Member Since: 08/02/2007
Band Website: www.menialmonkey.com
Band Members:
JONNY ALFORD:Armed with an acoustic guitar, a mandolin and a pot of gravy granules for percussion, Jonny Alford has produced an album of timeless uplifting songwriting. With tinges of folk and country but without the indulges of either, Jonny's songs have a simplistic beauty which speaks for themselves. His music is the perfect soundtrack to this summer with its sun soaked harmonies and lilting melodies.Jonny Alford originally studied classical composition at Birmingham Conservatoire and for a time played with the critically acclaimed indie band Delta. Now solo and based in Amersham, Jonny's vocal range and honest lyrics are what lifts his sound beyond that of today's glut of generic singer songwriters. Live, Jonny performs with a four-piece band that bring to life his songs without losing their inherent subtlety. Gigs in and around London have gained a great reception and numerous requests to return.'Escape From the Requiem', Jonny's debut album, will be released in April 2008 whilst the single 'It Won't Be Long' and b-side 'Now and Then' are available to download now.AVERAGE BEAR:The eclectic sound of 'Average Bear' comes mostly from his love of the underdog and the underproduced,the fact that his weapons of circumstance are just an old computer with a few dodgy synth plug ins, a guitar and a mic with a pop shield made from his girlfriends tights and a coat hanger means he doesn't have much choice in these matters, but sometimes limitation brings out the best in people and none more so than 'Average Bear'. Pilfering drum loops from the rich and anyone else kind enough to leave them unattended, 'Average Bear' creates these 'lo fi' tunes that sneak between mellow gold era 'Beck', early 'Grandaddy' and the oddball pop of 'The Super Furry Animals', in fact one 'Average Bear' song was once described in the NME "Imagine a UFO piloted by the Dandy Warhols crash landed in the back garden of 'Average Bear' wherein they all took to chuffing on bucket bongs while guzzling gallons of Sunny Delight, this strung out fizzy pyjama pop masterpiece is what they would be jamming I LOVE IT 10 outof 10".* WELL SO DO I !!!!* All except "I LOVE IT 10 out of 10" is fact.DIRADICE:The hypnotic sound of Diradice owes as much to experiences of late nights in festival dance tents as it does to the acoustic plucking the following morning. Diradice's twisted take on pastoral melodies make him the dark horse of the Menial Monkey roster....definitely one to watch for in 2008.Playing on this myspace is Diradice's demo of 'Roll', a haunting instrumental inspired by childhood train journeys, flitting between open countryside and built-up cityscapes.
Influences: Tim Buckley, Glen Cambell, Smog, Jim O'Rourke, Neil Young, Etta James, The Beach Boys, Phoenix, Johnny Cash, Nick Drake, Beck, The Beatles, Grandaddy, Tom Waits, The Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, The Super Furry Animals, The Dandy Warhols, Money Mark, The Pixies, G Love and Special Sauce, John Martyn, Kings of Convienience, Sigur Ros, Cat Stevens, Ulrich Schnauss, The Earlies, Air
Sounds Like:
Record Label: Menial Monkey Records
Type of Label: Indie