Paul "Mayo" Mayasich: Press

Solitary Soul Review-Duluth News Tribune

Paul Mayasich and his band were very well received by the crowd
on Friday and I have a strong feeling that they have many new
fans. Paul was sportin his brand new white firebird guitar and
making it sing and the band was very very tight. I wish I had a buck
in my pocket from each person who came up and asked me about them
afterwards! It was the same thing later that evening at Stubbs bar
where they played to a packed house (and it was very hot on Friday!).
The Stubbs crowd was wide-eyed as they watched the band in awe, and it
was a very cool thing to see. Paul was playing hot, eyes closed with
the music flowing through him, the conduit, flowing out from fingers
to strings. When you watch Mayasich play, you know it's not just a job
or a paycheck... he feels it as strongly as Stevie, Jimi, and so many
legends before him. You can see it and feel it. He was born with it
and is the real deal. Those of you living in his area are so fortunate
to have him around, he could be playing anywhere. Several people went
up to Toby Marshall's Hammond to watch his hands as he was playing
that thing...and man Toby sure can play that thing! Toby, Toby, Toby!
Damn! John Wright turned in one of the most impressive bass solos
that I've ever heard that night and Jeff Rogers...he keeps perfect
time, pounding those skins with a smile and so much exuberance! There
is nothing like seeing a live band where all of the musicians are top
notch like this, and it was such a treat to be able to hear them in
our Mountains and in my home town watering hole. This band makes me
*feel it* every single time I hear them. And as if we didn't already
know that Mayasich was all about the music...he proved it once more by
playing an amazing solo acoustic set on the festival's busking stage.

CD Review
Paul Mayasich & Andy Dee
“The Dough Bros.”
by John Ziegler
johndziegler@gmail.com
Duluth News Tribune, Feb. 12, 2009

Eveleth native Paul Mayasich and his partner in crime Haywardian Andy Dee have a new disc cleverly titled “The Dough Bros.” (that’s with a long second o letting you know what instrument is core to the sound, as well as showing them to be connoisseurs of mullah).
These two gentlemen can pick anything with strings and make it sound good. On this project most of those picked strings were fretted with a slide, giving it a slippery overall feel, like butter on a hot griddle.
With the microtones flying, Mayasich and Dee attack dobros, acoustic and electric slide guitars, lap steels, pedal steels, and even a Cuban Tres. With lesser musicians this could have been a train wreck. With these two sure-handed aces it’s a masterful melding of originals and classic blues-rock tunes done sans drummer, and on some tracks even sans bass player. It’s a slide-fest of the highest proportions.
“Mercury Blues” has a rubber-band groove, plus rides that sound like a Turkish bazaar and make me wonder if the Bros. had middle eastern guitar virtuoso Tim Sparks hiding in the recording studio closet during the session. It’s a unique take on an oft-recorded gem.
The contours of “Vidalia, Georgia” make me think of J.J. Cale and Greg Allman’s ballads. It’s like Cale’s “Magnolia” and Allman’s “Melissa” mixed up in an aural quiesenart. There are melodramatic washes from Dee’s pedal steel and a Cale kind of choked, dry guitar solo.
Dylan’s “Down Along The Cove” has some snap as Mayasich spits out the lyrics, and has the sliding dobro and acoustic guitar both gnawing on the rhythm licks like junkyard dogs. Mayasich whittles out a solo that is equal parts Duane Allman and Warren Haynes.
Legendary harpist Little Walter’s “Mean Old World” has one of those rubato intros with battling dobros, both punching out tightly coiled serpentine runs in gun-slinger-mode.
“Everybody Slides” is an instrumental just bustin’ with chunky-toned, scampering lines that skate all over the greasy little riff that holds the tune together. It’s a slide workout with serious abandon.
“Extra Dough” and “Fishin’ Fool” are things that nobody on planet Earth except Andy Dee would ever come up with, much less put on a record. Let’s just say that Dee’s bizarro, often scatologically inclined sense of humor is so weird and creepy that somebody should probably put him into the witness protection program.
Danny O’Keefe’s gem “Goodtime Charlie’s Got The Blues” is the perfect album closer (that’s where I’d have put it if I were the producer) with acoustic guitar laying down the changes and the pedal steel doing butter-smooth fills. Mayasich’s gravelly voice has the exact right amount of resignation and exhaustion.
It’s a meat and potatoes rockin’ blues disc that delivers satisfaction with it’s greasy combo platter of great tunes and not over-cooked production. Mayasich and Dee are both first rate guitarists who just ooze musicality.

