by Kate Langenburg

Created on: November 14, 2008

Readers, I've really found some amazing talent to share with you this time...

The Greg Mayo Band is a 7-piece funk band, originating in New York City
that has been performing together for about a year and a half. Its members come from all over that area Brooklyn, Queens, and West Chester but their main home base is in the West
Village, most specifically at a nightclub called The Bitter End.

Lead singer and keyboardist Greg Mayo says that the group is greatly influenced by the tunes of Motown. Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder are all musicians the band looks up to, which is quite apparent in their music.

I know most bands don't like to be compared to any other bands, but I'm going to do it here. The Greg Mayo Band is what you might end up with if you put Stevie Wonder, Jason Mraz, Marvin Gaye, and Maroon 5 in a big musical blender and pressed "smoothie."

They take bits and pieces from each, as well as adding their own spin, to create a new sound that is much like old school jazz/funk/soul with a bit of a pop overtone. Their gig last weekend at Sarah Street Grill not only paid tribute to the famous musical legends through a few cover songs, but also included a sound in their original songs that was very much reminiscent of the Motown style.

The first aspect of the music that stuck out was the beat, which I would indefinitely describe as groovalicious, and then of course, came the vocals. Mayo's voice is beautiful something that is a real rarity in today's music. He sings with such quality that it seems as he's been performing for audiences his whole life.

The same can be said for the band. They all seem to have an affinity for creating music together, which gives them the ability to create such likeable music. Each band member looked like he was having fun, especially bassist Chris Anderson, who was a-hoppin' and a-boppin' (a term I have dubbed here for funk's sake). That really is a key quality to winning over an audience. If the band is having fun, then the audience will, too.

I couldn't help but take note to the fact that most of the bar-goers were turned towards the band, giving them their full attention instead of chatting with friends. Of course, bars are a place for socializing, and the fact that the Greg Mayo Band has enough presence to make conversation stop says a lot about their ability to have a large fan base. Looking down the row of bar stools, heads were bobbing along with the beat, releasing smiles and good vibes all through the

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