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Pac O Mojo

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Albums1
Songs9
AboutCurt Johnson: Guitar, Keyboard, Vocal
Eric Gentry: Lead Vocal
Dennis Bellinger: Bass, Vocal
Mark Walrath: Drums, Vocal
Terry Liedel: Lead Guitar, Vocal

Curt Johnson: Guitar, Keyboard and Vocals

Curt Johnson is composer, guitarist, and keyboard player. He grew up in Linden, Michigan. Curt picked up the music "bug" at the age of nine years old, when his grandfather taught him how to play the finger-style acoustic guitar. By the time he reached junior-high school, he was playing trombone with the school band and electric guitar in high school assemblies. Curt formed his first band, "The Crescendos", while in 8th grade, followed by "The Starfires". Shortly after, he united with a young Mark Farner to form the band "Mojo and The Nightwalkers". Bands that followed were "The Jazzmasters ", "Terry Knight and The Pack", "The Pack", "The Fabulous Pack" , "Skyhook", "Battle Alley Boogie Band", and numerous club bands. His first writing and recording skills developed with "Terry Knight and The Pack" for Lucky 11 Records and Cameo/Parkway Records. Curt recorded nine 45 RPM records during this time, and two albums. He also worked with "Grand Funk Railroad" as guitar tech and personal F.O.H. sound mixer, stage manager and production assistant for Midwest Productions, and the "Mark Farner Band",

Curt's life-long dedication to music has included performing, writing, recording, and involvement with nearly every aspect of the music business, from set-up, to production, to sound mixing. His career highlights include television appearances on Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is", Cleveland's "Up Beat" show, and the "Robin Seymour Show", as well as performances at Detroit's Grande Ballroom, The Rooster Tail, Flint's IMA Auditorium and Atwood Stadium, Saginaw Civic Center, Whiskey A -Go -Go, Hullaballoo Club in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl, and numerous venues throughout the Midwest.

When asked who his musical influences are, Curt cites his grandfather, Frank Johnson, first and foremost . A large number of musical artists had an impact on his craft, including Steve Cropper, The Spinners, The O'Jays, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, James Burton, Lonnie Mack, Duane Eddy, The Ventures, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Roy Orbison, and many early Delta Blues musicians. Defining his music style, Curt describes it as "simplicity with dynamics,,movement that breathes". He doesn't try to convey any one particular image, saying "That's up to the listener. I am who I am". His inspiration comes from the desire to ",take my ideas, whether they come from past influences, or by God-given inheritance, constructing and recording them as a complete statement of my musical emotions and feelings, so that the listener may relate to this universal language".

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Dennis Bellinger: Bass, Vocals
Bass player Dennis Bellinger hails from Flint, Michigan. His musical background includes classical and sacred music in high school and attendance at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy. After serving for his country in Vietnam, Dennis joined Justice Myles, a local Michigan band. He went on to play with the Mark Farner Band, recording two albums with them, "Mark Farner" and "No Thrills". He later played with LBS (LeBloch, Bellinger, and Strickler), a local power trio rock band. A notable achievement in his career was when he joined with Grand Funk Railroad, recording two albums with the group, "Grand Funk Lives", and "What's Funk". Dennis took a hiatus from the music business, working for the local County Road Commission and becoming a Michigan Certified Firefighter. He then attended Broadcasting school, and landed a job as DJ/newscaster for WOAP, a local radio station. Soon, the passion for music returned, and Dennis began performing again with Mark Farner and Michigan musician Larry McRay. When he teamed up with old friend Curt Johnson, a new music venture in "Pac O Mojo" was born.

Highlights of Dennis' music career include performing at the Budokan Theatre in Japan, and the Miami International Pop Festival, where he played for over 100,000 fans. Dennis feels influenced and inspired by several people in the music industry, including Frank Zappa, Myles Davis, and Paul McCartney and describes his own personal music style as simply, "melodic and confident".

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Eric Gentry: Lead Vocals
Lead singer and lyricist Eric Gentry is another Flint, Michigan native. While writing lyrics and singing is his passion, Eric is also proficient in guitar, keyboarding, and drum programming.
The onset of Eric's music career was when he began co-writing lyrics, recording, and producing songs with Bernard Terry, executive producer of Flint's own group, "Ready for the World" , in the late 80's. He later signed on with the nationally acclaimed "Dazz Band", in Los Angeles, as their new lead vocalist. After returning home to his Flint roots, Eric sang lead vocals in various Top 40 and Rock bands, including "Baby Face" Kenny Edmund's group, "The Crowd Pleasers", from Cleveland. Eric yearned to write his own lyrics, and this desire became a reality when he teamed up with a local rock/funk band that he was producing, called "The Fiends in Wonderland". They played the college circuit from 1995 to 1999. He has also written lyrics for artists such as Howard Hewitt, Mary Davis of the "SOS Band", "Kiara", "Boys in Black", and "Night and Day". Eric ultimately became a seasoned and experienced artist in R&B, Hard Rock, Rap, and Alternative music. His most influential artists include Prince, Michael Jackson, and "The Time".

