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Mountain of Venus Biography

mountain-of-venus
  • Years Active: 2000s
  • Genre: Rock & Alternative

Formed in the Colorado Rockies and based in Boston, Mountain of Venus is one of the more interesting and recognizable jam bands that emerged in the late '90s. Some jam bands are content to emulate the Grateful Dead, but Mountain of Venus does not engage in excessive Jerry Garcia worship. Nor does it try to sound like the New Riders of the Purple Sage or Kingfish, two of the San Francisco Bay Area jam bands that favored a Grateful Dead-minded approach in the '70s. Instead, Mountain of Venus specializes in melodic psychedelic rock and folk-rock with a soul edge; its music could be described as an interesting combination of Jefferson Airplane (as opposed to Jefferson Starship) and the Allman Brothers Band by way of Janis Joplin and Ike & Tina Turner. Lead vocalist Tanya Shylock, in fact, has a very soulful and R&B-minded style of singing; Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick is a strong influence and Shylock (a native of New Orleans) sounds like she has also spent a lot of time listening to the female soul singers of the '60s and '70s (including Aretha Franklin and the ladies who recorded for Stax or Motown). Some reviewers have compared Shylock to Donna Jean Godchaux, who was unusual in that she was a female vocalist the Grateful Dead featured in the '70s; but again, Mountain of Venus isn't nearly as Dead-minded as others in the jam band scene. Although Mountain of Venus has a lot of '60s and '70s influences, the band wasn't formed until early 1999, which was four years after Jerry Garcia's death. That was when Shylock (who plays percussion in addition to singing lead) got together with male vocalist Jody Cohen (Mountain of Venus' other lead singer), lead guitarist/background vocalist Mike Pascale (a native New Yorker), bassist David Gesualdo, and drummer/background vocalist Eric Barry. In addition to sharing the lead vocals with Shylock, Cohen provides acoustic guitar and electric rhythm guitar. New England keyboardist C.R. Gruver, who isn't a full-time member, sometimes plays and records with the band; his electric keyboard solos recall the Hammond B-3 soloists of the '60s and '70s. Mountain of Venus was originally based in Steamboat Springs, CO, but in October 1999, its members decided to relocate to the northeastern part of the United States. Unlike other bands that move east, Mountain of Venus didn't necessarily have New York in mind; deciding that Boston had an attractive music scene, they chose that Massachusetts city instead. Before leaving Colorado for Boston, Mountain of Venus recorded a self-titled debut album (which was sold online via the Home Grown Music Network's website). The band's second album, Live, Vol. 1, was recorded in a small Boston club in August 2001 and came out in the latter part of that year. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

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