MoJa Blog

  

Hi, MoJa Friends!!!

Happy Fall!  We’re excited that the weather will be cooling down a bit and we’ll be starting work on some new music!
We only have a few shows left in 2011, so please make it out if you can! We’d love to see you!

• TOMORROW, September 30th in Blacksburg, VA at Monkey House Concerts
  Only a few seats left, email rhetoric73@yahoo.com to RSVP, 7PM / only $15 
  A great house concert series in SW VA run by Jim & Robyn Dubinsky. 
  
  
• FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7th at The Festy in Roseland, VA (hosted by The Infamous Stringdusters)
  This will be our LAST show with our Quartet for 2011. 
  We’ll be playing two sets, 3:50PM & 5:15PM on The Southern Stage.
  Other performers include Toubab Krewe, Brett Dennen, and many others! 
  
  Also check out The Festy’s “Backstage Sessions” download for FREE,
  which features a live version of our tune “JALD (Just a little ditty) recorded last year!
  
  
• NEW MoJa Quartet Video
  Check out this recent performance of our Quartet (featuring Pete Spaar on Upright Bass & Devonne Harris on Drumkit) from earlier this month at WNRN’s 15th Birthday.
  This is a “two for 1” deal…
  “One Moore Farewell” / “Chioggia Beat”
  
  
• Kennedy Center FULL Video
  
  View the FULL performance!

  

Hi, MoJa Friends!!!

We hope you all are about to have a nice holiday weekend with good family & friends.  We also hope that Irene didn’t badly affect anyone too much and that if it did, the recovering is going well & quickly.

We are a bit sad to see that summer is coming to a close, but we had a blast in the last few months with some fun festivals & shows as a duo & with our Quartet.  One highlight was definitely getting to play The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage a few weeks ago (you can watch our entire set by following the link below).  And before summer truly ends we’ll be playing with our Quartet a week from today for a rare show in our hometown of Charlottesville, VA (see below).

Many thanks to all who continue to support our music.  As a unique group that doesn’t fit into one specific genre, it takes a community of awesome friends to help spread the word and we want to thank you for helping us with our journey! 

• NEXT Friday, September 9th in Charlottesville, VA at The Dickinson Theater
  Celebrating WNRN’s 15th Anniversary!   7PM / only $10 
  Featuring our “MoJa Quartet” w/ Pete Spaar on Upright & Devonne Harris on Drumkit
  Other performers include Elizabeth & The Catapult, and Ha Ha Tonka!
  
  
  
  Kennedy Center FULL Video
  
  
  View the FULL performance!
  

Photo by: Gary Reckard

 

Happy August, MoJa Friends!!!

How has the summer gone by so fast?  It’s not quite over in our minds yet!!!

We had a blast at FloydFest’s 10th Anniversary this past weekend.  We only played one set this year, but it was a set to remember for sure, although we did indeed have power this year!  We played opposite of Old Crow Medicine Show on the Main stage and their big sound carried over to the stage we were on, so in between songs we’d try and play along with their tunes ;) 

Earlier in the day we met Whit Wright (Pedal Steel) from the band American Aquarium and his friend Rachel.  They were kind enough to come to check out our set over Old Crow’s and Rachel wrote a really nice re-cap of her own on her blog.  Check it out here: “Rach in the Real World.”

We’re hoping some video will come soon, but photo above is a cool shot taken by Gary Reckard. 

• THIS Weekend!
  
  -Friday, August 5th in Martinsville, VA at The Rives Theater.  This is a great monthly concerts series (“First Fridays”) in SW VA hosted by our friends, Doug & Telisha Williams, doors at 7PM / show at 8PM, tix only $10!
  Here’s a nice little write up on the show tomorrow…
  http://martinsvillemedia.com/?p=14668
  
  -Saturday, August 6th in Boyce, VA at Elysian Fields Music Festival.  This is a nice smaller festival about an hour west of D.C.  Our set is around 1PM (with our Quartet!) and tix are close to being sold out if they aren’t already!  Other performers include Keller Williams, The Bridge, Larry Keel, DJ Williams Projekt, and many others.  And if you are unable to attend, we just heard that the whole festival will be broadcasted live & online at WSHC 89.7 fm.
  
