Pac-O-Mojo

I got a call from my old friends Curt Johnson and Dennis Bellinger saying, “We’ve got some music we’ve been working on with our new group Pac O Mojo that we’d like you to listen to because we value your judgment and know you’ll give us your unbiased opinion.” I was intrigued because I knew these cats still had their musical chops. I must confess, when they handed me a CD saying it was a very rough demo I was a little worried. I’ve got boxes full of horrible demos people send me to critique. W...

I got a call from my old friends Curt Johnson and Dennis Bellinger saying, “We’ve got some music we’ve been working on with our new group Pac O Mojo that we’d like you to listen to because we value your judgment and know you’ll give us your unbiased opinion.” I was intrigued because I knew these cats still had their musical chops. I must confess, when they handed me a CD saying it was a very rough demo I was a little worried. I’ve got boxes full of horrible demos people send me to critique. What if I had to tell my ol’ pals I thought their music sucked? My fears were soon laid to rest as I heard sounds reminiscent of Steely Dan (one of my favorite bands), Motown, Muscle Shoals and more, but it still sounded totally original. My foot began to tap involuntary – the sure sign of a winner. I loved it, but I didn’t want them to think I was being patronizing, so I simply and calmly said, “It’s very good. Where have you been hiding this stuff?” Curt told me he’d been writing the music for some time, and decided to revive his long and often frustrating musical career, and give it one more shot by forming a group with Dennis. He told me, “We don’t have to be big, and certainly not small, but most importantly we have to be real. We just want to establish a great groove and keep it simple.” And that they have! It’s not that these guys can’t rip it up. They don’t need to. It’s the way they get right to the point in their lyrics, and the understated and classic execution in their playing that gives their music its honesty, and that great groove they were looking for. They’re not out to impress but impart. Curt comes with a long and interesting pedigree. He’s been strumming guitar strings and tickling keyboards since the mid-1960s, when he was in Mojo and The Nightwalkers, and Terry Knight and The Pack, the forerunner of Grand Funk Railroad. It was by pure coincidence that they came up with the name Pac O Mojo before realizing its significance. Dennis too had a Grand Funk connection becoming a member of the group in the early 1980s and playing bass extensively with its front man, Mark Farner. Terry Liedel is able to play just about any instrument, but he’s primarily the group’s lead guitarist. He is the only member of the group who didn’t grow up in Michigan. Ironically, he says one of his biggest musical influences was Farner. He’s been in over a dozen groups since the mid-1970s. Drummer Mark Walrath has served in over a half-dozen groups just in the last decade. His drumming inspirations are Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles who worked with Jimi Hendrix. All of the band’s members also contribute strong background vocals. Curt admits he’s never been much of a lyricist, so when the band went looking for someone, providence intervened in the form of Eric Gentry, a forceful and earthy lead vocalist, and veteran of such acclaimed groups as The Dazz Band and The Crowd Pleasers. He’s also worked with Mary Davis from the SOS band, Kiara, Boys In Black, Night And Day and the producer for Ready For the World, and written lyrics for Howard Hewitt. He is the youngest member of the group and adds a strong contemporary element to their sound. He quickly and instinctively penned the reality-based lyrics that reflected his and the other members of Pac O Mojo’s years of tough economic times in Flint. Curt confesses, “People in this band have lost their jobs and homes. When times are tough you turn to the things you know and love most. In our case it was music, so we decided to give it another shot.” “We’re doing this on a shoestring, says Dennis. We’re not quitters. People from Flint are tough, proud people. It’s the working man’s music.” The band’s members have clearly bridged the racial and musical boundaries that still divide much of Flint. Pac O Mojo recently made their debut at Flint’s Atwood Stadium, opening for hometown hero Mark Farner, to a highly enthusiastic crowd. A nervous Curt, who hadn’t played live in over 20 years, says it was a déjà vu moment taking him back briefly to 1967 when he first played there as a member of Terry Knight And The Pack, which helped to settle his nerves. “To open at Atwood for Mark Farner and meet him was a dream come true,” says Liedel. The story of Michigan Rock is contained in this Pac O Mojo; rooted in the South with its R & B, Funk and Jazz influences fused with a bit of hip-hop and that industrial Rock music Flint helped make famous. Its five members include over 170 years of playing professionally yet they remain amazingly current because of their experience and Eric’s hip-hop influences. “Our main musical goal is to bring elements from our musical past together with what’s going on today,” says Eric. This music doesn’t lie. When you hear Eric sing about the security of his loving relationship in the midst of unpaid bills you know you’re smokin’ an unfiltered Pac O Mojo. Their music is filled with hope amidst the struggle. It’s very infectious – addictive and hard to get out of your head. This music IS the spirit of America directly from its heartland. It’s the best thing to come out of Flint since Grand Funk and the Buick deuce and a quarter. Take it for a spin! © Kristofer Engelhardt 2010 Pac-O-Mojo is: Eric Gentry: Lead Vocals Curt Johnson: Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals Terry Liedel: Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Vocals Dennis Bellinger, Bass Guitar, Vocals Mark Walrath: Drums, Vocals