Sibling rivalry
The Modern Men: Half innovative musical act, half bickering brothers
The Mellotones
The dance masters
By Aly Thomson | Dec 2, 2011With a big ensemble, danceable playlist and solid musical chops, The Mellotones are throwbacks to another (funkier) era.
Take a walk down to Argyle Street on any given Thursday night and you’ll find a lengthy line of people extended down the street, waiting anxiously to enter the Seahorse Tavern.
Behind two bulky wooden-clad doors and down a set of stairs is a cavern-like room, soon to be packed with university students and old-timers alike. They’ve all come for the Mellotones.
A quirky little musical phenomenon, the nine-piece band has changed the way we dance in Halifax. Their music is tight, making audiences let loose. Their performances are masterful, and the audience’s gratitude seems to linger in the bar like the smell of sweat after every show. Playing everything from jazz, R&B, funk and rock, the Mellotones back their first-class vocals with funky grooves and a top-notch, hard-hitting horn section.
But success didn’t come right away: it’s been 14 years in the making.
The Mellotones began with a few Dalhousie University music students, including two current members who have stood the test of time, Mike Farrington and Jody Lyne. “Back in 1997, there were very few horn bands that were on the scene,” says lead singer Jeff Mosher, who has been with the band since 2000 and behind the microphone since 2004.
The Mellotones
Since then, Ian Mosher, Brad Conrad, Lil Thomas, Eric Landry, Damien Moynihan and Rob Crowell have all joined to form a nonagon of great local musicians. Besides their raw talent, the key is selecting a diverse set list, says Mosher. “We’re picking great songs that people want to hear,” Mosher says. “They’re songs you can enjoy and songs that we enjoy, especially.” Selections run the gamut from Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally.” “Thriller” and Wilson Pickett’s
Their show isn’t littered with cheap classics and easy riffs. Mosher says what is typically referred to as a “cover band” was once referred to as a dance band in the 1960s and ’70s. People would spend Friday nights at clubs and church halls to move and groove to the music of a band. “It’s not a bunch of drinking songs,” Mosher says. “We are a dance band. The music is intended for people to dance to.”
Mosher attributes much of the band’s longevity to two things: constantly refreshing their repertoire and Halifax’s massive and ever-changing university crowd. “A new crop of kids come in every year, so it feels like we’re being rediscovered all the time,” he says. “And they remember us when they go home to their respective towns.” He recalls a group of Halifax alumni that came to a show in Toronto a few months ago: “People remember that they had a good time at the ’Tones.”
The Mellotones’ regular Thursday gig has had a few homes over the years: Stage Nine, the Grawood and now the Seahorse. They’re often hired for weddings and corporate functions. Chuck in a few other venue performances and they play more than 140 shows a year.
This past summer, they hit the road to play in Moncton, Toronto and at the Charlottetown Jazz and Blues Festival. “It’s nice to be asked to play in more of a performance setting because we’re giving a high caliber performance,” Mosher says. “The people are there because they want to listen to the music not because their boss bought dinner and a night out. It’s exciting to play for those crowds because they really appreciate the music.”
Stephanie Purcell of LimeLight Communications Group in Halifax has been booking the band’s performances since 2007. She says they’ve more than doubled their corporate and special event gigs in the past four years. “We work with a number of event planners in the city, and consistently people want the Mellotones on their stage,” she says. “Their popularity, you can just see it growing year after year… they draw a massive fan base everywhere they go.” She cites performances in Antigonish and at the Shore Club in Hubbards.
All that considered, it’s hard to believe that the band is strictly a moonlight gig. All of the Mellotones have had their hands in recording, producing and performing for local names like Matt Mays, Garrett Mason and Don Ross, among other musical endeavours.
As nine of the most multi-talented musicians-about-town, they’re more than capable of laying down some original material. But right now, that’s not in the cards. “Our focus is our performances and playing the material the best it can be played,” Mosher says.
But they will (and have) laid down some of their most memorable covers and, after a few more studio sessions, hope to sell the compilation CD off the stage sometime soon. “Everyone in the band is in and out of the studio but the Mellotones,” Mosher says. “We’re due for our studio time, that’s for damn sure.”
Mosher jokes about eventually franchising out the band but he sees a lot of dances still to come. He says he’s certain they’ll all be playing music “until we get old and lose all our hair… Hopefully at that time, the young people will still come out and listen to us.”
Man,
I remember hanging out with the original MelloTones (Mike and Jody included) in Tim Jim Baker’s basement forever ago. This was pre-Tony Smith days (they were yet to discover him singing for Turkey at Little Nashville.
I lived with many members, worked in bars they played and danced to them hundreds of times.
Lots of changes, lots of great memories.
Congrats on 14 years of success!