Paul "Mayo" Mayasich: Paul's videos
Here's a video of Guitar Boogie August 2007.
Clubs played
(partial list)
Blues on Grand, Des Moines, IA
Buddy Guys, Chicago, IL
Bev's Jook Joint, Superior, WI
Tera Blues, NY, NY
Narrows South, Navarre, MN
Green Parrott, Key West, FL
Zoo Bar, Lincoln, NE
Club Saratoga, Duluth, MN
Whiskey Junction, Minneapolis, MN
Willie Mitchells, Memphis, TN
Narrows North, Maple Grove, MN
BB's Jazz & Soups, St.Louis, MO
Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley, MN
Famous Daves BBQ & Blues, Minneapolis, MN
Muphy's Lounge, Omaha, NE
MN Music Cafe, St. Paul, MN
Thistles, Robbinsdale, MN
Narrow's South, Navarre, MN
Busted Lift, Dubuque, IA
Ooops Bar & Grill, Boone, IA
The Cabooze, Minneapolis, MN
Bunkers, Minneapolis, MN
INTERNATIONAL (partial)
Cactus Club, Brugge, Belgium
Half Note Jazz, Athens, Greece
Meridian, Paris, France
Quasimoto, Berlin, Germany
FESTIVALS (partial)
King Bisquit, Helena, AR
Budwiser Upstate NY, Syracuse, NY
Belgian Blues Night, Brugge, Belguim
Queen City Blues, Cincinnati, OH
Boundary Waters Blues Fest, Ely, MN
Bayfront Blues Fest, Duluth, MN
Famous Dave's BBQ & Blues, Minneapolis, MN
Hiway 61 Folks Festival, Mahtowa, MN
Worthington Regatta Music Festival, MN
EMPLOYED BY/PLAYED WITH/OPENED FOR
Bernard Allison
Johnnie Johnson
Terry Evans
Alberta Adams
Ron Levy
Jack McDuff
Johnny Lang
Dorthy Moore
Shirley Witherspoon
David Lindley
Robert Cray
OTHER STUFF
MN Music Award 2000
High School King Candidate 82
3 MN Award Nominations 2003 & 2006
Black Music Awards 88 (performance Band)
From the Feb. '06 Stoneroller magazine:
Every musician is born an original; Unique, full of potential, full of promise, and full of remarkable things. Reality is…98% of these people die trying to sound like a copy.
Paul Mayasich with Benderheads are the exception.
There is no other slide-guitar player who has Mayasich's technique; although he has been compared to Ry Cooder, Sonny Landreth and Duane Allman. There is also no other band that has this sound. It is by far, the most under-stated, and most un-publicized band of the Twin Cities and beyond.
However, the band’s roots run deep. Paul Mayasich, lead vocal and lead guitar, and Jeff Rogers on drums, have played together over a span of 19 years with various configurations in Twin Cities bands from the Screaming Bullfrogs, to The Rhythm Doctors, to Big John Dickerson’s band, Blue Chamber. In playing together for that long, Mayasich and the members of The Benderheads realized they needed space to stretch and grow, and the timing was right. The Benderheads was born in 2003.
Mayasich said “It was just simple; we really enjoyed playing together. We also wanted to record the music we knew we were capable of playing if left to our own devices. We set out to make our first CD,” which lead to the critically acclaimed, Where You Been, released in 2003.
The bookings were set in motion. A “cult-like” following was beginning to emerge. The stage was set for a second recording, Times is Hard, released in 2005, again to great critical acclaim.
Their sound was beginning to morph after the release of Times is Hard as the band went through some personnel changes to keep up with their ever-changing sound. They continued to push the boundaries of the genres that had been placed on them.
It’s not surprising then that their sound may not be familiar as the bar-band norm. Those fortunate enough to have heard their music have expressed that listening to Paul Mayasich with Benderheads is a deeply moving and emotional experience.
This is not a typical band. It draws from influences from all musical styles; Blues, rock, country, funk, jazz, though most fans don’t know how to describe their sound. Although most of the playlist is original material by Paul Mayasich, the scattering of covers they do perform, you won’t find on any other band’s playlist. Even the covers, once bended by Mayasich and the band, don’t end up sounding like the original songs. Perhaps that’s why they are called the Benderheads.
If you’re tired of the same, and want something more, get out and experience this band. The rest of the current line-up along with Mayasich and Rogers is Ben Foote on bass and Toby Marshall on Hammond organ.