20 January 2010
In case you hadn’t felt the teethmarks of vampires in the media, now the dreaded groove of a Mono In VCF song may leave a similar impression. Leave it to MTV to drop Mono’s doom-laden stomper “Cinch Ring” into its new series about vampires at a college campus for the young, beautiful and elite. American actor Eric Balfour (Claire’s boy Gabriel Dimas in Six Feet Under and killed off as Milo on 24) stars in the episode; recruiting teenage vampires with the music. No word on if he actually plays the song on repeat. Valemont is produced by MTV and sponsored by Verizon. Fans in the show’s online forums are currently asking for a second season. Episodes run between breaks of The Hills on Tuesday nights. View Episode 30: The Vampire Piper to hear the mood “Cinch Ring” brings.
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14 May 2009
A quick note regarding upcoming Mono In VCF events while recording continues for a second opus: If you’re in Los Angeles, drop in to the Falcon Hollywood the night of Monday 18 May from 7 to 11pm. Mono guitarist Hunter Lea will be providing music for the Mutineer Magazine National Launch Party, a new “fine beverage” magazine. Tickets are $40 via mutineermagazine.com and your ticket includes all your drinks for the entire night – beer, wine, soda, tea and more will be available for you to taste. The Falcon is located at 7213 W Sunset Blvd.
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12 May 2009
It’s only the Elephants to a nostalgic Tacoma crowd. A new moniker was chosen recently, and with it comes the Nightgown’s brand new debut full-length Sing Something. Within a listen it is known that in a perfect world, the Nightgowns would see success befitting indie pop kings Vampire Weekend or Black Kids.
On Sing Something (16 May, self-released), elements of the Flaming Lips, New Order, Erasure and the Cure are heard on songs like “Buoy” and “Big Bang.” “Animal Sound” is a sure bet television placement. Listen to or download “White On White,” sung by Cody, while checking the gorgeous cover.
On iTunes later this month.
Track listing:
1. Narwhal Aerobics
2. Funny Money
3. Cosmic Clancy
4. Windwalker
5. Buoy
6. White On White
7. Big Bang
8. Working for a Living
9. Animal Sound
10. Sold Gold 2
11. PPPPS
12. Gone With the Wind
The Nightgowns CD release
Saturday 16 May
The Warehouse
8pm, $5, Tacoma Ave.
The Nightgowns’ album photography by Julie Rivera, Anna Gonzales and Aaron Dickson.
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27 April 2009
When Spacemen 3 disbanded in 1991, Jason Pierce soon formed Spiritualized and Pete Kember (a.k.a. Sonic Boom) formed Spectrum. Spectrum has made it to America along with a new release titled War Sucks EP. Check out the brilliant cover and package. Saturday 2 May sees Mono In VCF and Spectrum sharing a bill that will be sure to go down as one of the heaviest psych nights Seattle has seen in some time.
9pm / 21+ / Tickets $12 – On sale now at Ticketswest, Moe Bar, select QFCs and Rudy’s Barbershops.
Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room is located at 925 E. Pike on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
Full bio on Spectrum is here:
Spectrum is the most high-profile and straightforward of the projects undertaken by Pete “Sonic Boom” Kember after the demise of the trance-rock avatars Spacemen 3. As his work as a member of the Experimental Audio Research coterie allowed Kember the opportunity to explore ambient textures and tonal constructs, Spectrum satisfied the singer/guitarist’s more conventional pop leanings, while never losing sight of the hypnotic otherworldliness which became his music’s trademark and legacy. The name Spectrum initially appeared as the title of the first Sonic Boom solo album, released in 1990 before the break-up of Spacemen 3; a collection of ethereal, nearly formless songs, Spectrum openly acknowledged Kember’s debt to Suicide with its cover of the duo’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Killing My Life.” Meanwhile, the Kember half of the Spacemen 3 swan song Recurring, with its tighter, more structured songs (like the gentle wash of “Just to See You Smile”), offered an even stronger indication of things to come.
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17 April 2009
Our beloved friends at Light in the Attic are reissuing the amazing 1966 record Black Monk Time by the Monks this week. Mono bassist Jordan was spotted scanning in secret Monks documents and designing the packaging over the past few months.
Never before released is the first package in the Light in the Attic Monks series, titled The Early Years 1964 – 1965. This record features demos and a 45″ single which surfaced prior to the Monks’ foray into the future. Sure, they sounded futuristic in 1964 while cutting their teeth like the Beatles in Germany, but Black Monk Time may just blow your head off within the distance of a couple songs. You may remember the heavy track “I Hate You” which plays as Walter Sobchak pulls a piece in league play. The Monks were ahead of their time, assisted in great part by their marketing team of Karl Remy and Walther Niemann. The band may never be remembered by the masses, but to many they remain an important slice of music history.
Calling it “a design classic,” Black Monk Time has already received a five star review from the latest MOJO in the UK (John & Yoko cover). The article is a fascinating abbreviated account of the band’s brief existence. Cheers to Light in the Attic and all the hard work that’s gone into making the reissues happen. Complete with a set of eight old school Monks trading cards. You can see some of them straight from Jordan’s iPhone.
Take a look and check the linked video if you don’t know of the Monks. There is some great video on YouTube and “Monk Chant” may be the best.
Out on CD/digital this week and 2xLP on 28 April. To purchase, head to Light in the Attic’s shop.
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21 March 2009
How is 2009? We’re living it too, it’s fun and we’ve got new music to share at some point. We’re actually working on a bunch of things that we’ll show you soon. We plan to release our second record sometime this year. Prior to that we’re playing a show Saturday 2 May at Neumo’s with Spectrum, which features Sonic Boom who played with Jason Pierce in Spacemen 3. All the info is now up on the SHOWS page. We’ll be playing new songs by Hunter at this show. Tickets are available here. 21+
We’ll be back shortly with more blog posts as we make the record. For now, enjoy what I’ve been digging on today.
-JL
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