Band of the Day: Monach

Our continued globetrotting picks up pace as we hop over to Canada for today’s bouncy Band of the Day, Monach…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

Monach comes from a city called Kingston. We’re located in Ontario, Canada. For those familiar with Canada, we’re right in between Toronto and Ottawa!

How did you meet?

The band started under a completely different name two years ago with the rest of the band aside from Andrew being a completely different lineup. We all had wanted to do something together for awhile and it just kind of finally lined up where we all were able to do it. We recorded this super hasty demo to have material out, finished that just before our first show and started playing as much as we could. Members started switching out around the time we recorded our full-length ‘Duner’ and by the beginning of this year, we had our current lineup solidified.

How long have you been playing as a band?

The band got together in early 2018. We’ve been relatively active since then, but really pushing to make moves this year.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

Monach comes from the word Monachopsis – the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place. It represents the music we write and the experiences I think everyone goes through.

What are your influences?

We take a lot of influence from classic emo music all the way through to modern pop-punk and alt rock. If you’re into bands like PUP, The Wonder Years, and Hot Mulligan you’ll totally dig what we’re putting out.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

I think what separates us from other bands is our unique take on classic influences. When you hear bands stemming from emo bands, you get an immediate idea of what to expect. But when you hear our music, you’re kind of getting a whole suite of influences. We have upbeat, high energy songs that make you want to dance and then we have slow, really heartfelt stuff. We all really lean on taking the new and the old and creating something you haven’t heard before.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

Our lyrical themes really stem from personal life experiences. Andrew does a lot of the writing and really puts his heart into the music. He takes a lot from personal struggles, family, friends, and the world around him. It really is an amazing experience seeing what he creates, honestly.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

Our live show is a blast. We’re not very serious people so we just want to be out there to have fun. We have no illusions about our status. You won’t get any rockstar attitude. We’re there to make friends and have a good time. You’ll catch us joking, dancing, and pulling pranks on each other.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

I once sat there watching some tweaked out guy beat his head against a bar for a few minutes. That’s when I figured out that venue may not be a venue I feel like going back to all too quickly.

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

Andrew uses a Fender Strat with a Seymour Duncan JB in it, running into a Line 6 HX Effects, then into an Orange Rocker 15 Terror head. The head goes into a Mesa 2×12 Recto cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. Wryan is a gear junkie and is constantly switching things up, but right now he uses a Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster into a Line 6 HX effects, all going through a Traynor YGL2 combo. Noah’s drums are as follows: PDP Concept Maple, 22/12/16/14. Zildjian cymbals. 21 A Sweet Ride, 18 A Medium Thin & 18 A Custom crashes, 14 K Sweet hats. Nick uses a tissue box with some rubber bands. We’re not sure how he makes it work.

What are your plans for 2020?

Touring big time. We released an album in september and are really looking to push it out for everyone to see. We want to support it as much as possible so our next release has a lot of groundwork to build off of. We’ve got about 2 years of plans ahead of us so it’s safe to say we’re going to be an incredibly busy band.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

Oh boy. We’ll opening up for us we’d love to have The Wonder Years. I know they’re pretty unknown so it’d be a great chance for us to give them some exposure. There’s absolutely no way anyone has heard of them. After that? We’d probably have Sian Alcorn or Voyager from our hometown headlining because damn they are talented and make us look like chumps.

Monach: facebook | bandcamp | youtube

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