IT'S SHOW TIME!

A Review of Latest P'Mooj Shows by Dr. Raj K. Chawla, the Most Loyal Mooj Head There Ever Was!

One on my jobs as President of The P'Mooj Fan Club is to attend all P'Mooj shows and report back to my fellow Mooj Minions how things went. This was a great time to be a Psychedelic Mooj fan, as the band did some great shows and added a multitude of new fans to the ever-overflowing flock of devoted Mooj Heads. Here is a recap of this fall's most memorable shows:  

Friday, October 27, 2006 - Famous Sam's, Apache Junction, AZ. Wow! What a show! I didn't mind driving all the way to AJ, as I knew good things awaited my humble ears. The band, as usual, started off doing mellow stuff from the album and then, for reasons unknown to anyone, took a psychedelic journey to the center of my mind. I was totally blown away and so were the three dozen or so other patrons, who, I'm sure, never saw anything like THAT in Apache Junction before. When The Mooj ended their second set (full of mind-numbing stuff) the place was silent and then I heard someone in the audience tell the waitress (as he pointed to the band): "Wow, I'll have whatever their having!"  There was one super fan in the audience (I say this because she bought both a CD and a T-Shirt) who requested the Band play Ted Nugent's Stranglehold for her birthday. They did. I think they also played Free for All, too. I can't remember, as by that time of the evening I was outside sleeping in a field somewhere. 

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - Alice Cooper's Town, Phoenix, AZ. I always enjoy going to Alice Cooper's Town because I love eating their extremely hot 'atomic' wings. Their hotness reminds me of the curried mutton kabobs I used to eat as a schoolboy back in Gujarat. So what a night it was! I fried my tongue on hot wings and roasted my mind with Psychedelic Mooj musical vibes. It doesn't get much better than that. 

Friday, December 8, 2006 - Jughead's, Phoenix, AZ. The Mooj blew the roof off of J-Heads with an amazing 45-minute set of blistering rock, blues and more. They were the first band to play that night and they were just getting warmed up when it was time to finish. A large portion of the crowd was there to see The Mooj so many people were sad that The Mooj only played one set. This was one of the best Mooj shows I've seen in a long time. Everyone really dug The Mooj that night, especially the girl I wound up getting a ride home from that night. Since I am only obligated to discuss the show I will not mention what happened on the way home, other than to say I will never drink that much tequila again. I can only hope the poor girl was able to get her car's insides professionally cleaned.   

Saturday, December 9, 2006 - Sub Culture Cafe,  Fun was had by family and friends during this fun 3-hour show of good eating and good music. The Mooj played both new and old favorites. Halfway through the show Dave broke a bass string. Pretty impressive!  Luckily there was a Guitar Center down the street so while Dave and Rich drove over to buy a new bass string Bill and Tracy performed various interpretive dance routines and pantomime skits. That alone was worth the price of admission (which was free). This version of  Bot, Bot, Bot (Let Me Show You What I Got) was filmed on this night. Sadly, because the image is so dark you can't see me laying passed out next to the fish tank.

Saturday, December 23, 2006 - Trax, Tempe, AZ. No doubt about it; this was one of the best Mooj shows I've ever seen all year! Wow! It was freezing that night (it was an outdoor venue) and happy patrons warmed themselves next to flaming trash cans (Like the street singers in the movie Rocky) as The Mooj did some long-jam versions of some of our favorite tunes.  Videos were filmed for: Knockin' On Your Door, Who's Gonna Love Ya, Steal My Heart and Bot Bot Bot (Let Me Show You What I Got). Watching these videos will make you feel like you were there. Actually, watch theses videos from a freezer compartment to get an even better idea. I watch these videos every morning after performing my after breakfast constitutional and meditation. What a great way to start the day!

Sunday, January 14, 2007 - P.F. Chang's Rock-n-Roll Marathon. The Mooj was rocking on Stage 25, one mile from the finish line. As everyone knows Dr. Raj is a fitness nut and I ran in the marathon, along with 30,000 others. Since I spent the first 2:30 running I didn't see The Mooj's first two hours and thirty minutes of material. I wound up stopping and watching the rest of the show and, thus, finished the marathon with a time of 5:20. Who wants to run when you can see The Mooj? 

Here's The Latest Band News:

The Mooj's new hit song Bot Bot Bot (Let me Show You What I Got) is regularly featured in many on-line venues. This song was written by Richard, who is a Senior Natural Search Optimization Strategist. This is the only time in the history of Earth that some one has written and performed a song about SEO / NSO algorithms! Others will no doubt follow suit! 

