Musical Moose Band: A historic bio
Musical Moose is an, all-original, progressive funk-rock trio, whose seasoned
musicians create truly rare brew of original music. The band self-produced and
released 2 albums: “Moose on a Hot Tin Roof” (1985) and “Gone with the Moose”
(1996.) Their reputation for edgy attitude and artistic craft are well established
and continues to grow after nearly 35 years. The band’s music translates well
both on stage and on their recordings. “Moose” music rocks hard, grooves deep,
and is always fun. In case you’ve never heard or seen them, be advised! Musical
Moose is not to be missed!
Mike and Bob Courter were playing professionally in night clubs and traveling the
road with various bands. They spent many years honing their craft in the studio
and on stage, becoming the best-rounded musicians of the area.
Before working with Zeno Bob Wilkinson, Tommy worked as a guitarist supporting
cover bands in local venues, and by age 17, went on the “chitlin’ circuit” with an
all Africa-American band. He worked in various bands, from country, to pop 40, to
disco to R&B. A fortunate variety of music experiences which enriched his love of
playing and guitar technique.
When Tommy and Zeno returned to Chattanooga they had a boat load of crazysounding tunes that appealed to the Courter brothers, by then weary of playing
cover tunes and craving to play funk and jazz- rock. The time was right for
something fun and original. The genesis of the Moose was born.
Bob Courter, Zeno, and Tommy Cotter performed on the street downtown by the
Hamilton County Court House and The Brass Register. Mike Courter watched
them from his apartment window, was laughing his arse off with pure enjoyment!
They were improvising with percussion items, saxophone, guitar, self-made
gadgets, creating bizarre street music within a downtown spectacle.
After releasing a self-produced recording and a couple of years of gigging in the
Chattanooga area while building a decent following they decided New York is
where they'd rather be. A year of living together in a rehearsal space, recording,
and playing the odd showcase made for a tight band, but eventually the city got
the better.
Zeno split to Baltimore to get married and Bob moved to Macon GA to play
country music and eventually toured with the Forester Sisters. Tommy and Mike
stayed bonkers in Yonkers for several months and continued to write songs
together and play out as "The Radford Boys." Tommy eventually made it back to
Chattanooga and opened 'Right Track Studio.' Mike moved to the lower east side
of Manhattan and played with various bands for about a year.
Bob (Zeno) Wilkinson and Mike Courter at Duck Soup Deli (with Larry Ortega
behind the bar, Mike & Mike were the owners and entrepreneurs who gave
Musical Moose their very first house gig at Duck Soup Deli, (1977 – 1979.)
Eventually all four were back in Chattanooga so naturally they reformed and
began working on new material. They added keyboards to the lineup and began
to pursue the rock thing again. They recorded a second release and enjoyed
performing to appreciative audiences for a few years - until Zeno passed away
unexpectedly.
They performed at Chattanooga’s Riverbend Festival 6 times since 1985, and as
recently two summers ago. They performed countless other festivals and venues
over the years, until Bob Zeno Wilkinson passed away unexpectedly. They decided
to take some time to decide how to move on. Then, they felt the calling; the time
was now to play as a trio, to create a future from all they had built as a team.
This brings us to the present. Proving that you can't keep a good Moose down,
Tommy, Bob and Mike are together again with the strongest sounding Moose
ever! A friend and fellow musician says it this way: "If you haven't heard the
Musical Moose lately, you haven't heard the Musical Moose."