Box:
CD Title: “The Dough Bros.”
Genre: Roots/Blues
Recommended If You Like: Ry Cooder, The Allman Brothers, John Hammond
Members: Paul Mayasich (dobro, acoustic & electric slide guitars, Cuban Tres, lead vocals), Andy Dee (dobro, lap steel, acoustic & electric slide guitars, pedal steel, bass)
Recorded at: Natchez Cave (Savage, MN) and Shady Deals (White Bear Lake, MN
Listen to: “Vidalia, Georgia” at www.duluthnewstribune.com

Paul Mayasich and his band took to the mainstage like a musical storm surge. The musical, bluesical, incantations of Paul Mayasich can still be heard echoing in the hidden coves of Lake Okabena.
The Unvarnished Music Festival
-Worthington Windsurfing Regatta- U.S. Windsurfing-National Race Tour Event.

I Love Your Soup
Get The Can Opener Out, (03/14/07)
This soup pot has an interesting mix of vegetables from Chicago Blues, Texas Blues, southern Rock, samba rhythms, and boogie Blues. The opening title track is an instrumental song that nods to the Allman Brothers with the tasty slide work. The vocal chorus of "I love your soup" is odd and entertaining at the same time. But who am I to question their taste buds? "Tell Me" and "Devil's Face" both have a dark, evil vibe. The guitar tones get murkier than the Mississippi River and percussion is haunting and tantalizing.
Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied" has a simple sound harkening back to the days of the earlier Muddy career. This is a solid recording of the song, but nothing more. The slide guitar again has a good tone and grits n' grinds when it has to, with hints of Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor, as well as Duane Allman. "Texas Toast" brings out the boogie beat with the guitar tone heading towards the Texas tumbleweeds.
The second half of the disc has a different taste to it. The vocals on "Watch Out Boy" remind me of Bob Seger. The song is a slow ballad that leans to the singer-songwriter vein of music. Mayasich's vocals sound really good here. The other songs he sings with his voice either distorted or a little scratchy, but here it is clean and shows another side to him. Clocking in at over nine minutes is the slow Blues burner "Arms of the Blues." Mayasich's vocals are tailored to this style of song. A little grit and a little spit shine. The perfect blend between what has been heard so far on the album. Here the tone is set for a smoky bar in the wee hours of the morning when it's time for that slow dance.
The Texas influence comes out on "Good Man Blues." This song could have been recorded on an Antone's Records release just as easy. The song has a shuffle beat and a steady walking bass line.
If any of the evil vibe before worried you, just wait, the next track is an instrumental slide guitar reading of "Amazing Grace." This is a song played with plenty of feeling and inflections of bass and percussion that accentuate the guitar parts very well. The song is played with great care and no fireworks, just smooth sailing across that heavenly plane.
The closing track, "Black Coffee," has more of an older Blues feel to it. Mayasich takes the vocals and plays with them singing in a true Minnesotan accent. The music is subtle and very understated. "Black Coffee" hits eight minutes and closes things out in a quiet manner.
Paul Mayasich brings out some different styles and approaches for each song. There aren't any soft spots on the album and the song order is very interesting. Most people would have mixed the slower tracks in with the hotter tracks. Instead, the first half is hotter and darker while the second half is cooler and calmer. The ending is rather peaceful when the beginning was more raucous. I like the order they used, it shows the depth of the band.
Speaking of the band, they create rhythms that propel each song along and never over step their bounds. Jeff Wright supplies the bass without wasting notes. Jeff Rogers is the drummer and leaves room for Scott Sansby to add percussion throughout. I will give Rogers a lot of credit because most drummers can't lay back like he does leaving the room for a percussionist. Sansby adds in rhythms that give some songs, like "I Can't Be Satisfied," a Latin-esque rhythm by adding the congas.
I Love Your Soup is an entertaining ride through Paul Mayasich's music. The cover art has a Betty Paige action figure posing with a soup can for a photo. This adds to the oddities on the album. This is a quirky band that would be fun live. The record has a lot of character and some great restraint by these musicians.
Kyle M. Palarino is a contributing editor at BluesWax

