The origin story of Mama D & the Vexations began back in late 2012 when Donna Ward & John Holmok were both teachers at a local music school…
One night, the teachers all went out for drinks and music, where Donna sat in with the live band. The entire bar went silent and completely captivated by her singing. Immediately following this performance, John proposed starting a cover band and rehearsals began shortly thereafter; John invited his old friends from college, Tom Hanslowe on bass and Alan Rigoletto on guitar. They practiced throughout the winter and next year until they were ready to perform their first show at the Crossroads in Garwood on August 9th, 2013. The show was a great success and the band continued playing and booking shows from that point onward.
Soon after, Tom moved to California and was replaced by Jake Miller-Hoesly on bass, another college friend of John’s. The gigs continued and the band began to play at multiple new venues. Soon after, Alan also moved to California and Donna’s friend Andrew Reynolds joined the band on guitar. The setlist expanded and the band was able to book a residency at the Dublin Pub to further refine their craft. When Andrew moved west as well, Bill Molnar joined Mama D on guitar until leaving to focus on other projects. When Nick Malishchak returned to NJ from college in Ithaca, he joined the band for a last minute gig and learned the whole setllist in less than a week! At this point in time, the band was booked regularly at The Laundromat in Morristown and began to expand their performances to private parties and many downtown locales. Jake left to focus on other projects soon after and Jasmine Bloch-Krempels joined us on bass/vocals, filling out the current regular roster of the band.
And the rest, as they say, is history. From their early beginnings at Miami Mike’s and Dublin Pub, the band has played over 250 shows from New York City to the Jersey Shore. While the core members of the band have not changed since 2016, Donna, John, Nick and Jasmine have been joined on stage by multiple other musicians, including Jordon Bloch, Justin Kemp, Mike Gogel, Jamie Matthews, Chris Bleeke, Rachel Guerra, Eden Mendez, and Molly Lane.
Mama D & The Vexations and the various guests have become a staple in North Jersey’s live music scene. Performance highlights include many Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day shows at The Laundromat in Morristown, The Cutting Room and Connolly’s in NYC, and countless outdoor shows all around New Jersey. Private events include weddings, retirement parties, birthday parties, and multiple corporate events for Beyond Identity and Kriegman and Smith. The band looks forward to celebrating milestones with you by providing music for your events! Join the band for their 10-year anniversary show at The Laundromat in Morristown on Friday, September 9 from 7:30pm-10:30pm. Here’s to 10 more years! (And yes, we’ll still be playing Don’t Stop Believin’ in 10 years.)
