Mighty Mongo's Rhythms Mighty Good

ST. PETERSBURG - A few simple twists of fate brought the Mighty Mongo together and seem to be propelling the members to early success.

That certainly seemed to be the case Thursday night when the group performed at Vintage Ultra Lounge for "Cinco de Mongo," in downtown St. Pete. Mighty Mongo also just released its first CD.

But let's back track for a moment to see how quickly Mighty Mongo has come together and become a popular name on the St. Pete music scene.

Drummer Scotty Chmura and guitarist Anthony Isoldi went to high school together and reconnected a couple years ago, with their shared interest in music and starting a band.

Isoldi then met "this awesome singer" and bassist -- Alex Card -- and the three started playing small gigs, including at Z-Grille. Things just grew organically.

A friend at Z-Grille suggested another addition to the group: Lindsay Vitola. One night during a regular set, Vitola hopped up on stage for an impromptu audition. The group tried their hand at Coldplay's "Clocks."

"The minute that Alex and Lindsay synced on their harmonies, it all just clicked," said Chmura.

The rest is history in the short life of Mighty Mongo. Pretty soon, the band was playing its first gig -- at Backstage Lounge in Gainesville -- where a slew of bad to the bone bikers were their tough crowd to please.

"It was like something straight out of the Blues Brothers," Card recalls. "We played all our own songs that night, too."

In less than two years, the foursome jumped from doing one or two small gigs a week to booking between seven to 10 larger venues per week. They do not easily fit into one music category and instead blend genres that include punk, reggae and rock. It all comes together in a frenetic, catchy mix.

There's something youthful and sophisticated about their songs, such as "Immafish," "Happy Place" and "Clark Kent." There's a certain hopefulness that is infectious, with retro-electric rhythms that take the listener on a fun journey.

Mighty Mongo's standard routine is to show up at least two hours before every show, which automatically sets the group apart from other competition. Owners of the many different venues agree. "We've never not been invited back somewhere" said Lindsay Vitola.

Here's how the group describes itself on Facebook:  "Voted the hardest working band in the Bay, Mighty Mongo has won every Battle of the Bands competition they've ever entered and played awesome venues throughout the state including Jannus LIVE!, State Theatre, Vinoy Park Warped Tour 2010, the Hard Rock Casino, Skipper's Smokehouse, Backstage Lounge, Meyer Amphitheater and more."

But that's only their night job. Vitola (25), a paralegal during the week, is the only one who has another job besides the music. Chmura (23), Card (21) and Isoldi (21) are all full time students at USF  St. Petersburg.

Unlike other bands that play music as a side job, these four plan on making it a career. "As long as it lasts is as long as we will stay together," promised Isoldi.

With that decision in tow, the group began work on their first album just a few months back. "This year we decided, 'we are a business and we are four equal shareholders in Mighty Mongo Inc.,'" explained Vitola.

Out of their own pockets, Mighty Mongo paid for the production of their first CD, as well as the cost to host the ultra popular event, "Cinco de Mongo."

Their goal was to make the night memorable. The hired staff included festive stilt walkers, a mariachi band, dancers and a high end sound crew that produces for places like Busch Gardens.

More than 300 Mighty Mongo wrist bands were given at the door, which proved the party to be  overly successful. Music is the motive for these Florida-bred youngsters and with their ever-growing popularity, fame may be within reach.