Steve Jones | Vocals / Guitar
Anthony Rigby | Lead Guitar
Nick Higham | Bass
Simon Misra | Drums
Official Artist Site : www.mocohq.com
Editorial Reviews from the UK
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NME
September 21, 2002
ON : Tomorrows Stars Today
by Tony Naylor
If Moco were from Brooklyn or London they'd already be famous.
"Yeah, but," interjects laconic bassist Nick Highan, "that'd be shit. 'Fuckin' great! Another New York band who're cool 'cos they're from New York.' We're cooler 'cos we're from Wigan."
Debatable, but Moco are certainly the real deal. Debut single 'Where She Goes' (idiot-savant lyrics, casually-great new wave pop) is perfectly executed, and Moco are the most entertaining live band i Britain. Iggy-fearin' young men Nick, Anthony Rigby (guitars) and Simon Misra (drums) have been creating great noise since meeting at college four years ago. The fairy dust arrived soon afterwards in the mutton-chopped shape of frontman Steven 'mobile' Jones. One part Bowie (odd, enigmatic), one part Cocker (crooning, slightly camp) and one part Reeves and Mortimer, Jones has spent every gig since singing atop every available surface except the stage. Dressed in a purple wig or goggles, as he squirts toothpaste from a Plasticine penis or parts the crowd to breakdance, it's brilliant and chaotic and questions the very fundamentals of rock n' roll.
"We wanted a compromise - stupid cool," explains Jones, & "and I think we're just about there." Rigby: "Saying that, stupid is cool now." Except that, if Jones was some nu-metal chump, it would be agressive and crap. This is classic outsider catharsis. "I thought I was quite butch," protests Jones. But Nick is clear: "Thats the Englishness of it, it's not American cool." Are you sending up 'cool'? or just yourselves? "It's a backlash," Jones nod, & "but we don't take ourselves 100 per cent seriously."
Elbow and The Charlatans are already won over. Faced with such invigorating cleansing energy, the rest of Britain must surely follow. "It's about people going home, pissed, having had a good night out," Nick states, simply.
MOCO: impeccable logic, precious entertainment.
Kerrang!
September 21, 2002
Rising : Moco
by Ben Myers
"Wigan is the home of JJB Sports and I single handedly blame them for tracksuiting the entire North-West," spits Moco singer Steve Jones. "Ban all tracksuits. It's like being surrounded by rednecks up here."
Like all good rock stars before him, Steve Jones' reaction against the "scum-hole" that is his hometown was to form a shit-kicking rock band. Coming together three years ago and hooking up with guitarist Anthony Rigby, bassist Nick Higham and drummer Simon Misra, Moco are intent on interjecting some punk pizzazz into a town most famous for producing over-rated anorak boys The Verve.
"When we first started, the music scene was very different, and lots of my friends were encouraging me to let go of guitar music and move into dance," chuckles a vindicated Jones. & "Fortunately, I ignored them, cos all I listened to was garage-punk. So who's laughing now?"
The Moco plan was a simple one: to f**k shit up in style. They've released a couple of low-key singles - the latest of which, 'Where She Goes', transplants '70s NY punk swagger to a townie theme pub - the real buzz on moco is their anything goes live shows, with the vaguely camp and defiantly uninhibited Jones prompting comparisons with everyone from Iggy Pop to '80s comic Kenny Everett.
"People need comparisons and being compared to, say, Iggy is great, but really the idea is that it's me that others will be compared to. I mean. I'm 22 years old, I'm looking great and feeling fine."
And the name? "Moco? It means 'snot' in Spanish. But the actual dictionary definition is 'rodents often found within a ravine', which if you think of Wigan as a ravine, and us as rodents and then consider how we look..." couldn't be further from scallies and tracksuits, then.
More reviews at : www.pitponyrecords.com
Biography
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"Imagine a polar bear with tourette's syndrome fronting the Ramones with half of Slade on guitar." (NME-Bring It On recalls their favorite Moco moment when singer Steve Jones performed while riding around the venue in a trolley)
Moco are Steve Jones on vocals, Anthony Rigby on guitar, Nick Higham on bass, and Simon Misra on drums. Moco are grimy rock n' roll sprinkled with mental sickness. Moco are Nurse Ratchet's worst nightmare. They deliver a dose of sleazy Texan PCP-fuelled swamp rock that leaves fans wondering what they are on and where they can get their hands on some.
Moco formed 4 years ago in Wigan, England. Word soon spread about the rock behemoths and particularly singer Steve 'Mobile' Jones, whose gazelle-like stage presence captivates fans. The band plays live around the U.K. consistently, treating venues like playgrounds. Audiences are left feeling confused, delirious and questioning whether Jones was raised by a pack of wolves. One gig supporting the Parkinsons lasted as long as 32 seconds. This proved to be ample time for the band to destroy the amps, the P.A., and two tables before being ejected from the venue. It wasn't long before NME heralded them as being the "...the most entertaining live band in Britain."
Their debut EP "Another Day No Dollars" was released in October 2001 by Stuntmonkey Records. It was recorded in the Jaraff House in Wigan and produced by John Kettle. It sounded dirty, energetic and sleazy, and featured the live favorite 'Flooky Wonderland.' Another track 'Where She Goes' achieved Single of the Week in NME and won over BBC Radio 1. Selling out instantly, it screamed to number 5 at Manchester's Picadilly Records and Rough Trade in London had to order in more copies after a week.
By this time Moco had fostered an enviable roll call of North Western England's finest musicians as fans. The Charlatans asked them to support at the NME Carling Awards. Members of the Doves and Elbow were often found at their shows. They supported Electric 6, also big fans of the band.
Having gained recognition across England with their contagious songs and no holds barred live show, Moco is now ready to get a load off in the States. Moco release their debut album & "Out to Go" in the US on May 25th through independent label Pit Pony Records based in San Francisco. Comprising 11 tracks, & "Out to Go" is so much fun, it will take you just 32 minutes to feel guilty from loving it so much you have to listen to it all over again.
A first ever set of live shows in the US are coming up this Summer, so make sure you're the first to know when it all goes down by joining our Mailing List at PitPonyRecords.com.
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