Finding their “IT” factor

BY: Lexi Dogon 

 As Canadian music week was drawing to a close, chilling out was in order. I was glad to sit down for half an hour with Mookie and the Loyalists in the Track Avenue hotel room at the Royal York hotel. After rocking it out at the Supermarket the night before, it seemed Sean and Mookie, two of the five-guy group, were happy to put their feet up as well- at least before their next show at Lee's palace.

"Someone came out with these sparklers", Mookie says of the shenanigans at the Supermarket the night before. "He just lit them on fire, it was insane!" [to check the amazing photo-click here] Despite the fire hazard, Mookie and his crew were well-received and have been since they came together as a group in July 2010.

The band is all Torontonians, led by their man Mookie, a certain singing sensation who rose to the top on a certain Canadian show about a singing competition. And that start helped Mookie find his swagger in front of the mic. Since then Mookie went on write music with Ben Cooke from Fucked Up, and to form his group Mookie and the Loyalists.

(Sean Fischer plays keys, Lewis Spring on the drums, Jessy Aaron and Josh Cohen on guitar.)
Mookie Morris fronts the band in a slim suit and sports a tie- sometimes skinny, and sometimes of the bow variety. The guys' music is rooted in pop-rock, with some funk, and soul thrown in the mix. Oh, and a group of British dudes called the Beatles certainly comes to mind. 
"We are inspired by the Beatles- their prolific song writing, and the Stones for their prolific attitude.

We try to do something a little off kilter. What stands the test of time is something distinct and original," Mookie tells me.
And touring in two station wagons is kind of the sort of "off-kilter" you'd expect from these guys. After their EP release in October, the band toured Ontario, London, Waterloo, and Montreal, with a highlight being their appearance at Snow Jam 2011 in Mt. Tremblant.

"What's the best thing about what we do? Free shit," says Mookie, laughing it off. "No... having to say your job is 'musician'. Having people ask you 'Uhhh...what else do you do?"
Sean laughs in agreement,

  "To me, success as a musician is when you go to the stage and it's all set up for you. No need to unload, set up, there's people for that. Take Ludacris, at a recent concert, he walked on stage as soon as he was supposed to start, he left as soon as his et was done, walked off stage, got into an escalade and was off."

But Sean and Mookie say that traveling, early mornings and late nights, doing the dirty work, busting their asses...it's all a rite of passage. Even Luda started off as an intern at an Atlanta radio station.

"People always talk about the energy on stage," says Sean, "The 'It' factor. Two nights ago at the Opera House, when Hollerado performed, everything was just 'IT'."

And with songs like the fist pumping, foot-stompin' "All in" or the funky swinging rock vibe of "Here's your Warning", Mookie and the Loyalists are reaching out to their audience and working on developing a solid fan base. And in the bluegrass rockabilly tune with acoustic instrumentals "Took me by Surprise", the band showcases once again how their specific style can still draw in almost any listener. It seems Mookie and the Loyalists are on their way to proving their "IT" factor is as noticeable as the slim trousers and suit jackets that Mookie rocks at his shows, even if they haven't hit the Ludacris' level on the success scale.
Check out their myspace page: mookieandtheloyalists

Their website: http://www.mookieandtheloyalists.com/

Or follow them on twitter : mookieatl