Ep 73: 100 Monkeys

The Baub Show

March 28, 2011- From of the City of Angels comes 100 Monkeys, a band described by SPIN.com as â??funk rockâ?? and by RollingStone.com as â??tribal sounds with vocals recalling Jim Morrisonâ??s baritone croon.â?? Beyond Race Magazine says they are â??sing-along-worthy, sometimes bluesyâ?? and MTV.com describes them as a mix of â??Iggy Pop with the Raconteurs.â?? 100 Monkeys, however, jest that their music is purely â??onomatopoetic, but for the sake of simplicity, weâ??ll call it funky rock-n-roll.â?? This quintet of multi-instrumentalists comprises of multi-faceted artists, actors and producers such as: Jackson Rathbone (who appears in such movies as â??The Last Airbender,â?? and the â??Twilightâ?? saga), Ben Graupner (Trapped in the 5150, Devolved), Jerad Anderson (Wayne/Lauren Film Company), Lawrence Abrams (of the great Willie Bobo, Bob Hope U.S.O. tour, and The Artist Consortium), and Ben Johnson (of the Stevedores and music producer of Spencer Bellâ??s â??Brainâ??). 100 Monkeys are known to switch instruments and vocalists nearly every other song during their raucous, theatrical live-sets, an idea patented as the â??Monkey Switcherooâ??. Swinging about the stage with an enthusiasm that seems to have been lost since the advent of digital recordings, the 100 Monkeys bring back that analog rock-n-roll of the 60â??s, with the humor and cynicism of modern times. When asked to describe their lyrics, the band attributes â??drinking, the devil, death, and women who cheat and steal.â?? To further the eclectic eccentricity, the band consistently improvises a song per live-set, whereupon they ask an idea or â??song titleâ?? from the audience and proceed to jam out a tune replete with verses and lyricsâ?¦another original idea from an original rock band. 100 Monkeysâ?? completely independent discography includes: â??Monster de Luxâ?? (all improvised recordings),â??Singlesâ?? (Ugly Girl, Smoke, Wasteland Too), â??The Creative Control: Live Sessions,â?? â??Grape,â?? and â??Live and Kickinâ??.â?? Their first studio album, â??Grapeâ??, which was released in 2009, and an untitled follow-up album set for January 2011. Off the yet-to-be-titled sophomore album, 100 Monkeys released their first single, â??KolPixâ??, with a B-side set, â??Future Radio.â??