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Biographies suck. Do you really want to hear the same recycled story you've heard a thousand times about Stunt Monkey "being the next big thing," transforming the face of modern music, or overcoming some near-death experience to share their "powerful message" with the world? It's not going to happen.
Stunt Monkey is a punk band from San Jose, California, that's been around for over 6 years. In that time, they've played dates on 3 Warped Tours, sold over 5,500 copies of their self-released albums out of the back of their van, and toured the Western and Eastern U.S. The members also like each other, weren't molested as children (at least as far as they know), and play in a band because they have fun doing it. Novel concept.
By the way, Stunt Monkey isn't the sound of the week. They don't sing about how their girlfriends left them for somebody cooler. Their new album doesn't sound like it was recorded in the garage, even though that's where they practice. They haven't taken nine bullets and lived to tell about it and they hope that they're not going to any time soon.
Their last album, simply named '[self-titled]' to reduce confusion (mostly the band’s), was produced by Bill Stevenson (Black Flag, Descendents, ALL) at the Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The band called Bill to let him know that they were big fans and wanted to record with him. Then they drove to Colorado in their van, slept on the studio floor, and made the album in 10 days. After that, they went back to California with their album and eventually hooked up with a somewhat lame label to release it. At least they paid for everything before they went out of business.
What does [self-titled] sound like? If we tried to tell you, we'd be part of the reason why biographies suck. So we won’t. But here's what some other people have had to say, for whatever it's worth:
"Stunt Monkey is one of the few, the proud, the truly awe-inspiring pop-punk acts. Stunt Monkey not only writes well and plays sharply, it also has a great sound out of the studio. . . Man, are these songs great. . . Solid stuff all the way."- cent.com""F*cking addictive."- Aaron Axelson, Music Director
Live 105 FM (San Francisco, CA)"What happens when you cross Powerman 5000 beats, Foo Fighter-llke distortion, and Jimmy Eat World-style lyrics? A result could be the band Stunt Monkey, whose self-titled album is jammed with a variety of catchy but relaxed songs that are well worth listening to. As a whole, Stunt Monkey has managed to produce an original sound without losing . . . punkish attitude."- decoy-online.com"What is great about this record are the impressive time changes that hit you with speedy guitar then suddenly change to create a progressive blanket of sound through which the drumming beats at you mercilessly. . . Stunt Monkey [is] a welcome alternative to current musical trends . . . With amazingly catchy songs mixed with a wide selection of fun, moving, and original material, Stunt Monkey are a sure-fire and deserving success in the making. . . This is one promising band that have made a great album."- stateofemergency.net (UK)". . . The music hums along like a power saw, cutting groves as it goes along. . . If you're looking for something undeniably fun, here it is."- voxonline.com"It's refreshing to see a band playing pop punk these days and borrowing more from the Lookout Records sound than from the endless number of Drive Thru-sounding bands. The music itself is mostly ultra-fast and catchy, simple 3-chord punk rock, with tons of hooks along the way. . . . Overall, this was a most welcome addition to my CD collection."- punk-it.net"It's nice to hear something like this in today's scene. . . . Very radio friendly and upbeat. Stunt Monkey will turn emo kids into punk rock kids."- Sev,
All Ages Zine"With a name like Stunt Monkey, what were you expecting? Droning, whiny songs about how mommy didn't hug you enough when you were 5? Of course not. After all, who said music had to be serious to be good?"- Laurie,
Manic Haze Magazine"On the 8th day, God created Stunt Monkey. ...After he lost a bet with the Devil! You won’t know what hit you!"- Steve Masters,
Live 105 FM (San Francisco, CA)
