If there is one band on this planet you should get into sooner rather than later, it’s Monotonix.
A madcap rock trio from Tel Aviv, Israel, their live shows are the stuff of legend, as YouTube will readily attest. Their songs ain’t bad either.
With Monotonix’s debut long-player Where Were You When It Happened? released locally through Popfrenzy, and the band headed to Australia for the first time in a few weeks (see dates below), UB.com’s Danger Coolidge figured an interview with guitarist Yonotan Gat would be a good way to spread the love…
Where Were You When It Happened? is the follow-up to Body Language EP. What’s the story?
We wrote it in New Orleans over two months and recorded it in San Francisco. We worked with Tim Green, the same guy that did the last EP. Not a long time passed since it came out, but almost a year since it was recorded and we’re starting to get deeper into the new record so it’s funny to talk about Where Were You as the recent one. I’m happy with it, I think it’s special sounding and has its own atmosphere. I wouldn’t change anything, I love it. I think the songs we’re working on now are different though, much more loose and free. We talk a lot less and just play, letting everyone be free and make the music really spontaneous. I think it makes the new songs less tight sounding, it’s not like one person sorted everything out like a lot of the songs on Body Language and Where Were You, it’s more free and weird sounding, at least to my ears. I don’t know if it’s better or something I would have improved in the last record, but I’m definitely more into that right now. In Where Were You When It Happened, the songs, as spontaneous and fun as they are, are very planned. Now we try to make less plans and kinda take things as they come along, like the show.
The cover art for the album is fantastic – who had the idea and who was the artist that helped bring it to life?
The guy that conceived it is the guy who drew it, our friend Nat Damm from Seattle. We sent him the music and he sent us this idea for us coming out of a pair of jeans. The first version was very “classic rock” looking. Even more like a homage to Sticky Fingers than it is now, but it went through a few changes. People seem to like it. I think it’s funny and definitely captures part of the album’s atmosphere.
Is it hard to capture the live energy of Monotonix in the studio? So many people talk about the brilliance of live show, does that translate to the recordings?
I think that no recorded rock music in 2010 can affect people the same way a show does. I think in recorded rock ‘n’ roll, so much was done, that music doesn’t hit people that way anymore. Some things are great, but it doesn’t leave you saying: “I’ve never heard anything like that before”, it doesn’t change you, cuz a lot of it was already done. When it comes to playing shows, I think you can still catch people off guard, a show is such an intimate energetic thing between performer and audience, and for some weird reason, almost everything all rock bands did for 50 years was stand on stage and play their songs. I don’t think you can compare the impact of the show to that of the music, and I also think we’re still improving in the music. We only spent a couple of months in the studio accumulated since the band started, but we’ve played over 700 shows, we’re a live band and we’re still learning to capture that in the studio, but I feel we’re getting better and better, and I think our fans can see that. I’m really excited about the music we’re working on right now, I think we’re gonna get to the point where the music effects people the same way the show does soon.
Has anyone been injured at one of your shows? Looks like it can get pretty crazy.
A couple of weeks ago in Palm Beach, Florida, Ami [Shalev, vocals] had a bad landing on his leg, it’s an injury he’s been carrying for 2 years. We’re not sure what it is yet, something in the knee, and we had to stop the show. That was the first time in 700 shows we had to stop in the middle. In the past we all got hit in the head with different objects (trash cans, disco balls), bled, Ami broke two shoulders, we all almost broke our noses, I almost got decapitated by a ceiling ventilator. A lot of things have happened, but we’ve been lucky so far. We’re also lucky that our audience are usually not a bunch of drunk zombies, and they know to get crazy, but still kinda safe.
September 1st Monotonix opened up for the reunited Faith No More (as well as Dinosaur Jr.) in Tel Aviv. How was that?
That was great. First time I’ve seen Dinosaur Jr. and I’ve been a fan for years. Lou Barlow was wearing a Monotonix T-shirt. We met Patton as well. The show was great, we played in front of 6000 people. Some of these kids were such die hard FNM fans that the minute the doors opened they ran to the stage to get to stand in the first rows. When we started playing (on the floor), we were behind them, and some of the diehard FNM kids didn’t even turn around to watch us cuz they were making sure they still have their spot in the front rows. I had to climb on people’s shoulders to get to the stage after the show cuz half of them had their backs to me. People are nuts.
Popfrenzy have licensed Where Were You When It Happened? for Australia. How did you hook up with those guys?
They saw us play at SXSW in Austin, Texas. I talked to Chris [Wu] on the phone a couple of times and met Julia [Wilson] in NY. They seem like great people, and I know they’ve been working with K Records who are friends of ours, and many bands of other friends, everything we heard was great. We’re happy to be on their catalogue in Australia.
First Australian tour for Monotonix coming up – what are you expecting?
We’re horribly excited. None of us has ever been to Australia before and we barely know anything about it. Looking forward to finding out, we’ve been wanting to do this for a while and we’re glad that it finally worked out.
DATES:
Wednesday March 3rd – Annandale, Sydney
Thursday March 4th – Ding Dong, Melbourne
Friday March 5th – National Hotel, Geelong
March 6th – Golden Plains Festival, Meredith
March 7th – The Lost Weekend, Ivory Rocks
Where Were You When It Happened? is out now on Drag City / Popfrenzy
Monotonix MySpace: www.myspace.com/monotonix