Meet Dave Mohl | Guitar/Synth Player for Mystery Friends

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dave Mohl and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dave, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Abby and I (Dave) are both from the midwest originally and are now transplants in DC. I grew up in St. Louis and moved here for work and Abby grew up in Iowa. As midwestern transplants, it’s hard to separate that part of yourself, even though DC is a lot different. There’s a certain self-deprecating philosophy that we both seem to deploy a lot, whether good or bad. Almost like you don’t want to be too proud of your work in case it comes off as cocky. That’s something that isn’t particularly healthy, but it’s definitely in the DNA of a lot of midwesterners. Though it’s been a while now, I was really exposed to a lot of the formative creative people and musicians in my teenage years. I grew up going to house shows and seeking a lot of pretty out-there music because that was what my friends were into. That really shaped how I see creativity even if I don’t necessarily try to emulate that kind of sound. Mystery Friends is definitely not atonal math rock or noise music, but I like to think there are sprinkles of some oddball elements baked into the cake. Now I just have to try and find a way to emulate St. Louis treasure Nelly…. he does have some really amazing percussion sounds.

Looking at where we are today, where we live also definitely matters. DC is an interesting place. People obviously associate it with politics and that’s surely in the consciousness more than a lot of places, but it really is a tiny part of what this city is about. DC both has this (somewhat deserving) reputation as a transient city where people like us move here for work, and often leave after a few years, but what we’ve both come to both learn and love is how rich and deep DC’s own cultural history runs. It’s not just politics and lobbyists, though that gets a lot of the headlines. Once you start listening to all of the amazing music that was made in this city (everything from DC punk to go go to jazz) you realize there’s this lineage. The guys in Fugazi are still here and still making music and they might go to your show. The people who listened to Chuck Brown as a kid might be making music with the same musicians in 2022. It’s amazing and I am consistently amazed that DC doesn’t have more of a reputation for the amazing music being made in the city historically and even more so today. That, and the fact that we have no representation in congress despite being more populace than 3 states… but that’s for another conversation.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Abby and I are both musicians who work “9 to 5” type jobs as well. That said, we don’t consider ourselves the weekend warrior types. Creatively, our music has evolved over time for sure, but at its core, the dynamic has always been one of contrast and balance. Abby and I have different musical upbringings (in that she has actual music training and knowledge and I’ve been effectively winging it) but somehow that alchemy has proven effective.

So typically I would send a song idea (sometimes fully fleshed out, sometimes in pieces) and she would then write lyrics and add vocals. What I am still amazed by every time is how much the nature of the music changes and grows when that happens. What might be a fun little dancy punky guitar riff standing alone is a completely different animal when you’ve got these powerful vocals as a compliment. We’re certainly not the first band to make guitar and synth driven dance rock/pop but I don’t know a band that sounds like us. That’s credit to Abby, and thanks to this dynamic we have let grow over the years. It’s exciting because we know there’s a lot more room to grow and a lot more music make.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wow, good question! Ok so let’s plan a long weekend, apologies in advance for the lack of sleep:

Thursday: Arrive at DCA (if you’re coming to DC and have to fly into Dulles or BWI, you’re already off on the wrong foot). We’re going to go get coffee at Compass, beloved DC coffee institution and then relax for the day. By night, we’re going to Union Market, where you can find just about any food you can ask for. I’ll be getting a sandwich from Immigrant Food but you can’t really go wrong. Then to cap off the evening we’re going just down the street to the bar/music venue Songbyrd. They have local and touring acts, and once a month they host music trivia and we need all the help we can get.

Friday: You may not have been to DC before (or if you have maybe you were on an 8th grade field trip) so let’s check out a museum or two. We’re going to grab a coffee and croissant from Bread Furst and then head down toward the National Mall. If you can get a ticket, you have to go to the African American History Museum. It’s a moving and powerful showcase and there’s a reason why it’s still hard to get in after being open for years. Thankfully in this hypothetical, we’ve already got tickets so that won’t be a problem. If we have time, we’ll also go to the Hirshhorn, which has some of the most interesting contemporary art in the world. It’s been a busy day and we probably should rest up before the evening comes around. After a cat nap, we’re headed to 14th street. We’re going to get Cuban food at Colada Shop and a couple mojitos to start the weekend. From there, we’re crossing the street to DC music institution Black Cat. It really is such an amazing place. You can see huge touring bands, rising stars, and maybe even a local band like Mystery Friends, if you’re lucky. We’ll walk down the street to Bar Pilar for a night cap, and then it’s time to grab an uber and head back.

Saturday: we’re enjoying nature. We’re heading down to the Georgetown waterfront and renting kayaks for a few hours. You get great views of the city, can watch all of the planes just over the river (fun fact: DC proper is entirely a no-fly zone, so every plane landing in DCA has to do this little maneuver around the river so it doesn’t accidentally get chased down by a fighter jet). We’re going to stop off at Gravely Point to watch those same planes fly dramatically close overhead. It sounds cliche until you try it. But after all that kayaking, we probably need a bite to eat. We’re going to Stachowski Market back in Georgetown. The sandwiches are plentiful, the shop has no frills (exactly as it should be) and you will not be hungry for a while. We can walk off the meat sweats around Georgetown and do some people watching. But it’s time for a nap, because it’s going to be another full night of music. We’re starting at the 9:30 club. Definitely DC’s most storied venue (originally a small venue that catered to DC’s booming punk scene) it is now a destination venue. Huge touring bands like Japanese Breakfast and Disclosure have played there, even we played there once. It’s big enough to be a destination, but small enough that you never have a bad spot. The show is ending, so grab one of their famous cupcakes and hop in the cab, because we’re going across town to Comet Ping Pong. Comet was the unfortunate victim of some pretty fringy conspiracy theories but thankfully, the restaurant and venue are stronger than ever. We’ll get some of their delicious pizza and then head to the back (where they move the ping pong tables and host shows). The venue holds only about 200 people so it’s always an intimate and invigorating experience. Shows at Comet tend to start late because it operates as a restaurant, so you may want to sneak in a red bull but you’ll thank me later.

Sunday: it’s been a long and fun weekend, so we’re taking it easy today. We’re grabbing bagels from Call Your Mother (for my money, the best bagels in DC) and then doing some people watching down by the White House. Maybe we’ll catch a motorcade (it is something of a spectacle every time) and then we’ll send you back to the airport. Hope you enjoyed DC as much as we do all the time,

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This one is easy: the DC music community.

We have been playing music for going on 6 years now (which is shocking to say) but it would both be impossible without the support of fellow DC musicians and our friends and family who consistently support us (and the countless other acts around). That’s everyone from fellow musicians to the casual fan who decided to spend a Saturday night seeing a show.

We can’t overstate enough how much of a difference a fun (and supportive) music community has made.

Website: https://www.mysteryfriendsmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mysteryfriends/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MysteryFriends_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysteryfriendsband/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/MysteryFriendsBand

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1nkamhZ86zDvuB1HB3Wq8y https://mysteryfriends.bandcamp.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mysteryfriendsmusic

Image Credits
roXplosion Rachel Alyssa Eve Julia Fletcher Navid Marvi