Words: Shawn Kyle

Photo: Carrie Waite

Some people spend their life trying to find a purpose. Others just know why they are here from the get-go. Kevin Steele always knew that his calling in life was rock and roll music. His first major-label success was in the '80s with his group Roxx Gang, during the big-hair-and-leather era. Much like other bands of the time, Roxx Gang had obvious blues-rock influences, despite their image.

"That's what you do when you are young ... you put on girls' clothes, and make it," says Steele. "To me it was strange though, I looked up to David Johansen and the New York Dolls. They were always kind of bluesy, and later on in his career, he returned to the older styles."

Now Steele is with the Mojo Gurus, writing new songs, releasing new records, and making every show into a roadhouse-style party. Gone are the leather gloves and neon guitars, but the swagger is still there, and it makes sense with this band's new music. The Mojo Gurus perform a style of truly American rock and roll, a blend of rhythm and blues, old rocking country, and a bit of '60s surf that's still rooted in the entertainment of the audience and a good time for all.

During our interview Kevin Steele speaks excitedly about his band, like a man reborn.

"Before I could play and knew I could write, I was just a dreamer, I knew that it was something that could draw people together and make them move," he says. "I want to make people dance, and smile. I have always been proud that my band connected with the working class, and that's who I am aiming my music at. Rock and roll is synonymous with good times, getting out of school and putting in some music and it's party time ... it's the weekend."

Their third full-length, Let's Get Lit with the Mojo Gurus, is a party-time album of southern-influenced rock. with all the stories of boozing and hard-fast living you can handle. As the name would lead you to believe, the making of the record was a laid-back affair.

"It has been the most comfortable-to-make album I have ever made in my life," Steele says. "I am very comfortable on stage, but not so in the studio. It's hard to reproduce the live feel in the studio. We produced it ourselves with our live sound guy Jody Grey, and it was all family. If you're making a rock album and you're not having fun, you are doing something wrong."

The record sounds like it was a good time in the making. The track "(Just a) Couple of Kicks" sounds like something The Black Crowes would be warming up with at soundcheck, and the garage/surf-inspired "Stingray" is a must-have download to drink liquor shots to.

When asked about recent press stories about his troubled youth and the credibility that comes with that as a songwriter, Steele is quick to give a constructive perspective on his experiences.

"Because of what has happened to me, rock and roll has always been an escape for me ... I want my music to be an escape for other people," he says. "Whenever I have been depressed or feeling down, I realize that I am the singer in a rock and roll band. Life could be so much worse than that."

mojogurus.com