The ideas come to him in shapes, and sometimes, Eli Lambie will admit, the shapes fight in bumper-car fashion.
“I get ideas at any time of any day, too, and, yes, I see them as shapes in my head. The ideas come to me at some of the weirdest times. Sometimes an idea will wake me up in the middle of the night and I pull my phone out and I will sing the idea or I’ll run down to the piano and play the idea.
“I usually see the melodies in shapes, like contours, and sometimes if it’s something for the piano, I see the shapes working against each other, if that makes any sense,” he said with a smile. “It does make sense to me, and I guess that’s all that’s really important.”
Lambie is the leader of, “Eli Lambie and the Mojo Kings,” a band that includes as many as eight musicians each show, and that’s because Eli, now 27 years old and an educator in Marshall County, wasn’t raised on the music of the 1990s or early 2000s. Instead, it’s the tunes from the 60’s, 70’s, and the 80’s.
“That’s why I tell people,” he said, “I was born 50 years too late.”
Born Into It
It wasn’t his mother, and it wasn’t his father. It was both of them, and anyone who sat near them in church has known that fact for many, many years.
“My whole family is musically talented, so I can’t give credit to just my mom or just my dad, and I remember going to church with my parents, and we would sing all the hymns in three-part harmony,” Lambie recalled. “There’s definitely a lot of musical ability on both sides.”
This guy even has two answers when asked about his first musical instrument.
“My first official instrument I guess was the violin, but I would also play around on the piano at the same time,” Lambie explained. “We had an upright piano when I was growing up, so … .”
OK. How about this inquiry: When did you know performing music would be your thing in life?
“As long as I can remember, I have always been incredibly interested in music and intrigued with music, and it’s always been a big part of my life,” Lambie explained. “I would say my first really big encounter with music was when I tried out and got the role of Oliver at the Oglebay amphitheatre when I was 9 years old, and since then I have been hooked on performing.”
Since then, not only has he composed symphonies and performed with orchestras, but now Lambie educates as many as 400 Marshall County children each day at Washington Lands Elementary School.
“I teach pre-K through fifth grade, so basically that means I teach children between the ages of 4 and 11 years old, he said. “And I just love it. I get to perform all day and make music all day with the kids, and it’s a blast for me. It is exhausting, but it’s awesome. I love what I get to do for a living.”
His Latest Creation
Along with band leader Lambie, there’s Jan L’Ecuyer (vocals, keyboard), Gregg Molnar (vocals, guitar), Luke Daller (bass), John L’Ecuyer, Marty Bassett (trumpet), Jon Banco (Saxophone), and Pat Garrett (trombone).
But the coronavirus pandemic during the past 13 months silenced them and all live music in West Virginia, but it did not quiet Lambie and his need to perform. On more than a few occasions he did what so many other local performers did and took to Facebook Live to play his favorites as well as new songs.
He was not, however, joined by his bandmates because, well, the Mojo Kings constitute too large a crowd under common Covid restrictions. These days, however, this bandleader is preparing the group of performers for what Lambie hopes is a fast and furious summer of performances no matter how much travel it takes.
“Unfortunately, Covid set us back like it did everyone else, and that was a big challenge,” he admitted. “But right now, we have a lot of great shows scheduled so far for this year, and we’re hoping to expand our radius. I’ll go anywhere to play because I feel the travel is a part of the whole experience, and I love it.
“One of the best parts about being an artist is that it’s great to set goals, but it’s always fun to let the project take on its own route as well. It’s fun to watch things evolve with the group,” Lambie explained. “I’m really excited about where we are right now and what we have planned. We’ve been rehearsing a lot, and we have some really exciting projects planned for this year and beyond.”
Mojo Kings Debuted in 2019
“Eli Lambie and the Mojo Kings” made its debut in 2019 and since have played festivals, riverfront shows, weddings, and concerts at Centre Market, Oglebay, and Heritage Port.
“I have been very fortunate to be a part of some really great groups over the last eight or nine years. There’s been the Tim Ullom Band, Hit Play, and a bunch of other projects, and through that I’ve met a ton of musicians that I respected as musicians but also as good people, as well,” he said. “Then there came the point in time when I thought the timing was right to put the Mojo Kings together.
“So, I got some of my closest friends together and built the band around the music that I’ve always wanted to play because I grew up listening to groups like Chicago, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Blood Sweat and Tears, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and all of that stuff,” Lambie added. “Buck, who is our bass player, said to me when we were putting the band together said to me that, ‘It’s has to be the something kings,’ and honestly, I just have always liked ‘Mojo,’ so there ya go.”