Friday, August 10, 2007- Experienced Paul Mayasich and his band at Bev's Jook Joint. An amazing
performance by an amazing band. If I lived in the Twin Cities, I would be a regular at this band's gigs! I've only seen this version of the band lineup twice but both times they impressed me very much. Very expressive music, expressed about as good as it gets! They
dedicated Amazing Grace to those involved with the bridge tragedy and
it was a very lump in throat moment. Paul is right up there with the best guitarists on my list and this band is great. Don't take for
granted what is in your own backyard. Danced all night long and had many laughs. They will remain on my radar, and I can't wait to see them perform again.

I just got through listening to your new CD and I think it is great. All ten of the tracks have varying styles and moods and the potential for "hit" singles is there, particularly on tracks like "Down in Hollywood." The first track, "Mainline," is a nice bluesy, rock-oriented style. It gyrates wonderfully. The second track, "Bottle Up and Go," moves into a shocking yet palatable musical mood. "Be an Angel," the next track would be a nice single; the ballad style suits you very well. It's definitely a keeper. And, of course, the fourth track, "Down in Hollywood," you get nice and funky, with soulful grooves. I noticed that there is no keyboard (or at least I didn't hear any) on this track but it really doesn't need it. A nice danceable hit--perhaps the danceable single on this CD. "Lonely Time" just says it all--loneliness, which blues often goes into. Yet, your own sense of humor cuts through this song without making it seem melodramatic or maudlin. Good track. "That Man," and the title track, "Times Is Hard" continue through your blues reportaire.
Once again, with "Roll with the Punches," the eight track, you kick up a rock style with tasty Hammond B-3 organ licks laced throughout, as you do with "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live." Your ironic humor, which I always appreciate since I have one myself, is great. The last track, "Troubled Times," I hear a buzz mixed in throughout the track. I don't know if that's feedback from your guitars or keyboardist Scott Miller on a synthesizer but it's different.

Overall, "Times Is Hard" is a well written and well produced work. I am glad to see your production has improved. Like your earlier CD, "Where You Been," you always see a funny take on life both in your lyrics and even the liner notes. Out of 10 stars, I rate your latest CD a 9. Keep up the good work.

This record and 2003’s "Where You Been" put Paul Mayasich at the top of the list of slide guitarists. It’s easy to point to Sonny Landreth, Ry Cooder, and Bonnie Raitt as the masters, but Mayasich’s playing on cuts like “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live” put him firmly in contention, as well as with past masters like Duane Allman and Lowell George. His sound is big and full, with the plaintive cry every slide player should have. The gospel-tinged “Be An Angel” features his skills on acoustic and electric slide, and both are powerful. “Lonely Time” has the kind of nasty slide one associates with the rock players that delve into the skill. And more importantly for a slide player, it always adds to the song.
His playing without the slide is pretty good, too. Check out the “Nawlins” feel on “Bottle Up and Go,” where he traded fours with the piano and fires off a blistering solo out. His solo on the title cut is the height of soul and taste. A bit of tremolo and a sound that matches the desperation of his vocal. There’s also plenty of funk to go around. The hard, heavy funk of “Roll With the Punches” ends with a raucous solo by Mayasich. And he pays tribute to one of the slide masters with a cover of Ry Cooder’s “Down In Hollywood.” But the cool 9th-chord slides might bring to mind Blow by Blow-era Jeff Beck as much as they do Ry.
Mayasich’s vocals match his playing. He’s full of soul, and it can’t help but come out. Whether it’s a gruff growl on cuts like the slow “Troubled Blues,” or the soulman persona of “That Man,” Mayasich more than ably handles vocals. Rogers on drums, John Wright on bass and Scott Miller on keyboards assist with this fine set of music – JH