  
  
• JUST ANNOUNCED!!!
  -Friday, September 9th in Charlottesville, VA at The Dickinson Theater
  Celebrating WNRN’s 15th Anniversary!   7PM / $10 on sale TOMORROW, August 5th at 10AM!!!
  Other performers include Elizabeth & The Catapult, and Ha Ha Tonka!
  We hardly play in our hometown as much these days, so it’d be wonderful to see some old friends!
  
  
  

• Recent Live Videos!  
  We’d definitely appreciate a few clicks to boost the # of hits AND as many “likes” as you can! :)
   
  “This Is Who We Are” - Short Documentary on our music & who we are
  
  “Atip Ouypron” - June 18th, Dream Guitars in Weaverville, NC (near Asheville)
  
  
  
• Upcoming Tour Dates!
  
    August 5th, Rives Theater, Martinsville, VA
  August 6th, Elsyian Fields Music Festival, Boyce, VA “MoJa Quartet”
  Other performers include Keller Williams, Larry Keel, DJ Williams Projekt, & Many more!
  September 9th, WNRN’s 15th Anniversary Party , Charlottesville, VA
  Other performers include Elizabeth & The Catapult, and Ha Ha Tonka!
  September 30th, Monkey House Concerts, Blacksburg, VA
  October 8th, The Festy, Roseland (Nelson Co.), VA - ”MoJa Quartet”
  Other performers include Infamous Stringdusters, Brett Dennen, Toubab Krewe, & Many more!
  November 11th, Ashland Coffee & Tea, Ashland, VA
  November 12th, Laurel Mountain Coffeehouse, Kingwood, WV
  
  
  
•  Remember, if you’ are socially connected find us at the following…

• Official Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• iTunes
• YouTube
• ReverbNation
• Sonicbids

Thank you all for the wonderful support!

With MUCH respect,
Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun

Happy end of 2010!!!

What a year it has been…  We truly believe that it has been the BEST year of our career so far and a lot of that has to do with our great families, friends, and fans.  Our music is unique and we want to thank you all so much for recognizing that and being such supporters of it.  We are listing a bunch of our favorite moments of this year, so if you have a few minutes (or an hour :) , please take a look.  2010 was wonderful, but we have a feeling that 2011 will bring just as much fun!
-M&J

• February 12th, 2010 - We played a lot of house concerts in 2010, but here’s a video from a very special one in Hamilton, NY hosted by our friends, Jeff Bary & Mary Simonson.
  -Bouncing Water
  
  
• March 13th, 2010 - We shared a show with our friends Baaba Seth & Beleza Brasil at The Jefferson Theater in our hometown of Charlottesville, VA.  This show was by far one of our most explosive sets as a duo.  Here’s a few videos from that night.
  -The Wen 
  -Sheba’s Tea (feat. Hope Clayburn on Saxophone)
  -B-Loose (feat. Matt Horn on Vocals)
  
  
• April 17th, 2010 - We had heard a lot about the Tosco Music Party in Charlotte, NC, but had never played it.  We were invited to be a part of the April show and were so excited to play it.  It’s a multi-act concert held in a beautiful theater every few months put on by John Tosco.  We played two songs, “JALD” & “Machine Gun.”  While we were playing we were thrilled to have Morwenna’s former teacher and songwriting icon, Livingston Taylor sitting behind us smiling.  Here’s some great photos from that night.  
  
  
• June 4th, 2010 - On our first West Coast tour we played outside of Los Angeles, CA in Altadena at The Coffee Gallery Backstage.  A lot of old friends from Berklee College of Music came out to see us and many of them had never heard what we do, so we showed them and we think they were pleasantly surprised!  Here’s a video from that evening taken by our friend, Sara Leib.
  -JALD
  
  
• July 23-25, 2010 - We went back to FloydFest in Floyd, VA for our 5th year and it was an interesting one to say the least!  As we were getting ready for our main set on the Porch Stage the power went out throughout the whole festival grounds.  That didn’t stop us though, as we played to a packed audience completely acoustic with just one lantern to light the stage.  Morwenna then did a Fiddle workshop on the same stage later in the weekend.  Click here to view some photos from FloydFest 9.
  
  
• July 28th, 2010 - To promote our show later that evening at Ashland Coffee & Tea outside of Richmond, VA we stopped in to do an On-Air appearance with Anne Williams at WNRN (91.9FM) in Charlottesville, VA.  Here’s a few videos of the tunes we did.
  -Machine Gun
  -Chioggia Beat
  -One Moore Farewell
  
  
• August 6th, 2010 - We played the Steppin’ Out Festival in Blacksburg, VA in an interesting format, “The MoJa Full Trio” which featured Devonne Harris on drums.  Here’s some fun shots from that afternoon.
  
