing, but at the end of the day it was worth more than the price of admission.  If anyone is interested in looking for a good time check out Mondo Gecko, or give me a call.  Either way you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

-Lightfoot Kingsbeard

http://www.allstonpudding.com/post/1451146697/mondo-gecko-100-and-counting

MONDO GECKO: 100 AND COUNTING

NOVEMBER 5th | TT the BEARS

Most bands don’t make it to 100 shows, but when the good ones do, they make sure to do it in style. Mondo Gecko will reach their legendary 100th this Friday at TT the Bear’s Place and they promise to have plenty of “goodies in store.” 2010 has been a big year so far for Mondo Gecko, having played numerous festivals over the summer and welcoming Matt Drummey to the group as their new bass player. As they continue to grow and evolve as a band, they have also recruited a large slew of new fans and have become a household name in Boston and beyond. Help them cap off the first 100 and welcome the next 100 this Friday night at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge with Dirty Paris, Superfrog, and Blue Mountain Bustdown. Allston Pudding caught up with lead guitarist Luke Stratton to find out what’s in store.

So Luke, there’s been some changes in the band since I last talked to you guys. How has the new lineup worked out so far?

Luke: Yeah, its been great. Since Matt joined the band its been like leaps and bounds. It’s kind of a different animal now though because we had two guitarists for a while, but it seems to be more dynamic. We can work a lot quicker as a quartet. I’ve had to step my game up and its been good for everybody I think.

In your setlists, you’ve gradually incorporated more original material. When it comes to songwriting, is there a basic songwriter in the group, or is it more of a collaborative effort?

L: It’s mostly me and Eric (McEwen). Usually we’ll bring in a structure that we’ve worked on on our own and then the other three guys will play on it and kind of write their own parts. Like we have this new song called “Beacon,” which I wrote most of the sections for, but then Aaron (Morey) and Eric worked out this cool ending and we incorporated that, so the whole tune kind of got stitched together as an ensemble.

You guys play a lot of festivals over the summer. With festival season over, has it been tougher to find gigs?

L: This was really our first summer hitting the festival circuit. We did a couple last summer, but this year we were going up every other weekend and playing some really good time slots at some smaller festivals. We did a festival with The Breakfast where it was pretty much just us and them. But then we did some gigs back in Boston over the summer too. We had one show at the House of Blues side room and we hadn’t played in Boston for a while because we were doing the whole festival thing. We didn’t expect much, we just played it to see how it would go and then a ton of people showed up. Then we played the Middle East a couple of weeks ago with The Macpodz, so we’re kind of taking it to the next level which is exciting.

What’s your ideal setting for a gig? Do you like club shows, basement shows, or festivals?

L: The key thing is that we like to play two sets. We really like playing by ourselves where it’s like “An Evening with Mondo Gecko.” The good part about playing with other bands is that we kind of get to share fans. The club or bar gigs sometimes really feel like a big deal because you get to play on a stage and there’s good sound, but then there are some bar gigs where we’re just playing on a restaurant floor but it gets really packed and people are really into it. The festivals are great because there are so many people who instantly love the kind of music that we play, but there’s also a ton of bands so you’re kind of sharing the experience.

I used to see you guys at Harper’s Ferry a lot and now Harper’s just closed. I get the impression from most of the folks that I talk to that nobody seems to be too disappointed about it. What’s your opinion?

L: Well, LiveNation is going to re-open it. I think the thing with Harper’s is that they maybe just had some staffing issues. Like you said, we played there a bunch and I really like the room but we had some bad experiences with the staff, so hopefully that will be resolved now. I always liked playing there though because the sound was really good and there’s plenty of room to dance. We’ll miss it for sure.

Any bands in particular that you have liked playing with lately?

L: Yeah, we’ve always loved playing with The Breakfast a lot. We just played with them at a sold out show up at the Stone Church in New Hampshire. They let us sit in for their encore which was pretty exciting. We’re opening for Kung Fu at Tammany Hall out in Worcester in November. Kung Fu is two guys from The Breakfast, one of the guys from RAQ, and one guy who plays with the Allman Brothers. It’s like a jazz fusion jamband supergroup. There’s a bunch of bands on the scene right now that we’d like to play with. Every couple of weeks we get a phone call for a new exciting gig opportunity.

100 shows and still no studio album. Any plans to record in the near future?

L: Yeah man, we’re actually hard at work on it. We took a week off about a month or two ago and we all went into the studio for a few days and laid down all of the basics. So now we’re just working on overdubs and vocals and mixing. We’re looking at hopefully a late winter release and if not, spring for sure. We’ll definitely have a release show for that, hopefully even a release tour. We definitely want to have it ready for the festival season.

Mondo Gecko takes a very grassroots approach when it comes to networking and building a fanbase. Is there any way that fans can help promote?

