THE MUTAYTOR MELDING OF MUSICAL DIVERSITIES

Turning heads at every captivating performance, The Mutaytor continues to evolve by melding a bevy of musical diversities.

Combining a live band with tribal drums and percussion, mixed electronica, fire performers, hoop dancers, aerial artists, a live horn section, Chinese parade lions, giant screen visuals and a bevy of interactive dancers and performers all in one touring show, The Mutaytor is sure to turn heads where ever they perform. Started by drummer Matty Nash, The Mutaytor continues to evolve and bring together diverse musicians and performers from an enormous musical background all interacting with their audience.

We caught up with Nash to talk about how the idea for The Mutaytor started and where they find such a long list of talented individuals. The Mutaytor have recently finished filming their first Live DVD which was shot in Los Angeles in 2006. Matty Nash also talked about the obstacles in bringing the bands electric stage presence to a DVD, which is set for release later this year.

“The Mutaytor is a collective that came together over a number of years. We pull talent from a lot of different areas of the music world as well as arts and dancers with some elements of a Vegas style show, a rock concert and also something that you might find on Broadway or off Broadway. Melding of those different worlds but the key being the diversity of each players talents coming into the greater sum of the whole picture.”

With a staggering amount of artists on stage eliciting an over whelming visual experience, one can’t help but notice a rhythm section that boasts John Avila of Oingo Boingo on bass and Steve Reid of The Rippingtons and Supertramp on percussion. Occasionally, The Mutaytor will be joined by none other than Stephen Perkins of Janes Addiction fame, who has been known to get behind the kit for a few gigs. We talked with Nash about how the relationship with Perkins got started.

“Well there’s certain challanges of bringing our show to a DVD. Our experience is a live one and we have worked really hard to figure out ways to be clever with our content and our music and our actions so that the show experience will jump out at the screen and you’ll really feel that you’re living inside The Mutaytor Experience instead of just watching it on a flat screen.”

The Mutaytor is part electronic techno, part funk, part tribal rhythmic group, part audience interactive, part Vegas Show and undoubtedly one of the most unique touring bands around. The Mutaytor, who have made quite an impression performing at festivals around the US last years will once again hit the festival circuit this year with scheduled appearances at Langerado in Florida, March 9th through the 11th and Wakarusa in Kansas June 7th-11th.

“The Mutaytor met Stephen Perkins, last year in 2005 aboard Xingolati which is a cruise down Baja Mexico and back, and his band Banyan played with Mutaytor. We’ve always been huge Janes Addiction and Infectious Grooves and Banyan fans and we invited him to come and play drums with us, and he said ‘Heck Yeah!’ Since then our groups have collaborated a number of times ands it’s really a great mixture because what he’s a genius at is fusing tribal rhythms into a rock sound. Mutaytors design is very much of Tribal Rhythms and when Stephen comes and lays his patented drum kit grooves down with our sound, it’s just a merge made in heavan.”