Lake County >> With a nickname like “Mojo” it might be assumed that Lake County guitarist Larry Platz earned the sobriquet for his almost magical ability to shred guitar solos. But Platz said this isn’t exactly how it happened. “I never named myself that, first off. It’s just everyone calls me that. I just accept it now,” he said.
Back in 1983, Platz began playing with local band Bill Noteman and the Rockets. He and Noteman were practicing when, on a whim, Noteman began calling Platz, “Mojo Larry” after blues musican Mojo Buford. “Just like that, it’s that simple,” Platz said.
“He introduced me as Mojo at a gig,” he added. When Platz didn’t protest, the name stuck. “It just kind of caught on. It had nothing to do with me.”
Noteman tells a similar story. Mojo Buford was a harmonica player with the Muddy Waters, and Noteman loved his name. But not wanting to call himself “Mojo Noteman” he decided to give Platz the nickname instead. “I always thought that that was just a great name and when we started playing together I just kind of one night threw that out to Mojo,” Noteman recalled. “I said, ‘Kid, I’m gonna start calling you Mojo Larry,’ and it just kind of stuck and it’s been that name ever since.”
Platz insists the name has nothing to do with his guitar skills, either. “I’m not magic. I’m not even that good,” he said. But just listen to the audience during one of his guitar solos, and it’s clear Platz really is that good.
His heavy involvement in the Lake County music scene is additional evidence of his talent. He’s a guitarist for five bands and has played with numerous others over the years. When asked to list the groups he’s participated in since moving to the area in 1980, he struggled to remember them all.
Ever the humble musician, Platz doesn’t attribute his active playing to his skill. “I like to think that people like to play with me because I’m reliable, not that I’m that good,” he said.
A long time friend and bandmate, Noteman had to disagree. “He’s very reliable, but he’s good too,” he said. “The boy can play, there’s no doubt about it. He knows his way around the guitar neck.”
The bands he’s most involved with are Bill Noteman and the Rockets and the Fargo Brothers. Both have been together for so long that they don’t need much, if any, rehearsal time. Instead, they rely on a shared musical bond. “The Fargo Brothers will kind of go over a song in our heads. The secret to that is, we’ve been playing together for song long, we kind of know how each other think. I can listen to Mike [Adams, Fargo Brothers lead singer and guitarist] play and I can see him in the corner of my eye and I kind of know what he’s going to do and same with Noteman.”
Platz isn’t alone in this feeling. “What I really enjoy about playing with Mojo is I’ll get an idea in my head … I’ll play it one time and … he always picks up right quick,” Noteman said. “I’ve always admired that.”
Upon first moving to Lake County, Platz joined up with a top 40 band called 4 Out of 5 and he’s hardly set his guitar down since. “I’ve been playing here for 35 years without stopping.”
Platz isn’t exactly sure how he became so immersed in the area’s music scene. “It just sort of happened,” he said. “The work that I do, my regular job, I have time to play. I only work part time so I have time to play as much as I pretty much want … I like to stay busy. It keeps me young and immature.”
As a part time employee for the county’s health department, Platz picked up so many music jobs to fill the rest of his hours. “Unfortunately I cant do one or the other,” he said. “It’s like having two fairly good-paying part time jobs. If I had my choice I’d just play, but I gotta pay the bills.”
From the beginning Platz was a part of a band. It could be said that his youth prepared him for his future in the Lake County music scene. But surprisingly, his first instrument wasn’t the one he’s known for now. “I’ve always been in a band. I started playing the trumpet in the 5th grade and I was in the school band. I played 3rd trumpet, I was never any good.”
His stint as a trumpeter ended abruptly when he entered high school and realized none of the cool kids were playing the instrument. So he and his friends turned to the guitar. “We just kind of all taught each other,” he said. “We were listening to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and all the bands that were popular in the 70s.”
Leaving behind his trumpet and the school band, Platz played in garage bands from that point on. And he’s been strumming away for at least 40 years.
At the time, Platz and his friends learned the guitar in the hopes that they would one day become the next Jimmy Hendrix. But in hindsight, Platz said playing the guitar was much more than that. “Me and my friends, we weren’t very popular,” he said, adding that they didn’t play sports and weren’t great students. “It just kind of gave us an identity I think, looking back.” Platz harbors more than just an enjoyment of his chosen instrument; he holds a deep-seeded passion for it. “I have 30 guitars, I have a room full of guitars at my house,” he said. “I just love the instrument, I love the way they look, I love the way they feel in my hand. I think you can express yourself with the guitar more than most other instruments.”
Take a piano, Platz said, and two different people can play the same note in the same way. The guitar, on the other hand, doesn’t adhere to the same rules. “If it was a guitar I would pick up the guitar and play a note and you could pick up the guitar and sound completely different,” he said. “I don’t usually play note for note … but you could get 10 guitar players in the room playing the exact same thing and it would be ten completely different ways … There’s not too many different instruments that you could do that with.”
Blues and rock have always heavily influenced Platz’s music. He loves the self-expression of blues and the energy of rock. He’s spent much of his time listening to Led Zepplin, Rory Gallagher, BB King and Albert Collins, just to name a few. Lately, he’s been tuning into Charlie Christian. But ask any guitar player, aspiring or professional, and one musician regularly stands out above the rest. “My favorite has always been Jimmy Hendrix,” Platz said. “In my guitar room I have a Jimmy Hendrix wall with posters and statues.”
Platz performs with the Fargo Brothers tonight at the Riviera Hills Lounge and Restaurant in Kelseyville at 8 p.m. But for those who can’t make it to the show, there’s no need to worry. Platz plays nearly every weekend, with one group or another.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
Cutline 1: Mojo Larry Platz performs with the 62 Blues at a show at the Soper Reese in February. (Photo by Jennifer Gruenke)
Cutline 2: In the early 80’s, Larry Platz performs with his first Lake County band, 4 out of 5. (Contributed photo)