The last time I reviewed Paul Mayasich he was on the UTR label with “Where You Been”. Well he has been consolidating, and put out an even better album. From the in-your-face opener he serves up great guitar & vocals, and special mention to Scott Miller on keys. Paul has got what all the best rockers have, they can be melodic too. There are shades of The Eagles/Jackson Browne, Poco, Don McMinn, and Delta Moon. Also, a couple of songs with a strong liking for Ryland Peter Cooder. Mayasich’s cha-cha like electric working of the classic “Bottle Up and Go” is a treat with fine ivories on it. This is going to sound strange but “Be an Angel” has the male vocal of Delta Moon, the acoustic slide of Ry Cooder and a touch of The Eagles “Journey of the Sorcerer” about it. Last time I heard “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live” was on an old Ry Cooder album. Paul takes the lovely melody set against the lamented lyrics his way and truly succeeds beautifully. Once again Paul Mayasich has taken his time and come up with the goods. As with a lot of CD’s these days Paul sells his through CDBaby.com.

I love this disc. Its basis is definitely the blues, but there's lots more. A strong Tom Waits influence seems to sit about everything (although I still maintain Tom really is just a modern blues man). Paul's guitar playing is a highlight throughout. "Back Sliding" kicks off with heavy tremolo before Paul's bluesy solo) with a big, brassy, biting tone kicks it into high gear. It turns into a nice funk thing by song's end with a solo that sounds like some light slide playing. There's also some nasty slide in "Sadie." The song sounds great, but I can't understand a word he's sing. It sounds like he may be using a bullhorn or similar instrument to sing through. "Somewhere in the Night" would be a hit record in a real music world. It's a great song with big guitar. "Jelly Smackin' Mama" is what you might expect- a nice acoustic blues-rag." "Love for Money" is horn-driven blues-funk of a major league variety. I love the wah solo that threatens to careen out of control.

And speaking of funk, "Prisoner" is one of those tight-as-a-drum funk tunes. Before we're done, check out "This World," an almost dirge-like tune with, again, some big-time slide.

Paul Mayasich put together a fine mix of raw and uninhibited "Delta Blues meets Post-Modernism!" Six of the nine songs were penned by Mayasich. His voice is tough and gritty - I also love the interplay between the keyboards and horn, and how they compliment Paul's Guitar wild lyrics and some great moments in the outing. Again, we meet a guy who plays outside the norm, and makes it original. The first two tracks are a perfect example. The third track, "Sadie" takes a serious turn into a delta swamp with the ghost of Howlin' Wolf! Track four, "Somewhere in the Night," follows in the same serious mode, some damn fine guitar with plenty of soul. Track five "Jelly Smackin Mama" rings of Northern Mississippi nice slide (check out the lyrics!). Track six is tough with a sassy horn section. Track seven is the most soulful song on the disc, one of my favorites. Track eight picks up the pace and hits overdrive. And track nine, "This World," is a haunted blues that'll give you goose bumps. Highly recommended this spinner hits the winner's circle.

Paul's career really started when he moved to Minneapolis in 1987, playing in bands "The Rhythm Doctors, Famous Dave's Blues All Stars and apart from his own touring band, his was an integral part of Big John Dickerson and Blue Chamber. Though Paul sights mostly slide guitarists as influences that is more finger style guitar here than bottleneck. There is plenty of choice in the type of music on offer from a New Orleans cum Memphis rocker which is very Randy Newman-like; through rock/blues, rock ballad, a raw guitar/piano acoustic blues duet, wah wah & distortion, a melodic county/rock slide piece, funk/rock & heavy metal. There are plenty of horns on hand, and very interesting keyboards. Paul's guitar sound varies as much as the musical umbrellas he plays under. The guy has great unforced "grit and growl" vocal delivery. Those who dig Don McMinn will really love this guy too. A lot of variety and a lot to enjoy on this very solid outing.

