THE STORY OF MOOOSE...SO FAR
The band name MOOOSE actually stands for...
Musical Overload Of Orgasmic Sexual/Sensual/Spiritual/Synergistic/Soulful Energy.
The music of MOOOSE encompasses quite a few musical genres: Funk, Reggae, Hip-Hop, Dance, African, R'n'B, Blues, Gospel. "As my musical influences include pretty much every piece of music I've ever heard, there's a little bit of everything in there somewhere".
"I am a huge fan of music festivals and in particular WOMAD and it is my musical ambition to have an evening slot on the main stage at a WOMAD festival somewhere. I am also very conscious of the fact that this beautiful planet, on which we all should live as one big loving community, is in steady decline due to pollution and mis-management of the environment as well as the greed, poverty, violence and wars. I believe that we all should do what we can to make this world safer, fairer, more habitable place filled with love for ourselves, our children, grandchildren and future generations. MOOOSE came out of my desire to contribute to this effort and also to perhaps have a vehicle to achieve my musical ambition. I set about writing music that I felt would go down well at festivals. Music that would get feet tapping and bodies moving and have a sense of fun and funk but having lyrics that are a social comment and hopefully will inspire a little thought and maybe some positive action.
So, for me, MOOOSE needed to be a big band, the very sight of which generates excitement and anticipation, playing big music with a big sound that can only come live from a big band with big love."
The band itself consists of Amaziah and 15/16 other talented souls depending on whether he plays bass/trombone or just sings - the line up being drums, percussion, bass, 2 x guitars, keyboards, 2 trumpets, trombone, alto & tenor saxophones, 3 backing singers and a DJ.
"I believe that more than being an abstract noun that refers to a musical concept, ‘Funkiness’ is also an expression of a state of mind, a way of being that embodies love, spirituality, beauty, playfulness, freedom and sexuality - a celebration of our fundamental connection with the earth, to each other and all that exists."
AMAZIAH DAVIS
Amaziah is a singer, bass man, trombonista and helicon-er, (Eastern European version of a sousaphone which is an American version of a tuba…er…almost), whose musical influences range from Puccini to P-Funk and Bob Marley to Musicals.
He started his musical career at the relatively late age of 22 playing bass in a rhythm and blues band 'Reflex Action'. After quickly ditching careers in the police force, fire brigade, as a kiss-o-gram, truck driver, dustbin man, credit controller, recruitment consultant, barman, nightclub doorman and pill checker/sorter, (to name just a few…). His interest in playing music full time grew when he moved to Brighton and studied Jazz at Chichester College. It was during this course in 1994 that he took up playing the trombone. He then studied at the Leeds College of Music where he learned to dislike jazz but still gained a BA(hons) in Jazz studies. Whilst in Leeds he was introduced to P-Funk and US funk band Parliament which has become one of the greatest influences in the music that he writes.
Currently Amaziah plays occasionally with Brighton based Romanian gypsy style band Fanfara, the Lost & Found Orchestra, [the new(ish) Stomp show], in which he plays garden hosepipes and road traffic cones among many other weird and wonderful instruments, and function band The High & Mighty. When he isn't being diverted by the above his (not so) regular gig is as a Retained Firefighter.
“I feel I have a message of peace love and harmony that I would like to share with the world through this music. I believe with all my being that music is a very powerful medium that can and should inspire people to think more on who they are and who they could be. This project is my humble submission to join the global effort to raise our collective consciousness and transform our world".
DID YOU KNOW?:
- His first gig on trombone was only 6 weeks after first picking up the instrument,
- He is a qualified PADI scuba diving Instructor,
- The most played track on his iPod is 'Chevaliers de Sangreal' from 'The Da Vinci Code' film soundtrack by Hans Zimmer - he finds it inspiring!
- In the late 1980's he was the Sussex Decathlon champion,
- He is a big fan of Star Wars and Star Trek old and new (and sci-fi in general), TV's Cheers and Tottenham Hotspur,
- He makes the worlds greatest Tiramisu! (or so he thinks).
- He went to the same school, Christ's Hospital, at roughly the same time as Charles Hazelwood, Jason Flemyng and Mark Thomas.
