"MUSINGS: February promises to be a stimulating month on the music scene. If anything, I hope this column might entice you away from your warm home and electronic entertainment centers for just one night. Live music in Humboldt County is underrated and under- appreciated. It is more energetic and less predictable than most recorded music, and often of equal or higher caliber than it's big city counterpart. A perfect example is the Bishop Mayfield Band. The Bishop Mayfield Band jumps, wails, and delivers exciting wild sounds which command your feet to dance. Modern funk isn't my forte' but the Bishop Mayfield Band is one of my favorite groups. Mayfield possesses an incredibly versatile voice, and seems equally at ease delivering silky, melodic lyrics or raspy, dirty growls. His vocal abilities would allow him to hold his own with any national singer." (Anthony Sanger, Northcoast Journal, Arcata, Ca. )

"A BISHOP WHO SINGS LONG INTO THE NIGHT: Consider Bishop Mayfield. He's the leader of the only established funk and soul band in Humboldt County. He's one of only a handfuls of acts on the Northcoast who regularly draws a good crowd. He a successful black entertainer in a predominantly white market. He may be the only Humboldt County musician whose sole means of support is performing. He's 45, has smoked since he was nine but could pass for 28 and has a voice that sound like it's propelled by virgin lungs. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Bishop Mayfield is the rather simple terms he uses to describe the music that's been his livelihood for more than 30 years. 'I just look at as dance music' He says... Stepping out with the Bishop Mayfield Band is not your usual Humboldt County-put-on-your-Levi's and swill-a-few-beers affair. It's going uptown. Mayfield dresses up- the crowd dresses. Mayfield gyrates-the crowd gyrates. Lots of pulsating, sweaty, cologne and perfumed bodies respond to music that finds a groove and sustains it. A night with the Bishop Mayfield band is a night to see and be seen, to let the pheromones fly and dance until you drop....Mayfield who doesn't play any instruments, has a booming voice that fills up a room with ease. His cover of the old Ohio Players' hit 'Fire' will make you forget the original. 'He's a total pro vocally", said Danny Montgomery, a veteran Humboldt County drummer who once played with Mayfield in a band called Flex and is now drumming for the Magnificent Dukes. 'He can sing damn near anything. He's got that great baritone bass and he also has a good high register that you don't hear from him that often. He occasionally shows up at blues jams and it scares the hell out the other singers'.( Joel Davis, Time-Standard, Oct. 1990, Eureka, Ca. )

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