The Evolution
Sometimes, stuff just happens. And, sometimes, that stuff is good. There was no initial plan or strategy for THE TROUBLE WITH MONKEYS. No dreams of chart success, massive iTunes downloads, or world musical domination. There was just a gig that needed an opening act, and two friends crazy enough to put an entire band together in less than 60 days. And, oh yeah, one of those guys never played in a band before, or logged more than a few months experience on his instrument (although a stint at Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp certainly fueled his desire to rock heavily). Given the rather insane and somewhat hopeless chore of building a group from scratch, the band name seemed pretty apt. (By the way, the name was ripped off from an old Thora Birch kiddie movie about a kleptomaniac primate entitled "Monkey Trouble.")
But monkeys are also industrious little buggers, and a pretty decent little project was birthed from a boatload of "No Chance!"
First, Michael M had a career back in the day, as well as a whole drawer full of rather awful new wave/pop punk songs written when he wore more spandex and eye shadow than black pants and bowling shirts. A repetoire was reborn! Then, Patrick had 16 million marketing ideas before any music was played anywhere. We're proud to say that THE TROUBLE WITH MONKEYS had a custom logo, merchandise (t-shirts, coffee cups, underwear, etc.), custom guitar picks, a stage banner, a Web site, and even temporary tattoos before the band had scheduled a single rehearsal. Do we know what's important, or what? Finally, we dragged co-worker (and flash keyboardist) Michael G into the madness to ensure that at least one person in the band can be categorized as "professional." (Michael is also proposing that the group's marketing blurb be "The Nicest Band Ever" -- a reference to one of the phrases we used to seduce him into the fold. After all, we couldn't leverage our musical genius.) After finding a fabulous session drummer in Jake, we had the full complement of monkeys.
So what's this all about?
The impassioned inexperience, drive, commitment to hilarity, and performance of butt-simple, easy-to-understand songs all collaborate to make THE TROUBLE WITH MONKEYS something, well, FUN. Our music won't cure acne, banish bad people from the planet, or magically conjure a decent United States president. But Monkey Music can get your synapses all blissy and stuff -- which ain't a bad thing. Think about it -- If you have a great time listening to Monkey Music, then YOU may be inspired to fix all of the world's ills. It could happen (and we'll take a small piece of credit for all your accomplishments while under the sway of our giddy explosion of noise). As for us -- we'll still be trying to remember which chords go where in what song. We know OUR place in the world.
Meet the Bunch of Monkeys |
Punch the monkey to go home!