M.O.T.O. (Masters of the Obvious) is an American

garage punk A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

band currently based in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Formed in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1981 by Paul Caporino, the lineup of the band has seen many changes over the years, with Caporino being the only consistent member. The band has recorded many albums, singles and CDs, including several albums for the Chicago-based record label

Criminal IQ Records Criminal IQ Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, founded by Jon Babbin (co-founder of Ruthless Records) and Darius Hurley to facilitate releases from Chicago's no-wave/punk scene that began in around 2003. Notable rel ...

History

M.O.T.O. has existed in some form for over . Over that time, the band has undergone numerous lineup changes, but it has always functioned primarily as a platform for Paul Caporino's songwriting, a repertoire that includes hundreds of songs in a variety of genres such as

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

and new wave. Original MOTO Cafe Brazil circa 1984

Original lineup

M.O.T.O. was formed in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1981. The original lineup consisted of Mike Tomeny on guitar, his brother Jeff Tomeny on guitars and vocals and Don Ward on drums in addition to Caporino on guitar and vocals. This edition of the band first performed the songs "Skeletons Need Their Sleep" (composed by Jeff Tomeny) and "Satan Always Calls Collect" (by Tomeny and Caporino), which would reappear on several 7-inch EPs in later years. Because M.O.T.O. recorded and performed live somewhat infrequently, Paul Caporino began to record a series of cassette albums without the assistance of the other members of the band. The tapes were originally intended as demos, but Caporino was so satisfied with the results that he decided to distribute them to the public. These tapes included ''Turn Your Head and Cough'', ''BOLT!'' (short for "Best of Lent Tape"), ''Rock, Roll & Dismember'' and ''MOTOERECTUS''. Caporino wrote all the songs and played all the instruments on the cassettes, layering multiple guitars, bass, lead and harmony vocals over a Mattel Synsonics drum machine. These early tapes feature many songs that would reappear in live shows and studio recordings over the years, including "Midnight at the Guantanamo Room", "Dick About It", "Month of Sundays", and "I'm Infected". The tapes showcased Caporino's offbeat and sometimes vulgar sense of humor along with his extensive knowledge of the history of popular music. The music contained references to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

The Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

, Black Flag,

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

and many other artists. The original lineup also made a few recordings as a band, which were collected on the ''QUASIMOTO'' cassette. When, in 1987, the original lineup disbanded, Caporino continued M.O.T.O. as a trio backed by Brad Brewster on drums and Greg Fisk on bass. This edition of the band played more live dates than the original lineup, but recorded very little.

M.O.T.O. as a duo

Shortly thereafter, Caporino moved to

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

, in the greater Boston area. There he formed a new version of the band with drummer Beck Dudley which lasted until 1993 and produced a number of 7-inch EPs, three home-recorded cassettes (''Neon Bone!'', ''1000 Years of Rock'N'Roll'', and ''Talk of M.O.T.O.'') and a full-length album, compiled from the first two tapes (''This Corpse is a Warning''). This lineup was the first to regularly record in a professional studio. These recordings were collected in 1994 on the ''Single File'' CD, released by Mind Of A Child Records and later re-issued by

in 2004. The band achieved its greatest notoriety to date as a duo, touring extensively and being featured by legendary BBC DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, who played the song "Rot Rot Rot" from the ''Hammeroid!'' EP on his program several times. It was also during this period that both Caporino and Dudley moved from the Boston area to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Post-Dudley era

Dudley left the band in 1993 to pursue a Master's Degree in architecture. Though the band experienced a fall-off in popularity, Caporino continued to home-record cassettes, releasing seven cassettes between 1993 and 1998. The band also performed live with new members Dennis Spaag on bass and Garret Hammond (a future member of

Kill Hannah Kill Hannah was an American rock band formed in 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. The band released six studio albums, seven EPs, and two compilation albums as well as three DVDs. History Kill Hannah was formed by singer-songwriter Mat Devine in 1 ...

) on drums. The Chicago lineup continued to evolve, featuring drummers Tim Ford and Ryan "Guitar" Murphy, bassist JJ Champion, and guitarist/bassist Laurence Museum of Death. 2003 saw the release of the band's first full album of all-new recordings, ''Kill M.O.T.O.'', which featured studio recordings of songs from Caporino's most recent home-recorded cassettes as well as brand new songs. In 2005, the band released ''Raw Power'', which met with critical acclaim, including being selected as the best Chicago release of 2005 by the

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

's Bob Mehr.

Move to Providence, return to New Orleans, and touring

In September 2009, Caporino briefly moved to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. He planned to continue the band with a new lineup in Providence, but subsequently decided to return to his native New Orleans, where he reunited with original members Jeff and Mike Tomeny. Caporino also began to perform acoustic solo sets consisting primarily of M.O.T.O. material. M.O.T.O. toured almost constantly, covering Europe, Japan, Australia as well as the U.S. The band released the studio albums ''No Way Street'' and ''Pack Your Troubles in Dreams'' and re-released older material via digital download and CD-R.

