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Jason Hook and I met when we were teenagers. We hung out and listened to
records; Ratt,
Black and Blue, Motley Crue, the Mighty KISS. We started writing songs and
started a band called
21 Gunns. Blah blah blah, opened for Skid Row, etc., etc., almost got a
deal, blah blah blah,
then Jason went to LA and I went to New York. Years later we re-connected
and started writing new songs. And now were doing the same thing all over
again.
Except we're way more focused musically.
2. Who are your biggest influences?
David Bowie. Robin Zander. Johnny Thunders. Fredrick's of Hollywood.
3. You guys have been working all over the place as
songwriters. Which songs do you consider as your biggest
success stories, chartwise or otherwise?
Jason and I have been fortunate to write with a lot of great writers.
Unfortunately most have been
missed opportunities in terms of chart or financial success. If you want me
to drop a name - ok, i guess that Peter Gabriel demoing a song I co-wrote
would be up right up there with one of my best almost was opportunities.
The debut Monkeyhead record was us re-connecting with our roots. We were
trying to re-invent our eighties influences and be original at the same
time. Now that we've done that, and we understand our sound, we can take
more risks with the songs.
We can push ourselves further.
So far it seems to be working out into something just as heavy, but ten
times more artful.
5. We've asked this from many of the established songwriters
we've interviewed: if you could get a song of yours recorded by
any artist, who would you choose and why?
I wrote a song with Mladen from Von Groove called "Quiet Room"
They should record it, it's a cool song.
Hey Mladen, call me.
6. The name: what's the story behind it?
The name is Jason's fault. I liked it right away because it sounded
sinister.
Except I never asked him what it meant.
7. Is Monkeyhead more of a studio project than a "real" band? Real band. 8. How did you manage to get Beau Hill to work with you? He came to see us play and liked the songs "Stark Raving Mad" and "Guns of July". He played tennis with Jason. Agents and lawyers took care of the rest. Hey Beau, call me. 9. What about that song for Celine Dion that wasn't chosen? You mentioned that you sent her a song that "rocks". What?! I wrote a song with a producer named David Krystal that was intended for Celine Dion. The song is called "You know who you are." It rocks, and if it still rocks when we record it it might be unlucky enough to be on a Monkeyhead record. Weird right? 10. Any special message to our readers? Or to Celine Dion? To your readers I say check out - www.monkeyheadmusic.com. To Celine I say - Hey Celine, call me. Photo courtesy of www.monkeyheadmusic.com |
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1. Give us a little lesson about the history of Monkeyhead!
4. Your reaction to my review of the album was that you've now
released your mean-guitarheavy-inyourface album, and that on
the next one you might have a different direction. So where do
you think you're going with the album number two?
