So who’s in Monkish and what’s your role?
Good question, it seems to change by the gig these days! The core of the band since I was sentenced to joining last year has always been the three of us, Brad Frugal on lead vocals, Snelgers O Guinness on backing vocals & dancing plus myself, Güdz aka Flimsy on bass & shouting. In the year or so since I joined I have seen 3 drummer changes and 4 guitar changes, plus the reappearance or 2 of an old backing vocalist here or there. We played our most recent gig with last years “classic” line up featuring Pob Cavity & Boris Fecker on guitar with Jef Leppard on drums. Fun times!
How would you describe the Monkish sound to someone who hadn’t heard you before?
6 grown men who should really know better playing a cacophony of utter nonsense in the key of E. Usually.
Having seen you live it feels that the visual aspect of your live show is very important to you, is this the case and can you describe a Monkish performance for us please?
Mine & everyone’s highlights seem to be regarding Snelgers and his playing up so that’s a fair shout. That time at Wickerman festival last summer when he decided to pick on both gravity & a huge stage monitor still rings in my mind! Youtube it – Snelgers takes a fall. It’s hilarious!
I know you guys played Rebellion again this year, how was that for you?
Not as good as last year. Don’t get me wrong, playing Rebellion is always nice & we played to arguably one of our biggest crowds ever, but only 3 of us hung around for the weekend and that line-up was on its last legs anyway so it wasn’t as comfortable from that perspective. Last year all 6 of us played up, had a laugh, did 2 raucous sets & stayed the whole weekend. That’s more like it!
What’s been the biggest highlight in the world of Monkish so far?
The band would probably say Rebellion Vienna or playing the Underworld which was all before my time, but I think it’s to come in 2010 when we go to Italy. That said, we did Drumacannoo punks picnic in Ireland this summer which for me was one hell of a highlight, from what little of it I can remember.
Which band that you’ve played with has been your favourite?
For me there’s a couple of highlights. The Bleach Boys from Hitchin and the Eddies from Dundee are 2 that immediately spring to mind. Ed Tudor Pole was a laugh & we even joined him on stage to play “Swords of a thousand men” recently.
Which bands have influenced the Monkish sound?
Well we’ve had a few musicians come & go who have written songs so from that perspective there’s a variance. One minute it’s old school punk, then it goes ska, then it goes fast, etc.
What does the word “punk” mean to you?
I read an answer to the same question in a certain [cough] fanzine recently saying “punk music is the most soulful and soul music is the most punk”. I like that.
Do you feel the punk scene in the UK is in a healthy state right now?
It’s good but it’s been better, certainly on the up. Speaking purely from a London perspective the resurgence of squat shows over the last few years has been positive and despite the dozen or so cliquey elitists who think they own the London punk scene, more and more scenesters are beginning to cross the river and spread their wings a little more. It’s still best in South East in my opinion, where else can 5 promoters pull together to put on a free 2-dayer involving 80 bands & 4 venues?
I know Gudz also puts on loads of gigs, so which other bands would you urge people to check out?
I’ve had some awesome bands come through over the last few years. Those who like crossover styles need to check out China Shop Bull from Leeds who are awesome. In South East we have the likes of Wonk Unit, Bogus Gasman, Scaredycats, and the ever hard working Inner Terrestrials who are all superb too. Also look out for One For The Ditch in the new year who are, err, my other band……
How do you see 2010 for Monkish, what plans have you got?
Top of the agenda is the album which by hook or by crook will see light of day in 2010. We’re already confirmed for both Rebellions in Venice & Blackpool with a few other festivals in the pipeline too so watch this space! Other than that, a more stable line-up would be nice.
Where can people check out the band online?
We’ve a myspace but it’s well out of date except the gig listings & recordings, which to be fair is all myspace is good for nowadays. For contact I’d pop over to Faceache & enter “friends of monkish” into the searches. Other than that we’ve a page on Virb and a few of the others I believe. Or we can be emailed at band [at] monkish.co.uk.
Do you feel it’s important for bands to have Myspace pages and other online homes?
Absolutely. For me Myspace has become a mere online directory whereby you can just google any band from a major label stadium act to a ‘learning to play in the garage’ band and get what dates/music is available. I think fewer & fewer people have personal myspace accounts nowadays favouring the likes of Faceache which therefore makes it just as important.
And finally, in no more than 25 words, sell Monkish to the readers and why they should come see you play?
If you are easily offended, take yourself too seriously, or have had a sense of humour transplant, don’t bother!
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