How to meet Jason Momoa before he plays Jannus Live in St. Petersburg
Jason Momoa said he’s ready to rock out with the people of Tampa Bay. But ahead of his concert at Jannus Live, the movie star also admitted a secret.
Even Aquaman gets nervous.
“It’s quite scary. For me, that’s a nice thing,” Momoa said on a phone call from Boston. “You know, I’m 45. I don’t get scared with acting anymore. I’ve been doing it for 20-plus years. So getting up onstage and playing with my friends is a really fun thing.”
Momoa and his business partner, Blaine Halvorson, are headed to Tampa Bay this weekend to promote their new venture, Meili Vodka. The party starts Saturday morning with a bottle signing at a Tampa liquor store and picks up later in St. Petersburg, when Momoa’s band headlines Jannus Live. In his three-piece group, ?OF TATATá, Momoa slaps the bass.
Halvorson has been having a ball watching his friend evolve onstage.
“Some people might run from that,” Halvorson said. “But it’s a really beautiful, raw thing to feel that sensation again.”
Momoa’s musical renaissance and his new business go hand in hand. A decade ago, neither Halvorson or Momoa would describe themselves as vodka lovers. But the longtime collaborators wanted to team up on something special.
Both live on the same street in Montana, where their kids attend school together. In between parenting and other projects, they’ve spent the past nine years on a quest to make a “sippable vodka.”
The pair traveled the globe together in search of the right water source, trying samples from Greenland to Antarctica. In the end, they found their “unicorn source” in Halvorson’s home state of Montana, working off a tip from his 80-year-old dad.
Every party needs a killer soundtrack. Luckily, Momoa plays a range of instruments, including guitar, mandolin, ukulele, bass guitar and drums. ?OF TATATá — or “Oof, Almost” in Māori — is made up of his musical mentors.
Momoa featured guitarist and vocalist Mike Hayes in “On the Roam,” his travel docuseries for Max.
“He’s such a wonderful blues player that I just wanted the world to hear it,” Momoa said. “He taught me and then he taught my kids. I learned to play bottleneck slide, kind of like Delta blues style. At the same time, I really love slapping the bass, like (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.”
Drummer Kenny Dale rounds out the lineup. He also gave the Momoa clan instrument lessons.
“I’ve always watched them as a kid growing up in Hollywood. Now we all have families and have two or three different kids,” Momoa said. “And while we’re out here meeting all these beautiful people and traveling the country, I’ve been like, ‘What is it like hanging out with people?’”
?OF TATATá formed earlier this spring. Dale and Hayes were keen to get back to playing music and earning money. Momoa wanted to improve his bass skills. He invited the two to join him in New Zealand, where they spent a month learning songs to perform at a crew wrap party with his “Minecraft” co-star Jack Black.
?OF TATATá decided to keep the momentum going by playing on the Mailel promotional tour. Their concert at Jannus Live will last about an hour and a half, featuring covers of their favorite tunes.
“I think it’s really fun to get to play songs you don’t get to hear that much,” Momoa said. “Some of them are really obscure.”
Hayes loves playing Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Momoa is a big fan of Les Claypool, Tom Waits and Primus. Dale is a sucker for Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
“I don’t have much time to learn … It takes time. I’m sure people are like, ‘That note was off,’ but it’s always me,” Momoa laughed.
Momoa is happy to sign 1,800 of bottles of vodka for fans, as he did in Boston the morning of our interview. He hopes the concert offers an intimate way to spend time with fans.
“I can’t think of anything else that would give my full heart to a crowd of people coming to meet me,” he said. “How can I, aside from a picture? But it’s so quick and you don’t get to spend time. I’m up there, really giving it with people that I love and I think it’s a cool experience.”
See Jason Momoa and Blaine Halvorson in Tampa and St. Pete
Momoa and Halvorson will sign bottles at Luekens Liquors from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. 236 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. Free.
Later that day, the pair will work behind the bar at Tequila Daisy from 4 to 4:30 p.m. 120 1st Ave N, St. Petersburg.
Finally, listen to Momoa’s band ?OF TATATá rock out at Jannus Live at 7 p.m. Saturday. 200 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Tickets are on sale at jannuslive.com for $30.