Listening to the mesmerizing guitar riffs and gruffly soulful vocals of Blacktop Mojo, somebody could possibly be forgiven for pondering they’d instantly been transported to the early 90s grunge scene of Seattle. But, the uniquely Texas taste jolts listeners again to actuality. That is neither the 90s nor the Pacific Northwest, however one thing wholly new that pays homage to the sounds and inspirations of its musical forbearers. The East Texas outfit discusses a few of their inspirations, thrilling milestones up to now, and what’s subsequent on the horizon for Blacktop Mojo.
The Origins of their Mojo
The band acquired its begin within the small East Texas city of Palestine. To the unacquainted, the locale seems an unlikely place for the origin of a grunge band, however underneath nearer inspection, it turned a really perfect forming floor for the southern-style metallic and guitar riffs impressed by fellow southern-bred bands Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Prime. Vocalist Matt James and drummer Nathan Gillis shaped the band in late 2012, incorporating a myriad of genres and kinds starting from heavy rock to sensuous blues to beginning a sound dubbed a “Texas Grunge” by members of the music scene.
Cultivating their Craft and Slicing their Tooth
With the 2014 launch of their debut album “I Am” serving as an introduction, the band set to work presenting their distinctive sound in native venues all through Texas, enjoying in dive bars, honky tonks, and dance halls. A couple of years later, through the creation of their sophomore album, “Burn the Ships,” the band determined to take their craftsmanship to the subsequent degree. Focusing squarely on refining their music, band members stop their common jobs, making Blacktop Mojo their sole, full-time occupation. The group moved right into a small home collectively, fostering an unbreakable bond and permitting the band members to eat, sleep, and breathe their ardour for music and creativity.
A Relentless Drive Up the Charts
This dedication proved useful as Blacktop Mojo has taken on a virtually nonstop touring and recording schedule since then. Ensuing from this unrelenting drive, the band has celebrated the charting of a number of songs into the highest 40 of each Mediabase and Billboard Rock Charts, a coveted distinction that always proves difficult for unbiased artists.
Nonetheless, the band has continued pounding the pavement, or blacktop moderately, in pursuit of musical excellence. Blacktop Mojo has persistently continued to develop and develop their fanbase by means of persistent touring, performing their distinctive stylings to rapt listeners, and permitting word-of-mouth to do its job. Lead singer Matt James notes this callback to traditional rock and roll inspirations as Blacktop Mojo performs music “the way in which it was. A gaggle of individuals on stage enjoying their devices proper in entrance of your face. No laptops, no backing tracks. What you see is what you get.”
The Way forward for Texas Grunge
Maybe it’s exactly this strategy that has led to the band’s success: a nostalgic need to see, hear, and really feel the music and the fervour behind it. Regardless of the case could also be, exhausting work, drive, and keenness mixed have resulted in thrilling, memorable milestones for Blacktop Mojo. Opening for Bon Jovi in 2016 and charting repeatedly on prime charts have been thrilling highlights up to now. The band is wanting above and past US charts as effectively, with 230k worldwide subscribers on YouTube and 350k month-to-month listeners on Spotify.
Hopping the pond, their unstoppable tour schedule has led the band to the UK to play within the spring of 2025. With this unflagging willpower, it appears all however sure that Texas Grunge is ready to echo worldwide as Blacktop Mojo continues their upward climb.