Eric is proud of his accomplishments and career highlights, having performed at the Russelville Ballroom, Augie's, Rick's American Café in Lansing and Ann Arbor, Silver Dollar, Silver Woodstock, Mo Doggie's, and Whaley's "Coats For Kids", a Michigan benefits program for children. In 2009, with "Pac O Mojo", Eric was fortunate to open for Mark Farner at Atwood Stadium in Flint, where the crowd heard a sound that not only surprised them but inspired them to want more.

"As a songwriter, I always try to employ substance in my lyrics,.not a lot of la, la, la's and do, do, do's; I want to say something poignant or interesting and bring back the R&B style that makes you want to sing along to non-obscene lyrics with cool up-to-date melodies". Eric goes on to say, "I like to write about real life experiences. As a child, the songs that inspired me the most were the ones that could make me visualize the story the singer was telling. So, if I can paint a canvas broad enough that someone else feels the situation, or has shared a similar experience,and if I can touch one person or have them appreciate my work, then my job as an artist is accomplished and I am pleased".

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Mark Walrath: Drums, Vocals
Another Flint native is drummer Mark Walrath. In addition to playing drums for "Pac O Mojo", Mark's musical talents include bongos, congas, tambourine, maracas, and any percussion. He began playing the drums at the early age of eight years, performing in school concerts, jazz, and marching bands. Mark spent seven years in private music lessons with local music teacher, Bill Shaffer. He became inspired by the sounds of Jimmy Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Buddy Miles, "Led Zeppelin", John Bonham, and "The Who".

Mark's experience includes twelve years of performing with numerous local bands, including "Legs Diamond", "First Degree", "Legends of Rock", Lynn Holly, and "Dirty Ratz". With the band "Purple Haze Experience", Mark played throughout the United States and Canada.
Mark says, "With 'Pac O Mojo', I like how my style has relaxed,.it has a mixture of all my influences."

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Terry Liedel: Lead Guitar, Vocals
Pac O Mojo's lead guitarist, Terry Liedel, was born in Escondido, California. Being the child of a musical family, his introduction to music began at an early age. Terry was only six years old when he started playing the drums, then went on to learn the guitar, violin, piano, banjo, trombone, dulcimer, viola, and cello. The son of a Navy man, Terry began his career playing in a band called "The Halsey Taylor Band", when his family was stationed in Bermuda. As his family moved throughout the U.S., Terry performed with numerous other bands in Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, and a number of local Michigan bands, such as "Georgia Overdrive ", "Ashton Park ", and "Mustardseed". He played acoustically with Michigan's "Box-A-Rocks", and released a CD with "D'Funkshun", a band originating from Swartz Creek, Michigan. Terry's classical guitar styling was heard when he joined his wife, who plays the flute, at a performance in Michigan at the Flint Institute of Arts.

According to Terry, "Mark Farner is the reason I started playing guitar,.As of late, my biggest and most important influences on guitar are Curt Johnson and Dennis Bellinger. They are both a huge part of the guitar player I have become." Terry's talent has also been influenced by musicians such as Jimmy Page, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, David Gilmore, Eric Johnson, Eddie VanHalen, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Joe Walsh, and Chet Atkins.

Defining his style, Terry says, "I consider myself very old school jazz and blues, with a penchant for metal. I like to take in everything I hear and apply my own twist to it. The result is raunchy and ballsy, yet tasteful and melodic. My style has a very free-form feel to it, purposely, because I like to allow my heart and soul to flow from my fingers. I let my leads write themselves." Who inspires him as an artist? In Terry's words, "Progressive jazz guitarists are great. They can make a lead sing in a way that touches your spirit. Their melodies tell stories that, in my mind, inspire a continuation. They make me listen to the message and then want to take the story on a new adventure. Blues players are a different breed, but with the same effect. Blues is a very rudamental style that can rock you to your very soul. It speaks with so much emotion and longing that you never want the story to end."

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