Matt Morginsky | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | Mojo |
Born | June 14, 1976 |
Origin | Long Island, New York, U.S. |
Genres | Christian rock, Christian ska |
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1991–present |
Matt "Mojo" Morginsky (born June 14, 1976), is an American musician who is the lead vocalist of the Christian ska band The O.C. Supertones.
Matt Morginsky was born in Long Island to a Jewish father and an Italian mother. At age 14, he converted to Christianity. The following year, in January 1991, he arranged to meet Jason Carson, because he was interested in starting a Christian band.
In 2011, Morginsky graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as an assistant pastor at Denver Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado. He lives in Denver with his wife and four children. [1] In later years he has served as the lead pastor at Grace and Peace Church in Northeast Denver, Colorado. [2]
Morginsky and Carson formed a band which at first was named "Saved". Ethan Luck joined the band on guitar, and Carson's friend, Tony Terusa, joined on bass guitar. During their formative years, the band had difficulty finding their musical style. By April 1995, they had decided to be a ska band, and the name was changed to "The O.C. Supertones." [3] [4]
From April 1995 to October 2005, Morginsky acted as the lead vocalist and songwriter of The O.C. Supertones, and occasionally played guitar and bass. The band temporarily disbanded in 2005. [4] They released a new album and resumed touring in 2012 before disbanding permanently in 2017.
In 2003, he also released an album with his and Ethan Luck's side project, Grand Incredible, in which he played bass guitar as well as being the lead singer.
In 2007, he released four songs on his Myspace, describing them as demos for his solo project.
In January 2008, he announced that recording on his solo album had started. In April 2008, he released the album Doctorate in Cold Rockin' It: Mojo Goes to College was released under the artist name "Mojo & the Info" as a digital download on iTunes and Myspace. The album was recorded and mixed by former Supertones guitarist Ethan Luck.
In 2009, Morginsky revealed on the Mojo & the Info Myspace that he would be releasing some new songs in a joint project with Croatian Ska/Rock band "October Light", a band that he plays with overseas. They now go by the name "Mojo and October Light" and are currently mixing their new album, Everything Will Be Made Right that included a video for "Chemical Reaction" on YouTube.
Roper was a Christian pop-punk band formed in Denver, Colorado. The band consisted of Reese Roper on lead vocals, Jonathan Byrnside on lead guitar, Jonathan Till on bass, Matt Emmett on rhythm guitar, and Nick White on drums.
The Insyderz were an American Christian ska-punk band from Detroit, Michigan. They formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2005. The band reformed in 2009, but have not been actively playing shows in the last few years. The Insyderz are one of the "big three" bands which represented the Christian ska scene, alongside the Supertones and Five Iron Frenzy.
The Orange County Supertones were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an independent band. The band temporarily disbanded in 2005, reunited in 2010 to resume touring and recording, and permanently disbanding in 2017. The OC Supertones were one of the first widely successful Christian ska bands.
Adventures of the O.C. Supertones is the first album released by The O.C. Supertones. Its lyrical content is mostly simple and spiritual, similar to worship music. Cornerstone reviewer Don Hill stated that its simplicity was similar to that of the song "Father Abraham", designed to "draw you out of yourself and into the presence of God like a small child." Some exceptions are "Blood Washed Pilgrim" which contains direct theology, and "Found" which references Saul's conversion to explain the purpose of the band. In the words of the band this is "Preach the Gospel, reach your heart, and ska, ska, ska, ska!" "OC Supertones" continues the explanations, stating their stance on the church and some of the band's background. Musically the album contains simple guitar supported by horns, with splashes of reggae, alternative rock, and rap. The latter elements would become more prevalent later in the band's later releases. The album's first track, in its intro, features a distinct similarity to Metallica's version of the Diamond Head (band) track Am I Evil? released on their 1980 debut album Lightning to the Nations
Supertones Strike Back is the second studio album released by the O.C. Supertones. One reviewer described the album as a "no-hold-barred modern day revival meeting".
