West Coast blues band the Mighty Mojo Prophets consist of Tommy “Big Son” Eliff on vocals, Mitch “Da Switch” Dow on guitar, bassist Scott Lambert, drummer Johnny Minguez, and harp player Michael Fell. They perform at the Cinema Bar on December 22, and Mitch Dow told the News about what they have in store for Culver City…
When did you start playing and performing?
Tom Eliff and I came from different vectors and didn’t meet until 2008-ish in the first iteration of MMP which was Driving Sideways. That lasted about a minute as we knew there was some magic happening, and MMP was born. I sat in on a gig somewhere in Anaheim I think, and the next day got a call from Tom asking if I wanted to collaborate. The rest, as they say, is history.
Describe your sound/style?
It’s been called many things from trash to hash… BUT, we are steeped in the blues and particularly the West Coast style. Tom writes the truth about his experiences so there are no tunes about toiling in Cotton Fields, or being from the South, etc. But rather they’re about growing up in Compton and Long Beach, and all that it entails. Just watch the news.
What are your career highlights so far?
Nominated for a W.C Handy (Blues Music Award/BMA) for our Freshman release (The Mighty Mojo Prophets/RipCat Records#1) Played at that year’s BMA award ceremony in Memphis. Played most of the big fests here in the States but also over the pond as they say, and were highlighted at the Moulin Blues fest in Belgium. We really liked the Netherlands and they seemed to like us back. As the years roll on, we age, get married, have kids, grandkids, GREAT grandkids, so getting in a van and driving around doing shows, which we’ve done a lot of, has gone by the wayside and we are content to stay local.
What recorded music is available — particularly the most recent?
We have made ALL of our music available for free… there is just no money to be made by independent artists anymore, and those that charge (which they deserve to) just wind up making pennies while Spotify and other streaming outlets take the lion’s share. Seems they are just blockading any exposure to their music. So we opted to just let it go on Youtube… it’s all there for the taking. Four releases: The Mighty Mojo Prophets, Flying Home From Memphis, Record Store and our most recent, Sounds From The Jungle Hut. We are currently writing and recording a new set of tunes for release as singles as they are finished. We will probably stay that course of releasing singles from now on. Nobody buys albums or CDs anymore. We still have a closet full of double vinyl albums of Record Store as I was SURE vinyl was gonna make a comeback….pfff.
Have you performed at Cinema Bar before? Any memories?
Nope, but we hear it’s a small club with a dedicated regular crowd and that’s ok with us. We thrive in a more intimate setting and hope to make some good music there.
What can the audience expect from the set this time?
You might just get to hear a couple of new tunes that haven’t been released.
What else do you have coming up?
The Cinema Bar is our last gig for the year. Our focus for 2024 is to get as much new music recorded and released as possible. Remember, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Blessings.
The Mighty Mojo Prophets perform at 9 p.m. on Friday, December 22 at the Cinema Bar. Go to thecinemabar.com for more information about the show.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys, and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
The next show at Boulevard Music is Richard Smith at 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 16. Visit boulevardmusic.com for more info.
