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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Monsonia

Andy Willard and Carter Browning first met in 2002 while beefing up the rhythm section of a band that (little did that know) wouldn’t last even six months more.

Andy Willard and Carter Browning first met in 2002 while beefing up the rhythm section of a band that (little did that know) wouldn’t last even six months more.  After that inevitable breakdown, the guys moved on.  Charged by their connection and mutual appreciation for spaced out, dark improvised rock’n’roll they started jamming together and hammering down a sound of their own.  All that musical experimentation just led them to form a band of their own:  Monsonia

Over the years, Willard and Browning have honed their aesthetics and recruited a third man, Nick Petersen to fill out their sound.  On drums, guitar, and bass (respectively), the men of Monsonia spin webs of noise-addled rock with jazz abandon to create some genre bending avant-metal, post-punk caterwaul of music.  And you can hear it for yourself on their brand new LP 33.3 (available on Holidays for Quince Records), the release of which they’ll be celebrating along with their friends Make and Minor Stars at The Nightlight next Friday, November 12th.

And now just the five hardest questions in faux business:

1. If your band were a Muppet, which would it be?

We don’t think we can pull off being personified as a single Muppet, so we say:
“The grass does not grow on the places where we stop and stannnnnnnnnnnnnnd…”
Stanley Weasel
Howard Snake
Fred Lizard
The Nightmare from Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas.  We’re these guys in the moment after they rock out at the talent show, when the curtain draws back and they look at each other and smile and geek out about their performance. You realize they’re not really bad guys – they’re just lovable Muppet rockers that happen to be way cooler than Harvey Beaver (but maybe not Wendell Porcupine). We’re currently auditioning growling bear keyboardists and catfish stage dancers.  Please hit us up at contact@monsonia.com.

2. What can listeners expect from the new record?

Nick: Expect a 180 gram vinyl disc of power trio, not bar rock music. The record has 8 songs, the artwork looks really good, and it’s a bit more sonically precise than our previous recordings. Hopefully the listener will not have expectations. Hopefully our music creates a mood or soundscape that can surprise and entertain in many ways – with intensity and release, with repetition and agility, and sometimes being awkward and humorous. These are probably the emotions we experience the most playing the songs.

3. Describe the dynamic of playing in such a tight trio.

Andy: We’ve been friends for years and have made music together most every week since 2003, so the tightness has developed over time.  We “write” our music collaboratively, but there’s not a lot of discussion – everyone is free to create and change their own parts.  We listen to each other and watch each other for cues, but sometimes songs come together slowly.  We’re really proud of the takes on 33.3 because they’re captured pretty soon after the songs locked into form – they’re snapshot recordings but the energy is high and there’s adventure in the playing.

Carter: It’s very difficult because it’s fun to watch Andy play. But watching him we can get distracted and forget how to play the song, and then he thinks we’re signaling for him to make a change to the next part, which isn’t right, so everyone messes up and gets confused. Then we either have a new song or have to start over from the beginning.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that would really surprise people?

Friends’ bands (over loads of other bands out there)
A kiss of the hops!
Hiroo Onoda
Ernest Hemingway
Cormac McCarthy

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (how ’d that turn out?)

Andy: I wanted to be an astronaut, but my teacher took me aside and explained that I’d have to work harder in math to be an astronaut.  So I asked her if I needed math to be a clown and she said no. Now I analyze quantitative data during the day and play drums at night, so I guess I found a balance between the two.  But so far, I’ve stayed on planet.

Nick: I always was way into being Indiana Jones from the Temple of Doom, or Rambo. I ended up being a ninja for Halloween, and I pay my bills as an audio engineer. Go figure.

Carter: I wanted to be a human beat box like the guy from the Fat Boys. It’s been on the back burner for a long time, but as I keep telling myself “there’s always the next record.”

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Help Monsonia celebrate of their latest release 33.3 at The Nightlight next Friday, November 12th. And, by all means, give the guys a high five when you see them!