Chase the Sun is the third album released by The O.C. Supertones. This is the only album to include Brian Johnson, whose spot was filled by Ethan Luck.
Loud and Clear is the fourth studio album released by The O.C. Supertones and features Toby Mac on the song "What It Comes To". This is also the band's first album to include guitarist Ethan Luck. Although Luck was not pictured, he is listed under "additional musicians" in the credits; he did not officially join the band until after the album was finished. Drummer Jason Carson left the band after the release of the album to take a position in youth ministry. However, he returned with the band in 2010 after their hiatus.
Live! Volume One is the first live album released by the O.C. Supertones. It was recorded during four different shows on the Loud and Clear tour in 2001: Casper, Wyoming, Spokane, Washington, Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Adam Ferry was the drummer at the time but was not pictured due to his departure. Ferry played on this record and the song "Heavens Got a Baby" for the BEC Christmas compilation.
Revenge of the O.C. Supertones is the seventh studio album released by the O.C. Supertones.
Michael Reese Roper is an American singer-songwriter, best known as lead singer for the Denver, Colorado-based Christian ska punk band Five Iron Frenzy, as well as fronting the rock bands Brave Saint Saturn and Roper.
Hi-Fi Revival is the sixth studio album released by The O.C. Supertones. It was the first of three sessions the Supertones recorded in Franklin, Tennessee at Dark Horse Studios. Matt Morginsky and Ethan Luck lived together at this time and demoed over 50 songs for Hi-Fi Revival in their basement. 17 of the un-used songs made it on to their side-project album, Grand Incredible. The rest of the demos were never released. CCM characterized the sound on this album as displaying stripped down ska core rhythms, with the horn section now "providing color instead of the dominant sound."
Some Kind of Zombie is the fourth studio album released by Audio Adrenaline.
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University. The band is named after guitarist Hoopes' automobile, a Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.
The Dingees are a multi-genre band formed in the summer of 1996, from Orange County, California.
Unite is The O.C. Supertones' eighth album. It is a collection of hits from throughout the band's career. The band entered the studio for the last time to take part in this best of collection. They intended to record some new songs for the collection, but due to heavy touring, the band could not finish the new songs. As a result, the band re-recorded some old songs instead. In addition to the songs included on the release, the band also recorded a new version of "Hold Onto Jesus" and a reggae version of "Louder Than the Mob" for their worship collection, "Faith of a Child". "Grounded", "Strike Back", and "Unite" were also recorded, but were never released.
Ethan John Luck is an American musician, producer, multi-instrumentalist and photographer who has played in several bands, most prominently, the ska band The O.C. Supertones, Demon Hunter, Kings of Leon, Morgan Wade, and pop punk band Relient K. He has played on albums for Kutless, Roper, Nikki Clan and Last Tuesday.
PAX217 is an American Christian rock band from Orange County, California. The band's music gained popularity in the Christian rock scene in the early 2000s. PAX217's lineup consists of David Tosti on vocals, Jesse Craig on guitar, Josh Auer on bass, Joey Marchiano on drums, Chris "Tito" Duran on keyboards, and Bobby "Bobbito the Chef" Duran on turntables. Former members include Ethan Luck on guitar, Dan Sessum on guitar, and David Tosti's younger brother Aaron "Skwid" Tosti, who later played in Hawk Nelson, on drums. The band began in 1994 and broke up in 2005, but reunited in 2010.
Orange County Ska refers to the Ska Punk music scene from Orange County, California, United States.
Christian ska is a form of Christian alternative rock, and subgenre of ska and ska punk which is lyrically oriented toward contemporary Christian music. Though ska did not constitute a genre within the Christian music industry until after third wave ska had peaked in the general market, Christian ska continued to thrive independently into the early 2000s.
For the Glory is the seventh and final studio album by the Christian ska band The O.C. Supertones. It was released on November 6, 2012, eight years after their last studio album, Revenge of The O.C. Supertones. The album featured original members Matt Morginsky, Tony Terusa, Jason Carson and Darren Mettler. The album was crowd-sourced via Kickstarter.