Giving back to the community has always been the Mojo Train way, whether it’s by supporting the Newmarket Food Pantry or creating their own initiatives to leave a lasting impact on others.
Glenn Marais, the leader of the band, isn’t just a Juno-nominated singer/songwriter, he’s someone who understands that dedicating time to the community is just as important as playing music.
“In every band I’ve ever been in, we’ve figured it’s such a great opportunity,” said Marais. “Why not ask people who are coming to see us to bring a can for the food pantry?”
The band has been involved with organizations such as the food pantry, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Stephen Lewis Foundation, and Blue Door. They’ve also conducted an anti-bullying campaign focused on assisting youth in the Newmarket area and impacted York Region schools through their Black history program.
“We understand that without the incredibly supportive community of Newmarket, we wouldn’t be able to play,” said Marais. “We just want to answer a need where we can, and especially during COVID, it gave us a purpose when it was hard to find one.”
Marais and his bassist Manny De Grandis have since established MusicCan, a non-profit organization that provides instruments and lessons to youth in York Region.
“We bought 30 drums last year for Maple Leaf Public School and ran their drum program pro bono for the whole year,” Marais said. “This next school year, we’ll continue with Maple Leaf and we’re hoping to work with Meadowbrook (Public School) and Deer Park (Public School). There’s 20 performance schools in York Region and my goal is to have MusicCan come alongside them.”
Now the band is asking for help from the community after winning a blues competition. The competition has allowed them to qualify for a bigger one in Memphis, but they need to fundraise to get there and to finish their new record.
“I’ve done GoFundMe’s before and they’ve never hit this much this quickly,” said Marais. “Our goal is $20,000 and I know it’s awkward to ask for money right now because I recognize we’re all struggling and everything is more expensive and out of control.”
The band talked about what to do, and came to the realization that they need help to chase their dreams and that it’s OK to ask for help.
“If they can help, they will, and if they can’t, they won’t,” said Marais. “We’ve been working really hard and before COVID we were on the cusp of breaking out in the blues scene, so we’re fighting our way back and this contest has been such a gift.”
In April, the band entered the International Blues Challenge Road to Memphis, a blues competition that starts with artists competing in one of five blues society competitions in Canada; a winning band, solo artist, and youth artist from each then qualifies for the competition in Memphis, which is in January 2024.
The Mojo Train competed and won the Grand River Blues Society leg of the competition in Hamilton to qualify for Memphis.
“It’s a pretty amazing honour,” said Marais. “Memphis is the home of the blues and getting to play in front of an audience that includes some of the biggest blues people in the industry is a huge thing.”
Marais said it’s been an amazing ride because the band has entered similar competitions before and played well, but have never won.
“It’s vindicating because we’ve worked so hard for so long,” he said. “We just want the opportunity to get up in front of people and be able to do what we do.”
When the band plays, Marais said that regardless of whether it’s a bar show or on a big stage, they put everything they’ve got into it and they want to show that in Memphis.
“We want to blow everyone away with every single song and every single moment,” he said. “When we play, we’re exhausted because we go full out… it’s part of our philosophy.”
During COVID, Marais lost his brother, Andre, who he says was the most passionate musician he’s ever met.
“He always played like it was the last time he’d ever play,” said Marais. “I try to honour him by doing what he would do and never holding back. As a band, we try to go full out and call it the train coming into the room.”
Donate to the Mojo to Memphis fundraiser here.
