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.”

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