What is the best way to describe Blacktop Mojo? They are an incredible inspiration for any small town band trying to climb the charts. Hailing from Palestine Texas this small town band are on the verge and are definitely making a name for themselves.  The band has two full length albums under their belt and currently working on a third. They have been criss-crossing the nation and sharing the stage with some industry heavy hitter and are currently on their second headlining tour.

I had a chance to catch up with Matt James, the front man of the Blacktop Mojo, during their stop at Pittsburgh PA’s Smiling Moose. We talked about the story behind the name of their band, some of his favorite influences, and several points of history for the band. He also was kind enough to share some advice as what other up and coming bands should do to help them propel themsleves higher in the world of music.

Empire Extreme: First off I have to ask, how did the band get their name? What made you guys decide to call yourselves Blacktop Mojo?
Matt James: Well as you know we live in a small town, and sometimes on the weekends, or any given day really, we’ll travel down a back-road that no one else really goes down, and just have a good time. Listen to some music, have a few drinks, etc. Well anyways, one night I needed something to stir my drink and my buddy is a duck hunter so he had a Mojo brand duck decoy in the back of his truck. After that we night we all just kept saying Blacktop Mojo was going to be it.

EE: As a band on the rise, what have been some of the major changes from the beginning up until now?
MJ: A lot more traveling! We started out just playing in bars and honky-tonk dance hall type places.  We originally were just a country cover band. We just got into playing live shows. Took gigs wherever we could, and worked our way out.  Last year we were fortunate enough to get all the way across the country.

EE: This is your second headlining tour, but you have shared stages with other major artists.
Who would you say has been your favorite so far?
MJ: Definitely Blackstone Cherry. Those guys were really fun to play with and really cool guys. We also played a show with Bon Jovi one time in an arena, that was pretty cool. It’s hard to choose man, it’s all fun.

EE: You have toured with several major artists, but who would you say are some major influences for your music?
MJ: We kind of have influences all over the place. I know our drummer, his influential band that got him into music was Boston. We’re all big Tool fans, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden of course.

EE: Being a band that started out small and have steadily climbed the charts over the last few years, what is some advice that you would give to local musicians who are in a similar situation?
MJ: Don’t give up. It’s a grind! Definite ly not an easy step. Basically if you can’t put your everything into it, then don’t do it.

EE: We’ll end the interview with some of the most basic questions. What is your favorite song to play live?
MJ: Probably “Pyromaniac”. Although it changes all the time.

EE: Where is somewhere you would like to tour that you haven’t yet?
MJ:  Definitely Europe. Doesn’t matter what part, I just think Europe would be awesome.

EE: Final question. What can you give us in regards to your upcooming  album?
MJ: It’s in very early stages, so there isn’t much to tell yet, but we are very excited about it.

The band played a great set which featured a lot of tracks from their latest album, Burn the Ships, including the title song, “Burn the Ships”, and Matt James current favorite “Pyromaniac”. The band is joined on this tour by Joyous Wolf.

About Author

Shelby Tyce

See author's posts