Ever eatin' a peanut butter and bologna sandwich? Ever sit under the stars and watch life pass you by? Ever done both at the same time? Neither have we, but it sounds like real fun!
Staggerin' Monks was formed on a late Texas afternoon in 2001 by three guys and a drum machine. Little did they know what an awesome thing they were about to create. Alan "Tons of Fun" Fileccia (Guitar and Vox), Nick "We Gotta Give Nick a Nickname" Jackson (Bass), and Hunter "Pocano" Barnett (Drums) sat down, with a very cheap microphone hanging from the dining room chandelier of Nick's home, and a very low end digital drum set in hunter's lap, and recorded whatever happened in the room. They played a couple of song intro's, made quite a few jokes, and realized just what kind of chemistry they had together. It was this chemistry that had their friends laughing their asses off when these three decided to pass copies of this tape around to whomever would listen.
Jump ahead quite a few years to 2006. It had been five years since that mighty demo tape, and the boys had been refining their skills, but had yet to acquire the means or money to get a real drum set. They'd cut a few songs using drum machines, and had really started getting into songwriting, and knew that the final piece was a live drum kit so that they could start playing shows and building a following. In stepped a good friend of Alan's, Allen Vai, who willingly (I.E. no threats of violence) loaned the band money to buy a used set from another friend. After receiving this great gift, the band finally had a full line-up of instruments to use, and that summer they played their first show ever. To a crowd of thirty (mostly friends and family), they played 15 minutes of unprepared material, and up to this point, it was the best 15 minutes of their lives.
When at your peak, tragedy strikes unmercifully. August of 2006 Hunter quit the band to get ready for college. Senior year of high school and it was nearing that time where you decide where you plan to be the rest of your life. As quickly as he left though, the boys found a replacement in the form of Geoff "Dressed To Thrill" Miller, a whole new element to the band, and one that would bring this trio to the top of their game. Geoff and Alan had been friends for quite some time, and when Geoff heard there was an opening in the band, he was more then willing to jump on in and give it a try. Soon enough they found a fourth member by the name of Austin "Wiggles" Stratton, who wanted to play keys in the band. And after getting this line-up down pat, Hunter made a triumphant return on lead vocals, and brought this band up to a five piece monstrosity of rock. In 2 months they put out their first album, 15 Dollars Down The Drain. With ripping guitars, rocking bass, fantastic drums, off key vocals, and off key keys, this first endeavor into a full length album helped the boys learn a lot about the music, and about themselves.
Finishing it off here in 2007/2008. Austin and Hunter have both gone separate ways with the band, and will always be honorary Monks. Now down to 3 members, Alan, Nick, and Geoff have put their creative minds together and are working on their 2nd studio album, Mr. Unicorn Loves Puppies. This album promises to be the hardest hitter of all their endeavors; and as they have played more and more of these songs live, they have realized that they have put together the perfect formula for the perfect rock music: hard riffs, loud drums, thoughtful bass, and vocals only a mother could truly love. The CD is set to be released on February 29th, 2008, and with it the boys are going to start touring the state (and the surrounding ones) to help spread their good name all across the land. Hopefully they'll see you out there from the crowd, perhaps singing along, or maybe even flashing some boobies. We'll see when the time comes.
