a rockin, rollin, swingin, 2 minute and 48 second party.  a story about a relationship gone bad, but oh, so much fun.

HONKY ABBEY SESSIONS

Lafayette

the story of a man who’s spent his life wrestling with the devil, and still fighting, “gonna go down swinging.” set to jazzy chord changes and a rocking second-line groove.

ANYBODY'S GUESS.4.27.23

life as a crawfish in louisiana bayou. we gon’ party like a mudbug. a rockin cajun party joint.

MUD BUG 4.24.23

a gambler, who haunts the san fernando valley, occasionally goes to texas to take care of business. set to a rocking second line beat.

TELL YOU WHAT.4.17.23

a raging narcissist’s manifesto, set to a slinky mambo, with some twangy minor key guitar riffs,

POISON ON MY TONGUE 4.17.23

the story of an ordinary good man  in love with a really smart woman. set to a funky levon helm style groove, the band meets tom waits.

WHAT'S IN YOUR MIND.916

a young man stuck in a small southern town full of fogeys, yearning to break free. so, our boy is going to mardi gras, or burning man, to live his life, and have some fun. set to a swinging cajun beat.

GOIN TO MARDI GRAS 4.25.23

a funky stinky funky second line instrumental… kinda. there is some singing back there somewhere. you might wanna jump up and do the boogaloo.

HOW'S YO MAMA 4.25.23

i've seen the burning bush and the dirty water
the road to ruin and the san berdoo
i've seen the girls in new york city
seen the light in memphis and cairo, too
ain't nothing new
ain't no surprises
the moon waxes and the wheel goes around
you cut the cards and you count your blessings
you count your dollars when the deal goes down
it's all the same when the day is done
ain't nothing new
in the eye of the sun

i've seen a woman casting bread on the water
seen a man go from dust to dust
seen the bottle and the needle go round
true love and murderous lust
ain't nothing new
ain't no surprises
i've seen the black car, driving slow
i heard them singing in the city of david
heard them weeping down in tupelo
it's all in vain when the day is done
ain't nothing new
in the eye of the sun

i've seen the wicked in the holy places 
seen an angel in a juke joint bar
heard the wisdom of a thousand sages
smelled the flies in the medicine jar
ain't nothing new
ain't no surprises
the fools laughing and the wise men crying
i've seen a hard rain fall on the righteous
the rich dogs and the starving lions
you had your fun when the day is done
ain't nothin new
in the eye of the sun

Eye Of The Sun

10 Mojo Man

BLAME THE WORKING MAN mojo monkeys

beating dead horses is what happens when we are driven by fear, not by courage or love.

beating dead horses

a mockingbird was singing in my avocado tree late one night. my daughter heard it, and said sleepily, "sounds like a car alarm". i realized that this urban mockingbird was mocking a car alarm. 

The Mockingbird Song

papa got his swerve on 
he’s got his swerve on    			
it’s good to see him having fun
papa done put down his gun
and got his swerve on
come on and sing along
			
papa says “this ain’t how i planned it
how we got here i just don’t know”
papa there ain’t no understanding
how bout for just one night, let it go

papa got his swerve on
he’s got his swerve on
papa’s got a hungry of soul
tempers it with self control
but tonight, he’s going long
come on and swerve along
				
papa’s got his swerve on
he’s got his swerve on
papa, lay your pain aside
healing takes a lot of time
so get your swerve on
come on and dance along

swerve on

Swerve On

i lay my heart on the line
i lay my pearls before swine
thought i did everything right
i pulled until it was tight
were you too busy for me?
or just feeling hornery
you might have been on the rag
left me holding an empty bag
did all i thought i should do
thank you, muse. this song is for you.
i feel so dumb
when nothing comes
this song is about …nothing
put on my sunday school suit
shat, shaved, & shined my shoes
worked my fingers down to the bone
i got all wired and stoned
i went fishing with bait on my hook
got a couple of nibbles, but no fish to cook
you had me climbing the walls
then left me blue in the balls
you’ve been so good in the past
tell you what, you can kiss my ass.
sometimes you so kind to throw me a bone 
i put my hand to the plough, tried to milk that cow
i don’t know what else i could do
thank you, muse. this song is for you

Song For The Muse

story of my life, driving the bus, playing the beat, keeping y'all dancing.

Beat Bus Driver

a song about being in over your head. about addiction, about not knowing when to quit. 

Hang

Labels don’t stick easily to the Mojo Monkeys, a groove-greasing Los Angeles trio of veteran musicians who filter swampy New Orleans grooves, Bakersfield honky-tonk and Texas swing through distinctly Angeleno sensibilities. Their third album, Swerve On, testifies to the improvisational verve that makes their shows such infectious, dance floor-packing fun.
	Bandleader/drummer Dave Raven, bassist Taras Prodaniuk and guitarist Billy Watts first discovered their kinetic musical chemistry while backing Tower of Power vocalist Hubert Tubbs in a funk band 20 years ago. Since then, between them, they’ve accompanied a Who’s Who list of Americana and rock artists, including Eric Burdon, Merle Haggard, Teresa James, Kris Kristofferson, Shelby Lynne, Mike Ness, Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson, John Trudell, Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams. That depth of rootsy musicality infuses Swerve On, which displays more stylistic diversity than 1999’s Hang or 2010’s Blessings & Curses.
	“Some of the ideas have been around since the closing days of the last record,” notes Raven, while wisecracking about their “amazing breakneck pace” of production. With one or all of them on tour at any given juncture, scheduling face time can be maddeningly complicated. When they do manage to meet at Raven’s home, he says, “I press record and we just start jamming. Sometimes things come out in one piece. We usually stop and go, ‘Hey, what if we went to the 4 chord here? What should we do for the bridge?’ I usually write lyrics and melodies later.”

mojo monkeys

Popular tracks