"It is about the story, which is told by the lyrics. The lyrics are borne by the melody. The chord progression gives the melody a path. The rhythms are the ‘driving wheel’. And that is how it all makes sense to me." - Mo' Kauffey

About





From the moment you see Mo’ Kauffey and his old Supratone arch-top guitar you get the idea you are in for something unique, when you hear it you know you are in for something special. You will understand why these two have performed for many audiences around Ontario, across the US and in Europe. Mo’ interprets a broad swath of American roots music in a personable, acoustic blues format, Mo' also composes and reinvents more contemporary folk, rock, country, and pop music in his unique style.
 He has been performing his brand of roots music for more than 30 years and has opened for and/or shared the stage with artists like John Mayall, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bill Kirchen, Roy Book Binder, Rock Bottom, Colin Linden, Manitoba Hal, Ken Hamm, Honeyboy Edwards, Michael Pickett, and Mel Brown  
  He has released 6 independent albums since 2000 with a new live CD in the works..
He's a deeply rooted artist who brings tradition and authenticity to everything he touches.




Discography:
“Dig It” 2013
"Whatcha Gonna Do"  2003
"Pirates of the Airwaves" 2002
Mo' and Les “Headin’ South/Sno-Flakes”  2002
“4-Corners Mo’”  2001.
"Just Mo' " 2000



                And now.........for the rest of the story.



Mo’ Kauffey, being born and raised near the foothills of the Rockies in Colorado, has a natural early influence of C&W. Pair this with an early affinity with folk/rock and blues and you get what Mo’ has to offer. With the release of Mo’s 6th CD he continues to show he can write songs that are accessible, meaningful with his twist on the perspective.
But as much as this he shows that when he does “other peoples music” he believes what he is doing and allows you to believe that it is for the moment his.
“Dig It”, a full production project, produced by Kent MacMIllan, it has 3 new Mo’ songs and 10 songs not previously recorded by Mo’ (well 9 anyway). It is a very full clean Mo’ sound never heard before, not resting on his hardy laurels a new live CD is in the works.

Since Mo’ Kauffey became the stage name for Gary Wickizer, he has gone from someone known by few to a widely known, much respected, and loved artist throughout Colorado, Florida, Southern Ontario, Michigan, and points in between. He has polished his persona into a highly entertaining show, with a laid-back smooth style, full of humor, whether performing solo or joined by any number of sidemen he has attracted.  He performs anywhere from coffeehouses to festivals, stating, “I like the intimate crowds, but love the energy of a larger crowd!”


“I got interested in music as a child, hearing the early rock and pop my older sisters would play on their phonographs. I took accordion lessons in grade school and had an ability to play ‘by ear’. It was at this time I first thought of having a band. The Accordion didn’t last too long and I ended up getting a guitar - hey, The Beatles were just starting to make waves - and I started teaching myself to play and learning songs. This was coming into the early 70’s when acoustic music was really popular. About this time I heard some acoustic blues “Sonny Boy Williamson” and “Sonny Terry”, it really caught my ear, but thought it was an old dead art form. I then heard “Hot Tuna” and John Mayall’s “Turning Point” and I veered in that direction, along with the Folk/rock sounds of those days Buffalo Springfield, Birds, Hoyt Axton, and I had an acoustic guitar
I was blessed by not sounding like anyone in particular, so I had no easy path to develop, but rather sang and played the music trying to sound like me.”

Mo’ was happy to jam with friends at parties and get togethers for many years, not wanting to commercialize his music, but just have fun with it. His first professional gig was in 1976, and at about this time he formed the Last Blast Band, (without drums), and they rehearsed a lot, but played out just once, and on that outing they won the local Gong Show. The band broke up soon after that, and Mo’ did not do any more gigs until he moved to Florida in 1979 and discovered the local music scene which centered at the “Stuffed Pepper”. It was during this time he met Eddie Kirkland and Diamond Teeth Mary, I also met and became friends with Rock Bottom and Little Juke and all the others
Around ‘The Pepper”.

“This place was alive with music every night, blues jams, acoustic jams, bands, there was nothing like this in Pueblo, Colorado, my home town, it was great, and I dived in with both feet. I grew a lot as a musician during this time, but still did not pursue it as a vocation. Moving back to Colorado in ’83, I started wanting to do more gigging and did a few with “Little Juke” as “The Cosmic Radiators.”

Mo’ then formed the Singing Painters, a great but poor band, with Mitchell Maroney on guitar and Donovan McNeilly on bass. In 1989 he teamed up with Bryan Richie and Donovan and became the “Del Rio Trio” and performed at a little club in Pueblo. In 1991 Mo’ joined what was to become the Moonriders and they worked at gigging for about a year. Mo’ eventually left and began doing some solo gigs.

“I had a steady Monday night gig that started out solo and I would invite folks to sit in; we always ended up the night with a full band on stage. Many of these guys would return weekly to enjoy the spontaneous music we would create. Then is when the enigma of my music really began. You see, musicians like to join in with me because the groove and space in my music  is inviting in a free way, that ends up with the sum being more than the separate parts.”

After some life changes in 1995 Mo’ decided to pursue music as a career. He was living in Colorado Springs and actively pursuing gigs. It wasn’t long before he was performing regionally 4 to 5 nights a week honing his presence and skills, and meeting musicians in the area. It was during this time he met Tim Costello, Barry Wedgle, Kim Stone, Jack Daniels, John Michael Steele, Michael Reese, and Steve Hoke all who have performed with him.
It was also during this time Mo’ Kauffey was born, and he hasn’t looked back.

He started coming to Ontario to visit his friend (now his wife) and started performing around the area, meeting and gathering musical friends and fans. He got married moved to and settled in Guelph, and after five years of immigration red tape is a permanent resident in his new home. Now, he is able to concentrate on his music career again and is
Looking forward to the following his chosen path.



And that brings us to the present, or “when you get to the bottom go back to the top…….of the slide.”








1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just entering a greeting from a mutual friend in Pueblo, AJ Harmes. AJ walks his own path, prefers a live audience, and leaves no digital footprint. Regards.

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