On a similar vein Bill tells me that he intends to write and perform a song about the neutron life cycle in a water-moderated fission nuclear reactor (as he is sure no one has done that yet as well).  

The P'Mooj was picked by The Arizona Republic as a "Must See" band during the recent PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon. The article claims: "If you love the gritty blues of Paul Butterfield and Humble Pie, check out the Mooj." What a great way to describe the band! Bill told me that he loves the comparison. He says that "Clem" Clemson (the guitarist for Humble Pie after Peter Frampton) was one of his favorite guitarists when he was growing up. 

New Gear: Richard has added an impressive new axe to his arsenal of guitars! Next time you see Richard playing live he will undoubtedly be sporting his new pearlesque "Fat Strat." Rumor also has it that he bought and will now use a genuine Dunlop Uni-Vibe! How cool that will be! Bill, deciding to go completely analog, has replaced his Vox Tone Lab SE with a Radial Tonebone Classic Tube Drive, Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah and Fulltone Choralflange. This move was inspired by examining Robin Trower's set up during their recent show together. (For the purists out there it should be noted that Trower uses the Fulltone OCD, not the Radial Tonebone).        

SHOW OF SHOWS CANCELLED!!!

Sadly, The Mooj's show with the Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs was cancelled at the last minute. This would have been a great show. The band looks forward to any future visits by the Dregs and Steve Morse, and hope to be part of that show as well.   

Hey Gang! Here's an Unauthorized Interview of Lead Bassist Dave Hull by Mooj Minion Community Activist Raj Kumar Chawla, Ph.D:

Raj: Greetings, Dave. Is that your real name or a stage name? I only ask that because "Dave" sounds totally made up, like "Sting," "Flea" or "Bono," you know.
Dave: I use the name "Dave" to keep fans from realizing that, in fact, I am Artis Fillmore Gibson, the legendary slam dunk artist from the old ABA in the 70's.I cut my 6 ft "Fro", baked my body in a large Amana Radar Range, and created the magnificent physical presence you see before you!!
Raj: How best would you describe the music of The Psychedelic Mooj? 
Dave: A swirling caldron of intense musical journeys, propelled by the complete artistic freedom of the pooled talents, and the instincts and craft to define and refine it, and launched by the Blues {also I'm usually too focused on playing the music to really break it down}.
Raj: Musically, who is your greatest influence?
Dave: Jimi Hendrix, Duck Dunn, Charles Mingus (3 greatest influences, gotta count the Beatles too!!!)
Raj: While a member of the Hellhounds, you played with and opened for many great bands of that era. Who were the most memorable of the bands and why?
Dave:   I played with Hellhounds 82-84,The greatest Bands we opened for, I remember, were The Chambers Bros: Mind Bending psychedelic soul like Time has come Today, People get Ready, etc. Other bands were Inxs, Rick Springfield, the Fixx, and The Beat Farmers, Meat Puppets, Rebel Rockers. A hell of lot of fun and a great rock education!!!
Raj: What is your favorite P'Mooj song and why?
Dave: Favorite P'Mooj song huh? Hasta be " Knockin on Your Door." I get chills comin out of the Blues Break headin back into the descending riff!!!
Raj: Before we conclude this interview I would like to bring up a sensitive topic. It concerns the original album cover you chose for your self-titled debut album.  I, like many who shop at Wal-Mart, was glad that they, like other civic-minded vendors, refused to stock the CD because of the offensive album cover.  As a result, the first pressing of CDs had to be recalled and substituted with the current album cover, which basically is you guys standing in some big field somewhere. Is it true that the person posing in that offensive pose doing those offensive things was you? And if so, where did you find those American flag bikini bottoms?
Dave: First of all, Let me say this, "THOSE FUDDRUCKING CORPORATE PRUDES CAN KISS MY 'RED, WHITE AND BLUE BEHIND'! IF ZAPPA CAN DO IT SO CAN I !! THOSE FERRETS WERE OF LEGAL CONSENT AGE, AND HAD SIGNED THE WAIVER FORMS!! IT WAS MY OWN PERSONAL STATEMENT ON HOW THE WORLD BANK OVERCHARGES INTEREST RATES ON AID LOANS TO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES!! ANYONE CAN SEE THAT!! Phew, sorry about that. That's something I just wanted to clear up!! Oh yeah, the flag Speedos, Like em? I picked them up at a swap meet in Nogales. Almost got arrested trying them on! {no dressing rooms, you know}.