Shipping out Mastamindz’s Matt Moreau is headed to Iraq BY BOB GULLA

Earlier this year, when I spoke with with Mastamindz front man Matt Moreau, aka Mighty 1, in conjunction with his band’s Best Music Poll win, he was on top of the world. "I picture big things in 2004," he said. "We’re gonna break this thing open." Well, he was right, but not exactly in the way he anticipated. Six months after predicting big things, Moreau’s headed to Iraq with Rhode Island’s 126th Aviation Unit. A big thing indeed.

"It was shocking," he admits. The call came on October 2. "I was shaken up. Fuck, man, my life has changed." It didn’t come at the best time. Matt currently has a good job, he’s hitting the school books full-time for college, and he has a kickass band on the circuit. But is there a good time to get shipped off to war?

Moreau will venture to the cause — northern Baghdad, actually — on October 28, and be there for 18 months. That’s a long time to take off from the band, especially one that has had so much momentum behind it. "It’s gonna be tough," Moreau says of leaving his crew. "It’s the one thing that’ll hurt me the most. But I said to the guys, ‘What’s harder, you guys keeping the band together or me going to Iraq?’ They said, ‘We’ll keep it together.’ But it’s outta my hands right now."

Not exactly right now. Before Moreau leaves he’ll have one more crack at striking up the band this weekend at Jarrod’s Place in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Over the last few months the quartet has spread its wings a bit, traveling to New York City, New Hampshire, and Baltimore. But this weekend, Matt will head to one of his favorite venues with the band he loves more than anything.

"When we say band we’re a band — I mean to say we’re a band of brothers," Moreau enthuses. "There’s no other frontman for this band. I do my thing for them, and that’s how it’s always gonna be. We love each other. I can honestly say that we love each other and there is nothing that’ll hurt me more than leaving."

In the meantime, Mastamindz has vowed to stay together and await Moreau’s return. They’ll make beats and hang while M-1 does his noble service in the shifting sands of a foreign land half a world away.

"I can’t worry about the band now," he says regretfully. "I’ve got a job to do. We’ve had a terrific 2004. I said earlier that God has his hands on me and he’s doing this for a reason, to lead me up to something that’s gonna be a challenge. I think I’m ready for it." It will simply be another life-defining moment for a kid who until now has been defined by his music and the band. "It’s like this: This band has made me the person I am today and I’m so proud of it. Before I left for boot camp I was a good frontman, but when I came back I was a better — a better lead vocalist, a better writer. When I come back from Iraq I’ll be better still."

And he’s confident the band will be right where he left it upon his return. "Time goes by; it’s gonna go by quick. I knew I was gonna have to do this at some point. But it’s gonna pass, and when it does, I’m gonna come back and we’re gonna blow the fuck up."

Mastamindz play their farewell-for-now show at Jarrod’s Place on Friday, October 15 with Frequency 7, Dub Massive, and Three Kings.

A PRAYER FOR SCUBA STEVE. On Monday, October 4, guitarist Scuba Steve McDonough of Stranglehold, a southeastern Massachusetts band, was taken to Boston for multiple heart bypass surgery. Steve was born with a heart defect that has plagued him his whole life. He went into cardiac arrest the next morning and had a second emergency procedure to save his life. He was recently admitted to Mass General Hospital for a heart transplant, basically his last hope for survival. Scuba Steve is a husband and a father of four children. Cindy McDonough is his wife: "He is not off life support," she writes, "but the doctors at Mass General seem very confident he will be able to make the transition."

There are benefits in the works to help Steve’s family make ends meet while he recovers. Other possible areas for assistance, besides going to one of the upcoming benefits, would be gas cards to help pay for the commuting to the hospital and gift certificates to department stores, where the family can buy essentials like diapers and formula. If that’s not possible, say a prayer. It’s cheap and has occasionally been known to work a wonder or two. The Stranglehold band link is www.stranglehold.org; you can check in there for more info. Send donations to: Steve and Cindy McDonough, 1671/2 Court St., Plymouth, MA 02360

THETUBE. So you wanna be a television star, baby? The Mike Messier Show airs on Cox Cable Channel 13 in Rhode Island on Friday night/Saturday morning from 3 to 5 a.m., with an additional airing on Channel 18 on Saturday from midnight to 2 a.m. The current episode features controversial and colorful muso Spogga, an interview with Skid Row, and the music video "Holding On" by rockers Waltham, in addition to cartoons, short films, and comedian Smudge Baby.

Currently, Mike is looking for more films and videos to air. The next episode of the show will be a pre-Halloween/election episode featuring Charles Card’s Natural Selection and Final Curtain 4, a local horror film featuring some guy named Messier. Messier is seeking more Halloween- and election-themed material for that edition, followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s stuff. If anyone wants to do "celebrity" or "public interest" interviews with people and then send them in to the show for broadcast, feel free to do so. It’s public access! All you have to do is contact mikemessiershow@yahoo.com for more info.

AVE AVA. As a follow-up to last week’s piece on up-and-coming star of stage and, uh, stage Ava Schlink, we wanted to mention a couple of Web sites where you can check out pics, tunes, and other juicy tidbits about the sassy diva. In addition, the national tour of Rent, in which she stars, won’t be stopping in Providence, but will be in nearby New London sometime in January. Ava was also cast in an international Coke commercial and recently auditioned for the movie version of Rent, which begins shooting in the spring. She also has contract renegotiations in March for the Broadway show. And Ava’s folks are in talks with two major labels and are keeping their fingers crossed for their budding star’s music success to coincide with her acting career. Click on over to AvaMusicOnline.com and/or RentTheTour.com for everything else you need to know.

WANDERING EYE. Former M-80 screamer Christian Blaney’s hardcore/noise band the Arson Family is planning a little reunion show this Saturday (the 16th) at the Green Room with Reason To Fight and the Bloodshot Hooligans.

On Monday (the 18th) at 8 p.m., the Ocean State Blues Society will be holding a kickoff drive at the Catfish Grille. The newly formed group will help promote blues music in Rhode Island and southern New England. There’s no cover charge and you never know what kind of special guests will be stopping in.

Last Friday (the 8th), the Loose Change Band performed their last show ever at the Call. The Dead-inspired troupe, led by Mark Banspach, hung together for a full 25 years before calling it a rap. We salute you, boys. It was one helluva run.

E-mail me with your music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.