Move to New Hampshire and tour of China

M.O.T.O. relocated, this time to New Hampshire, as Caporino married bassist J.V. McDonough (formerly of The River City Rebels) and added her to the lineup. Joined by China-based expats Gil Brunnhoeffer and Chris Ginn, the band completed their first tour of China in 2013 with Shanghai based punk band Round Eye.

Discography

In the early years of the band, Caporino expressed disdain for

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

media. Although recent M.O.T.O releases are now available in CD format, most of the earlier band releases were on cassette and LP. Most of their newer recordings are released through

and

Little Teddy Recordings Little Teddy Recordings is an Austro-German independent record label based in Munich, Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-la ...

(LPs & CDs)

* Chinese Rocks (or A Fistful of Maobacks) - (2014 vinyl LP release by Blast Of Silence Records/ Secret Mission Records) - (released on CD (with bonus tracks) 2017 by MOTOPAC) * Pack Your Troubles In Dreams - (2013 vinyl LP release by Svart Records/ Blast Of Silence Records) * No Sleep 'til Turku (2012 vinyl LP release by Svart Records/ Blast Of Silence Records) * No Way Street (2012 vinyl LP release by Svart Records/ Blast Of Silence Records / CD release by Tokyo No Records) * Raw Power (2005 release by Criminal IQ, also on CD) * Single File CD (2004 re-issue by Criminal IQ in the USA) * Kill MOTO! (2002 vinyl LP release by

in Germany; 2012 vinyl LP re-release by Svart Records; 2003 CD release by Criminal IQ in USA) * Single File CD (28-song collection of single tracks 1988-1994; 1997 release by Mind Of A Child in USA) * E Pluribus MOTO LP (1996 release by

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by J.J. O'Neill, the band's rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially rele ...

in Germany - reissued 2012 by Rerun Records - USA) * Bolt LP (1996 release by

in Germany - reissued 2012 by Rerun Records - USA) * This Corpse is a Warning CD/LP/CS (1990 Netherlands release by

Resonance Records Resonance Records is an independent jazz record label established in 2008 as the centerpiece of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation, a non–profit organization dedicated to preserving the art and legacy of jazz. The label is based in Los Angeles, Ca ...

)

Singles & EPs

* Shitty Kids EP (Secret Mission Records / 2013) * Golden Quarter Hour of M.O.T.O. EP (Rerun Records / 2013) * No Way Street EP - 300 on black wax, 150 on clear purple, 50 on clear blue (Surfin'Ki Records Records / Italy / 2008) * European Tour EP (P Trash Records / Germany / 20.3.2007) * What's Words Worth? EP (Rehab Records / USA / 2006) * El Stop b/w She's Gone Nuts (Baby Killer Records / USA / 2006) * Spiral Souch EP (Shit Sandwich / USA / 2003) * Eternal Standby (MOC / USA / 1998) * 4PAC (MOC / USA / 1997) * Jacuzzi For the Dead EP (

/ Germany / 1996) * Wee Beasties EP (

/ Germany / 1995) * Midnight at the Guantanamo Room b/w Skinny Head (Mind Of A Child / USA / 1994) * Street Where Love Lives b/w Coming Down All Day and Night (Hi-Ball / USA / 1993) * Places We Used to Go / Love Back / Skeletons Need Their Sleep (Rockville / USA / 1992) * Magic Words b/w Ghosts (Jetpac / Canada / 1992) * I Am the Cheese b/w I Can't Stop It (Feel Good All Over / USA / 1991) * She's Not Ready b/w Badger & Germ Inside (Feel Good All Over / USA / 1990) * I Shot My Load and I'm Ready for the Grave EP (Tulpa / USA / 1989) * Hammeroid! EP (Tulpa / USA / 1988)

Cassettes

* ''Live In Turku'' ( Blast Of Silence Records 2012) * ''AMNFM'' (1999) * ''TERRAMOTO'' (1998) * ''Gangway for Miracles'' (1997) * ''Wall of Phlegm'' (1997) * ''Ampeg Stud'' (1996) * ''Bandit 65'' (1996) * ''Fletcher Henderson'' (1995) * ''E Pluribus M.O.T.O.'' (1993) * ''Talk of M.O.T.O.'' (1991) * ''M.O.T.O. Machine Music (a.k.a. RADIO BJ)'' (1990) * ''1000 Years of Rock'N'Roll'' (1989) * ''Neon Bone!'' (1988) * ''MOTOERECTUS'' (1987) * ''QUASIMOTO'' (1987) * ''Rock, Roll & Dismember'' (1986) * ''BOLT!'' (1986) * ''Turn Your Head and Cough'' (1985)

References

External links

CD Baby pageMySpace pageFacebook pageLittle Teddy RecordingsCriminal IQ Records
*
Interview of Paul Caporino - 2008

{{Authority control Punk rock groups from Louisiana Indie rock musical groups from Louisiana Garage rock groups from Louisiana American garage punk groups Musical groups from New Orleans 1981 establishments in Louisiana Musical groups established in 1981