L: Yeah definitely, the whole grassroots approach has really made a big difference for us. The stickers thing has been huge. We have three different stickers that we hand out everywhere and we have a bit of a street team where they would go to a Phish show or Dead show and hand out enough stickers so that if you were at that show, you would see green Mondo Gecko stickers everywhere. If anybody wants to help with stickers or flyers for upcoming shows, it really makes a big difference. Also, Facebook seems to be where everything is moving. People who spread our music on Facebook really help us out.

What are the positives and negatives of being grouped as a jamband?

L: We have a variety of different opinions within the group on that topic. It depends on what you think of. When I think of the term “jamband,” I think of two sets, a different setlist every night, there’s lots of improvisation and lots of different genres, and there’s that grassroots approach with participation from the audience. A lot of people put negative connotations on the term, though. People think that you just get up and play over the same two chords for like two hours, you know? So it depends on who you’re talking to, some of the guys in the band really don’t like the term because there’s also a lot of really bad jambands out there. One good thing is that being called a jamband gives us a basis for comparison with other good jambands. But then again, there’s a lot of Mondo Gecko fans that don’t listen to any of that kind of music.

100 shows is a pretty impressive mark. Any big plans for TT’s on Friday?

L: Yeah, we got some tidbits we’re working on, but I guess you need to be there to see what happens! We’ve got some friends that may come and sit in. It’s kind of a big deal though, the first 100 are really pivotal in shaping what kind of band you are. If anybody hasn’t seen the band with Matt, it’s really the next level in my opinion. We’ll be celebrating that in full on Friday night.

-Perry Eaton
http://www.allstonpudding.com/post/1451146697/mondo-gecko-100-and-counting

Write up from mysecretboston.com:

If you dig the P-H then you’ll love this foursome; substance friendly space outs, guitar-juiced funk, and a breakneck bout of electric-grass are given the treatment. Gecko has the chops to attack it all and keep it fresh too. And if you don’t like Phish, you still can’t deny the thick, dance-friendly groove that Gecko brings to the floor. They even drop in a dose of electronica from time to time.

Perry from The Concert Buzz has some nice things to say about us. Thanks Perry!

Massachusetts’ latest contribution to the jam scene is a five-piece funk rock outfit called Mondo Gecko. With a strong emphasis on live improvisation, the group features driving lead guitar similar to Umphrey’s McGee contrasted with the funkier clavinet and keyboard lines reminiscent of Phish’s Page McConnell. Also similar to Phish is Mondo Gecko’s grassroots approach of playing local venues, building upon a dedicated fanbase, and involving friends and family with street team, merchandise, and touring assistance. The group has played all over the northeast and it would not be surprising if they started to tour nationally within a short period of time. Musically, Mondo Gecko is not restricted by a single genre, but rather fuses elements of rock, jazz, funk, and reggae among other musical styles to make for a live experience that covers all cylinders. Each member is well-seasoned, having played in other local groups previous to Mondo Gecko, so they all bring a unique personal style to solos as well as to the band’s sound as a whole. Their story-like songwriting nicely compliments the full instrumental groove that backs them. The glue of the group is the interlocking groove of bassist Andrew Walley and drummer Aaron Morey, who together provide a catapult for guitarists Brad Garone and Luke Stratton to contribute explosive solos or share in the groove with funky rhythm licks. Weaving in and out of the guitar is keyboardist Eric McEwen who lends a whole different perspective, taking many different tones and lending a unique attitude to every song. Mondo Gecko are still getting on their feet, but thanks to a constantly loaded gigging schedule, their name is spreading like wildfire throughout the jam community. Their open taping policy has created plenty of opportunity for new listeners to hop aboard, but to get the full experience, you must get out and see these guys live.

Our good friend Kristen has some kinds words to say about our “Talk Like A Pirate” show. Go read! She also filmed a bunch of video and put it up on YouTube. Go read and watch! Thanks, Kristen!

Skope Magazine’s Janie Franz wrote this lovely little piece, and said that we we’re the monthly favorite! The best part is we had no idea this was happening: a new friend on MySpace let us know!

My Fave: As many of you know me, you can guess who would be my fave this time around: the jamband. It’s a great new band from Boston called Mondo Gecko. This band boasts five members from the Berkee College of Music who combine that technical skill with a distinct sense of humor that Phish would have been envious of in their early days. Their website explains the band’s sound as: “Imagine if James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Cash all joined Phish, and they were all abducted by Rastafarian space aliens on Halloween night while at a Rave hosted by the Ghostbusters.” Those varied influences are definitely there, especially Phish, but there is also a lot of jazz mixed in and plenty guitar and keys effects. The jams are structured but allow for a lot of freedom. These guys are skilled enough not to get lost in the ethereal when they improvise. Their song “Relics” is an amusing look back at history, while their “Traveling Song” could be a twenty-first century Lord of the Rings anthem, starting out folkish and then moving into rock and jazz realms. Mondo Gecko produces a dynamic, fun live show. These guys need to make a swath through the heartland and hit the summer jam festivals. There are fans out there waiting for them.

Read the whole article here:
http://skopemag.com/2008/09/26/october-2008-sonicbids-“artists-2-watch”