Jeden Dienstag gegen 24 Uhr treffen sich im New Yorker Club „Shine“ 400 bis 500 tanzwütige Raver, die auf den „breackneck speed“ (Village Voice Januar 26,1999) der Prohibited Beatz, der von Jojo Mayer initiierten drum n' bass night, bis in den Morgengrauen tanzen. Das Ungewöhnliche an der Veranstaltung ist, dass die drum n' bass Musik von einer Live Band stammt, von Jojo Mayer's Formation Nerve! Entstanden ist Nerve aus Sessions in der East Village Location „Izzy Bar“, wo sich die Besetzung aus Tim Lefebvre (bass), Jamie Saft (Gitarre und Keyboards) und Jojo Mayer gefunden hat. Das Trio lädt sich zu ihrer Clubnacht Gastmusiker wie Karsh Kale (Tablas), Vernon Reid (Gitarre), MC's, verschiedene Saenger und Turntabler ein, mit denen sie sich zwischen Drum n' Bass, Funk, Acid Jazz, Raga und selbst House Musik neben bizarren Video Projektionen von „Feedbuck Galore“ oder „Gardner Post of Emergency Broadcast Network“ pushen. Kurz: „We’re trying to reverse-engineer DJ culture, to bring it to a new hybrid audience of listeners“, so Jojo Mayer. Der gebürtige Schweizer Schlagzeuger scheint sich mit Nerve einen Traum erfüllt zu haben: Er ist überglücklich über den wachsenden Zustrom zur dienstäglichen Club Night im Shine, über das hereinbrechende Medieninteresse u.a. von MTV und der The New York Times, und endlich seine eigene Band zu haben...
Der seit 10 Jahren in New York lebende Jojo Mayer ist links abgebogen: Nachdem der heute 36 jährige Schlagzeuger seit seinem Einstieg in die Monty Alexander Group im Alter von 18 Jahren ausschliesslich als Side Man unzählige Alben und Tourneen in den USA, Europa und Japan mit mehr als 20 verschiedenen Künstlern und Gruppen unternahm, featured er nun seine eigenen Ideen, eben Nerve. Ungewöhnlich, dass bei einem vom Modern Drummer Magazine als „Drum God“ beschriebener Schlagzeuger (nach Jojo Mayer's mit standing Ovations bedachten Auftritt beim Modern Drummer Festival 1998) seinem erstes Solo Projekt keine typische Musiker bzw. Drummer Musik beinhaltet, sondern eine Musik-Richtung, die es Live erst einmal gar nicht gab. (Markus Dehmut)
JOJO MAYER BIOGRAPHY
Born January 18. 1963 in Zurich, Switzerland. Son of a musician (bass player Vali Mayer), he spent his early childhood on the road traveling throughout Europe and the Far East. At the age of 2 he got his first drum set, and his first public performance took place in Hong Kong when he was only 3 years old. Growing up in the influence of a musical environment Jojo is basically self-taught (autodidact).
At the age of 18 he joined Monty Alexander's group and toured extensively all over Europe, playing all the major jazz -festivals including the North-Sea-Jazz Festival, Montreux, Nice, Antibes, Athens etc.This lead to back-up gigs with other jazz-greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone and introduced him to an international audience.
Jojo Mayer performed and / or recorded with a great variety of artists covering a wide range of musical styles such as The Screaming Headless Torsos, Meshell n'dege Occello, Vernon Reid's science project, DJ Spooky, Emergency Broadcast Network, the Vienna Art Orchestra, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Harry Pepl, Gerald Veasley, Monty Alexander, Lunar Crush, John Zorn, James Blood Ulmer, Chico Freeman, George Adams, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, John Medeski, Family of Percussion, Hiram Bullock, Leni Stern, Depart, Wolfgang Puschnigg, The intergalactic Maiden Ballet, Friedrich Gulda, Harry Sokal, Steve Coleman's 5 Elements, Passport, Wah Wah Watson, and many more.
Jojo has also built himself a reputation as a skilled and creative solo performer/ clinician. He appeared at most of the important Industrial Events and Drum Festivals like the Modern Drummer Festival (98), the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship NYC (95), the International Drummer-Meeting in Koblenz (89, 91, 95), PASIC (96), the Montreal Drum-Fest (96), the NAMM-Show`s"Drums along the Hilton"(96), int.Slagwerkkrant Dag (96), int. Budapest Dob-Gala (94, 95), Manny`s Drum-Mania NYC (98) and the "int.Musik Messe Frankfurt"(93, 97), to name a view, were he was featured amongst the greatest names in the drumming community today (Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Jack de Johnette, Terry Bozzio, Billy Cobham, Dennis Chambers etc).
Residing in New York City since 1991, Jojo engaged in numerous activities including Live and Studio work. His international touring schedule has taken him all over Europe, the US, South America, The Far East and Africa. Besides his work as a drummer, he also is involved in projects as a writer and producer.
More recently, Jojo has been venturing into New York's Techno / Multimedia / Avant-garde / club scene by promoting his own weekly party event called PROHIBITED BEATZ. This new platform for live "Drum n" Bass", "Nu-Skool Breaks", "Speed Garage" and the latest stylistical hybrids and mutations in DJ culture, has also provided the back drop for his first solo project called NERVE. Described as an "endeavor in reverse engineering the textures and rhythms of the current stream of computer generated music into a live performed, improvisational format", NERVE and PROHIBITED BEATZ have created a reputation in the New York scene that already goes way beyond "a serious buzz".
Recent performances and recordings have earned him rave reviews: Jojo Mayer "...destined for "Drum God" status !"(Modern Drummer magazine).
Jojo Mayer's company endorsements include: Sonor drums, Sabian cymbals, Remo drumheads and Vic Firth drumsticks. Lately he has been involved as a product developer / designer for Sabian (Jojo Mayer Signature "Fierce Ride" & "Fierce Crash" Models), a consultant for Sonor's "Jungle Kit" and as a designer for Vic Firth drumsticks (Jojo Mayer Signature Model). He has also frequently appeared in advertisements, catalogues and publications for the above mentioned companies.
