MonkeyJunk Is
Hitting On All Frequencies with New
Stony Plain
Records CD, Coming September 24
Follow-Up to
Band’s Juno Award-Winning Label Debut Pushes the Boundaries of Its Blues/Roots
Music
EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records
announces a September 24 release date for All Frequencies, the new
CD from Ottawa-based blues/roots rockers MonkeyJunk. Comprised of Steve Marriner
(vocals, harmonica, keyboards, baritone guitar), Tony D (lead guitar, background
vocals) and Matt Sobb (drums, percussion, background vocals), MonkeyJunk plays a
mix of swamp blues and funky roots rock ‘n’ roll. Produced by Steve Marriner and
Ken Friesen (Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip), the new album includes nine
original songs, plus a scorching version of the Bobby Charles classic, “Why Are
People Like That?” For the uninitiated, the band takes its name from a chance
remark by legendary bluesman Son House: “I’m talkin’ ‘bout the blues. I ain’t
talkin’ about monkey junk.”
“Sonically speaking, there are some
new and exciting flavors on this album,” says Steve Marriner about the sessions
that produced All Frequencies. “This is an analog recording using
a Neve console, cut to two-inch tape and mastered to half-inch tape. These tools
helped achieve certain sonic qualities that until now were untapped for us. As
well, since the last recording, I've had a custom baritone guitar made which
allows me to produce much more bottom end. With the absence of a bassist in our
group, representing those low frequencies is always a challenge, but on
All Frequencies the bottom end is indeed robust. We did a lot of
experimenting with guitar sounds this time, too. On several tracks, I'm running
my guitar through a Leslie cabinet to achieve that classic choral effect Buddy
Guy and the Vaughan Brothers have all employed over the years. Tony kicks on a
wah-wah pedal more than in past recordings and plays more slide guitar than
ever. Also, I believe we captured the finest drum sounds of any of our records.
We had access to many beautifully-sounding vintage microphones, which helped
make the drum sounds tighter, yet fuller and have more overall
impact.”
All Frequencies is the follow-up to the band’s
2011 label debut, To Behold, which won the 2012 Juno Award
(Canada’s Grammy) as “Blues Album of the Year.” Over the last five years,
MonkeyJunk has also garnered 15 Maple Blues Awards, including “Electric Act of
the Year” four years running.
“The most immediate and noticeable
difference about All Frequencies compared to our previous CDs is
the originality of the content,” states Marriner. “Whereas the previous albums
had a distinctly more traditional blues influence, All Frequencies
allows all sorts of influences through the door. It's really a mixed bag of
songs and sounds: greasy rock 'n 'roll, swampy blues, uptown funk and soul, and
even a little taste of Appalachia. Of the ten songs, we wrote nine and covered
a Bobby Charles tune. As with previous songs we've covered, we tried to make it
more of an 'interpretation' than a faithful cover. We really tried to put our
own stamp on it.”
With the release of All
Frequencies, MonkeyJunk raises the bar even further than its last
multi-award winning album, with an exciting and genre-pushing sound firmly
planted in its blues/roots foundation, but driven to new heights with a creative
display of energizing musicianship that should bring it even more accolades come
next awards time.
“While there are some outstanding
solos on this album (particularly by Tony D), the majority of the solos are
tight and melodic,” declares Marriner. “The focus was more on the lyrical
content and the choruses. We tried to write relevant songs that people can
relate to and sing along with, supported by grooves that will make them
move. All Frequencies is noticeably more up-tempo than To
Behold. Where To Behold included three ballads, All
Frequencies has one, and even then, it's a real burner.”
The three members of MonkeyJunk all
started out as players on the Ottawa blues scene, playing solo gigs as well as
with a dozen different bands between them before meeting up over beers and
deciding to form a band together. Six months after they started, MonkeyJunk was
nominated for a Maple Blues Award for “Best New Artist” — without having even
released an album yet.
In February 2009, they represented
Ottawa at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and with all the tough
competition wound up placing third overall. That fueled the release of their own
indie CD, Tiger in Your Tank, which came out in April 2009 and
generated tons of great press, airplay on CBC Radio in Canada and syndicated
airplay world-wide on “The House of Blues Radio Hour,” which featured one
of its tracks, “Small Time Evil,” a coveted “Blues Breaker” slot.
MonkeyJunk began to tour in earnest
with the first CD’s release, playing a dozen major festivals all over Canada,
plus some dates in the U.S. and the Blues sur Seine festival in France. All that
hard work paid off with their Juno Award and subsequent multiple Maple Blues
Awards, plus international recognition by winning the 2010 Blues Music Award for
“Best New Artist Debut” from the Blues Foundation, becoming only the second
Canadian to win a Blues Music Award, along with the late, great Jeff
Healey.
“Since our inception as band,
MonkeyJunk has always tried to do things a little differently,” offers Marriner.
“We've always had a wide range of influences in our repertoire. At some point
in the last couple years, we stopped worrying whether it was ‘bluesy enough’ or
not. We've realized that people who know our music, have seen us play and are
fans of our band are likely going to dig what we're doing. There is a
noticeable progression between our first and second albums and I think All
Frequencies represents that same sort of evolution. We're growing and
we're exploring. Every era of blues music has influential artists who changed
the soundscape of the music and throughout their careers, explored different
musical possibilities.”