  
• October 10th, 2010 - On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Nelson Co., VA the very first “Festy” was held and curated by The Infamous Stringdusters.  Throughout the weekend many great acts played including Tony Rice, RobinElla, Toubab Krewe and of course The ‘Dusters.  We had a BLAST and it was one of the best shows that we had with our Quartet which features Pete Spaar on Upright Bass and Devonne Harris on drumkit.  We’ve been lucky to play with some great musicians through the years, but we’re extremely grateful to have found these two. Look out for more Quartet shows in 2011! Here’s a couple of videos from that afternoon.
  -Sheba’s Tea
  -Live Wire
  
  
• October 22nd 2010 - This is the anniversary of our dear friend, Johnny Gilmore’s passing.  To honor it, we collaborated with guitar guru, Joe Lawlor and songwriter, Andy Waldeck on a tune he wrote titled “Goodbye Johnny.”  You can listen to it streaming or download an MP3 of it for free by clicking the link below.  Donations are still being accepted for Johnny’s family on his website: www.johnnygilmore.com
  -Goodbye Johnny
  
  
• November 5th & 6th, 2010 - On our Fall New England tour we got to do some very special things.  1) Play with Morwenna’s dad, Thomas Lasko (who really rips on accordion!) and 2) we started having the audience sing the melody on our tune “The Wen.”  Check out the videos on Facebook, below.
  -Music For a Found Harmonium
  -The Wen
  
  
• November 16th, 2010 - We released our Official Music Video for “One Moore Farewell” which is a tribute to Dave Mathews Band Saxophonist, LeRoi Moore.  This tune features DMB Trumpeter, and an old College mate of ours, Rashawn Ross.
  -One Moore Farewell
  
  
• December 23rd, 2010 - We ended our music year with one of the most important shows we’ve ever played at The UVA Hospital.  For years Jay’s dad has asked us to play for the patients, and their families, but we’ve never been in town to do so.  This was the first year and definitely not that last that we’ll do this.  We played a mix of our originals and our own spin on holiday tunes.  We bet you’ve never heard a version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” quite like ours!  To see the smiles on everyone’s faces and have the feeling that music is a true healer is amazing. 

BEST WISHES IN 2011 AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT IN 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!  WITH MUCH RESPECT & POSITIVITY…

—
Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun
www.mojamusic.net
www.facebook.com/mojamusic

If you’re in the SW Virginia area tomorrow we’ll be playing
The 30th Anniversary of Blacksburg VA’s Annual “Steppin’ Out Festival”!Main stage at 6PM, Friday, August 6th right in Downtown Blacksburg.  
Come check us out as we’ll be playing as a trio with Devonne Harris on drum set!

Also, we are tentatively planning a tour throughout New England for early November.  We’ve met a lot of friends & fans up that way, so if you all have any good suggestions as to where we should play or if you’re interested in aHOUSE CONCERT please let us know!
Here’s a few things that’d we’ve been up to as of late…

• If you missed our interview on WNRN’s “Acoustic Sunrise” you can check it out here.
  
  
• We had a blast at FloydFest playing an unexpected ALL ACOUSTIC set on The Porch Stage, click hereto read all about it.
  
  
• We gave a free surprise show in our hometown of Charlottesville, VA last weekend with our Quartet featuring Pete Spaar on Upright and Devonne Harris on Drum set at Maya.  Thanks so much to Pete & Ted @ Maya for hosting us at their lovely space!
  
  
• Thanks to everyone who came out to our first headlining show at Ashland Coffee & Tea, what a lovely room and we are already planning to come back in early 2011!
  
  

And as always… please keep in touch in every way possible, here’s a few ways to do so

• Official Website: www.mojamusic.net
• Facebook: “like us” or “friend us” or both! and “suggest” us to your friends!
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/morwennajay
• ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/morwennalaskojaypun
• The MoJa Blog: www.mojamusic.tumblr.com: Catch up on ALL the latest news, photos, etc!
• Myspace: www.myspace.com/morwennajay

With much respect & positivity,
— 
Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun
www.mojamusic.net