„The most impressive mob of bluesmen emanating from mainland Europe that I ever heard“ (Keith Briggs, Blues & Rhythm)

Nearly 5000 concerts – on the blues highway since 1977

The special status of the Mojo Blues Band is well documented – and it is a status they command not only in their home country. This is due above all to the band’s consistency and, in the most positive sense, their evident obsession with the blues. Historically authentic, yet unmistakably original and charismatic too.

Around mastermind Erik Trauner, an unparalleled success story began in 1977 at the legendary „Jazzland“ – full of integrity and authenticity, but also of genre-spanning hits.

Without ever resorting to false labelling and constantly renewing their musical range, the Mojo Blues Band convincingly present the music they have devoted themselves to. They are exquisite living proof that traditional blues, with all its colourful facets, by no means belongs in the attic. That is why they remain a welcome and gladly seen guest at almost all of the relevant festivals and concert stages at home and abroad.

A spirited society for living tradition

With a wink, you could call the band a spirited „society for living tradition“ that, despite changing line-ups, has gradually made the language of the blues its own – a second mother tongue with all its offshoots and dialects. Traditional Chicago blues just as much as swinging R&B and rolling boogies. But the music of Louisiana has always captivated the Mojos too, and with „Rosa Lee“, a number shaped by zydeco music, they even conquered the charts in 1988. Over the years a considerable number of records (DVDs included) have been produced, and even in the States the Austrians receive plenty of attention – not least thanks to their collaborations with countless international blues legends such as Champion Jack Dupree, Big Jay McNeely, Leon Thomas, Jimmy McCracklin and many more. An almost unparalleled reference list of international blues legends reads like a Who’s Who of the traditional blues scene and testifies to the band’s ability to hold its own internationally as a backing band, too. The session „The Wild Taste of Chicago“, recorded in Chicago, is one of the valuable documents of these encounters.

If Erik Trauner and the Mojo Blues Band were a film, its title could only be: „The Untouchables“.

Because, of course, the cradle of the MBB did not stand in the Mississippi Delta but in the heart of Austria’s capital. That makes tenacity, assertiveness and talent all the more necessary if you want to succeed on the international stages. Some say a small portion of madness is part of it, too. Over the decades Erik Trauner has gone his way unwaveringly, purposefully and consistently, always striving to choose his fellow musicians so that the band’s typically homogeneous sound and a certain spirit were always preserved – all of this without any pandering, but with an unshakeable love for the blues and its roots.

An emotional health resort for victims of assembly-line music

Something else that has worked for a long time is the chemistry between the musicians and their audience, and for several decades now their music has cast its spell over blues fans from all over the world.

A concert with the Mojo Blues Band is always a dynamic, exciting rollercoaster of emotions, with witty announcements and anecdotes providing the necessary dose of humour. Spontaneity and involving the audience always make for variety and suspense. Blues is the healer! – Blues as medicine? „You should be available on prescription,“ a Mojo fan once remarked after a concert, and that could be one of the secrets behind the MBB’s enduring popularity.

Developing your own signature

Despite all their admiration for the countless role models and interpreters of the blues such as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy Williamson or T-Bone Walker, the Mojo Blues Band have impressively succeeded in finding and following their own musical path. The endeavour to preserve and live out traditional sounds and grooves is by no means a contradiction to a lively interpretation.

Blues should be understood not only as a musical form but, above all, as the expression of a certain attitude to life. „It’s about developing your own signature. With the blues, life has to speak out of you. Those who have experienced nothing have nothing to tell. With us blues musicians it’s like with wine: the older, the better!“

In brief

Around 5000 performances – on the blues highway since 1977. What began at the legendary Jazzland has long since become an international brand of the blues – and the story of a band that has always stayed true to the blues and to itself despite the temptations of the music business.

Blues is the healer! – Blues as medicine? „You should be available on prescription,“ a Mojo fan once remarked after a concert, and that could be the secret behind the MBB’s enduring popularity at home and abroad. The mix of handmade, honest music that comes straight from the heart, paired with a good pinch of humour, seems to be an organically grown recipe with a guarantee of success.

Even if it is not rigorously purist, the music of the MBB has always been shaped by traditional blues – and is, moreover, proof of the power and timelessness of this musical form. Extensive tours have taken the musicians through almost all of Europe and across the pond to the birthplace of the blues. Their collaborations with countless U.S. legends such as Champion Jack Dupree, Big Jay McNeely, Leon Thomas or Jimmy McCracklin testify to their ability to hold their own internationally as a backing band, too.

Statement

„Being on the road with the Mojo Blues Band for nearly 50 years now means joy, pride and, above all, gratitude towards a loyal and wonderful audience and the many dedicated promoters. Even if we artists often tend to fuel our own ego, the moment we step on stage we are 100 % with our audience and try to let people forget their everyday worries for a while. We love blues music in its original, earthy form, yet very much paired with our own musical and substantive signature.“

Erik Trauner