Like many bands, Mayfair Laundry was an evolving story. Paul Dexter, Dave Snow and Frank Sandoval started playing in bands in Southern California in the early ‘80s. After a few iterations of bands and faculty, Millennium developed and they performed for a couple of years around So Cal. They toured the U.S. the summer of 1984 when Snow and Sandoval were in between their 1st and 2nd years of high school.

Millennium was a bit too diverse, being Inspired by such bands as Daniel Amos, Sweet Comfort Band, Undercover, and other great Christian rock bands. The sound was a bit all over the map, which gave it a bit of an identity crisis. Were they a punk band? A new wave band? Classic rock? Mod? Rockabilly? All of the above, which was a lot of fun but limited their future.

Millennium ran its course which ended shortly after that summer tour.

Paul then traded his electric guitar for a “keytar” and attempted a solo act: a Howard Jones knock-off complete with tall, bleached and permed hair. One independent release “Green Chair on my Leg” was chock full of synths and Paul’s choppy new wave vocals. Dave and Frank brought the guitar and drums to recordings and some live shows, but this also ran its course after a couple of years. We’re thinking that the world wasn’t ready for a bad version of Howard Jones - they preferred the one they had.

By the end of the 80s Snow and Dexter became serious fans of the groove. Bands such as Level 42 and the evolved Tears for Fears. Paul switched instruments once again from keytar to bass guitar having discovered just how melodic the bass instrument could be, and the duo West Agency was born. With the boys now in their early 20s the songs began to get more thoughtful and intricate, if not each a knock-off of a favorite pop song. They kept writing, recording and performing regional shows. By 1993 they attracted and signed a deal with N-Soul records. The name West Agency didn’t resonate with the label, who wanted something a bit more meaningful in the Christian space. They selected House of Clay, for the verse Job 4:19. The album “Take Me” was pre-selling into the stores with quite a buzz, until phone calls from lawyers started coming in concerning the band name. Apparently Jars of Clay also had their first album coming out in May. Being the band with fewer lawyers behind it, the name was changed to “Clay House” and stores across the country received albums from a band with a different name than the one they ordered.

“Take Me” sold well into the stores, but radio stations only modestly played the first couple of singles. A music video got a small amount of attention, but the duo, who shared lead vocal duties were not really lead vocal material - or at least not for their style of pop music. Many of those albums in the stores began showing up as returns, or in the dollar bins. Still, the guys toured the west coast and loved the music they were making. Sandoval was invited to join the group as they began writing new material for a sophomore release. The guys knew they had talent and memorable songs, but they needed a voice.

Contracts were signed, and the band went into the studio in Nashville. With the Elefante brothers producing, the band was concerned that they may steer things into the dated "Petra” sound that they were well known for. That didn’t happen, but since ska was the new rage, they did push to add a horn section to some of the fast songs. This made a lot of people think that MFL was a ska band. It also meant traveling with a horn section, which doubled the size of the touring band. Still, it proved to be a great addition to the sound.

The band toured extensively through the recording and release of “Scrub”. The first rock single “Lovely Feet” did amazingly well. The music video shot to #1 and it reached #10 on radio. The powerful “Wait and See” was released next and did nearly as well.

The Ballad “Wonderful Wonder” was presented to the pop/adult stations and it got modest airplay. The feeling was that the song took too long to develop musically, which held it back from the mainstream.

The response at the shows was amazing and things were really rolling along. MFL was quickly building a strong following.

The label delivered on their promise, putting the band in front of some of the biggest audiences with some of Christian music’s biggest names. Paul and Kim brought in old and new friends to cover guitar and drums. The duo also began writing new songs with the familiar MFL sound, but crafted around Kim’s voice. The horn section from Scrub was replaced with a dash of techno/grunge. The title track of their 1999 sophomore album “New and Improved” carried a unique tongue-in-cheek dual message.

That song became the bands biggest radio success to date. While it didn’t reach the top 10 nationally, it was #1 at a large number of pop and rock stations across the country. This created a demand to headline large venues with crowds who couldn’t get enough of MFL. The band continued to tour the country almost constantly for the next two years.

Years later, Britain’s CrossRhythm magazine’s selected the song New and Improved for their “1001 Greatest Recordings by Christian Artists”. The list is in no particular order, so while the song shows up at #299, it could be their top pick - who’s to say? To be listed next to Phil Keaggy’s “Love Broke Through” is a high honor in itself.

In 2006, the band began to write songs for a third Mayfair Laundry album. True to the MFL story, family obligations once again got in the way of the band. The project was shelved for the short-term, which became long-term.

In 2017 they released “My Valentine”, a song written by the band back in 2000 while on the “Here Comes The Summer Tour”. While it wasn’t technically a Mayfair Laundry release, it was the first song released by the duo since 1999.

Who knows what the future holds.

If you have fond memories from a Mayfair Laundry concert (or heck, a Millennium, West Agency, Clay House, Mayfair, or Kim Dexter concert) feel free to share them in the guestbook.