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In
His Own Words - Rich Ward
Greetings Mojo family members and passers-by
alike. They call me The Duke, but you can call
me Rich or the dude with good guitar tone. I started
playing guitar in the 7th grade and, throughout
high school, I played in a variety of bands doing
the standard circuit of parties, dances, proms
and other low or no-paying ventures. My repertoire
varied from AC/DC to Duran Duran and from Bryan
Adams to Ozzy. Back then, I just wanted to be
the best guitarist in my high school, but the
rest of the student body just wanted to kick my
ass for having a Flock of Seagulls haircut and
for wearing eyeliner and girls jeans. Actually,
they did more than just think about it!
 After high school I started to really focus on
writing my own original music while trying to
find other musicians to collaborate with. In early
1989, I was waiting tables at TGI Friday’s
in Atlanta and became friends with fellow waiter,
Dwayne Fowler. He was the first black musician
that I really had a chance to get to know. During
our friendship we had many discussions about what
it would be like to fuse together funk, metal,
jazz, reggae, and progressive rock into some kind
of sonic Frankenstein. One night Dwayne invited
me to come over to jam with he and his drummer
at the time, Richard Farmer. This meeting provided
the genesis for what would eventually become Stuck
Mojo – the focus of my life for
the next decade.
Dwayne and Richard have long since left the band
and fans have seen many changes over the years,
but the ideas and spirit of those early days have
remained the cornerstone of the band. It is a
vibe, an energy and an integrity that has, and
continues to define who Stuck Mojo is. I believe
that our records continue to get better and that
we can still walk on any stage and reduce it to
rubble. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it anymore.
Never in our 18-year history have we tried to
be cool, current or hip, and as trends in the
music industry come and go, we remain one of the
few fresh, honest and dangerous voices in the
industry.
- Rich Ward
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