Eveleth native Paul Mayasich kicked off on a strong blues note with his strong, rich-toned guitar playing and heavy, husky vocal on "Strut." The interplay between Paul's guitar and Scotty Miller's expressive organ playing made for some great sounding blues. Paul is an excellent slide guitarist, as he showed on his original, "Black Coffee." His nice, slow, subtle slide guitar intro featured long, lingering chords, gradual transforming into mid-tempo blues that is deeply rooted. Paul played a mix of grinding, soulful blues and up-tempo, rocking numbers, bringing down the house with his fast, powerful guitar on "Guitar Boogie."

Having spent a considerable amount of time as the guitarist and one of the arrangers for Big John Dickerson and Blue Chamber and Downright Tight, Paul knows a thing or two about how he wants things to sound. On this self produced disc of nine songs (seven and a half of which are originals) he explores a wide range of guitar sounds, electronic techniques and flourishes that add a unique feel to each selection. On "Somewhere in the Night" the guitar style is reminiscent of Sonny Landreth or Ry Cooder's slide work. "Love for Money" gets a full on funk treatment with a scorching guitar solo by Paul and Earth Wind and Fire-like horn section. How often do you hear a farfisa organ these days? Paul deftly adds a catchy circus-like atmosphere on "Back-Slidin." Hound Dog Taylor's "Sadie" is covered using a distorted vocal and pounding bass line you've never heard it performed like this before! All the players which include Paul on guitar, vocals, Jeff Rogers on drums, Scott David Miller on Fender Rhodes, piano, farfisa and backing vocals, Toby Marshall on Hammond organ. Joe DeRasmi, trumpet, Brian Simonds, baritone and tenor sax and John Heinen vocals contribute to made this thoroughly enjoyable album from the opening note to the last.

Although Paul's guitar style is influenced by slide artists like the ones mentioned above, but with a feel and touch all his own. His moody "Somewhere in the Night" is brooding and soulful that gradually evolves into a slide solo showcasing Paul's virtuosity. This is easily one the more pleasant surprises for me in the last few month to have the pleasure of not only reviewing, but of having in my personal collection. Contact Paul for how to get your own copy~ you will not be disappointed!!

Vocalist/guitarist Paul Mayasich displays impressive song writing chops on "Where you Been?" and sings and plays up a storm. (He's also an excellent arranger.) The cockeyed stomp "Gimme a Break (Bartender)" is a charming start, while "This World" is a heavy stop-and -start pounder. In between, there's the jaunty, acoustic "Jelly Smackin' Mama," a song-title-of-the-year nominee. A mix of the blues and the bluesy.

This guitarist has been a stalwart on the Minnesota scene for 15 years, playing with the likes of Big John Dickerson and Walter Smith. His first solo album highlights fiery guitar work (especially a slithery slide style that owes a debt to Duane Allman) plus some impressive song writing. He also shows off soulful, dirty-edged vocals, particularly when slipping into a mossy slur amid the second-line groves of "Back-Slidin" or the slushy lurch of "Gimme a Break (Bartender)," featuring Scott Miller's exemplary New Orleans-style piano.

Mayasich is eclectic within the blues, conjuring up a raucous touch on the bawdy, Roosevelt Sykes-like "Jelly Smackin' Mama," then igniting raging funk on the horn-stoked "Love for Money."

Posted on the "Blues on Stage Discussion Board" I don't chose to post here often, but had the opportunity to attend Paul Mayasich with the Benderheads CD release party at Famous Dave's Friday night. Two long sets of high quality music, with the second set featuring a horn section that Paul has played with in the past. Wow! No artist probably ever hones their craft to it's ultimate level, but I believe Paul is getting close. If you like gritty slide guitar, at its finest, you'll love his new CD "Times Is Hard", An excellent disk of original music peppered with several great covers. I have to confess that Paul was not on my radar screen until about two years ago when I stumbled on him at, I think, WJ. I had probably seen him repeatedly with the Rhythm Doctors, Blue Chamber & Downright Tight, but it never registered. Local or not, a truly talented musician! Do yourself a favor and pick up this new release; you won't be disappointed!.