Monkeys In Space
San Diego, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Post-grunge badass ass-ness: that’s how Jeremy Vara describes a local rock quartet he plays in called Monkeys in Space. Half way through “My Drinkin’ Buddies Have a Rock and Roll Problem” it occurs to me that he’s right: MIS sound like one of those Saturday night kegger bands from college. I went to SDSU, otherwise known as The Party School. Then as now, there was no shortage of either beer or bands. And whether they know it or not, the Monkeys have that scene down cold. Their music is in equal measures frat house funny, insecure, and sounding at times as if they were surprised to find how good those big fat power chords can sound when blasting from their own amps. Which is to say that MIS, like Rush and Black Sabbath, are pretty much a guy experience.
“It’s loud, sweaty, frantic rock and roll,” says singer/guitarist Vara on the eve of a road trip that will take the Monkeys from here to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Portland, Seattle, and possibly Vancouver.
“We’ll see if we can get our bus across the border into Canada.”
Vara says they are a Poway band, Poway being to local rock what Australia is to global rock: an unlikely source of consistently good bands. In fact, a number of national acts have been nurtured in Poway, including Unwritten Law and blink 182. “We grew up looking up to blink 182,” Vara says. He admits that they never crossed paths as kid rockers due to age differences (Vara is 24; Mark Hoppus is pushing 40) but that they “have friends of friends who went to high school with them.”
But Unwritten Law is another story; Vara says that singer Scott Russo has become something of a mentor.
“We’re gonna do like he says and just go out there on the road and jam our music down their throats until they listen.” He says MIS will tour in support of their 2010 release, Flying Under the Influence.
Flying was recorded in a house where all the members of the Monkeys lived, close to SDSU. Additional tracks he says were laid down in an apartment in Golden Hill. “The screams you hear on the record? They were recorded late at night after work,” Vara says. He has a day gig at White Digital Media. “Neighbors were yelling at us to shut up, babies were crying, and dogs were barking.”
Monkeys in Space songs are custom-made for action-sports videos and as such have been featured in the Baja 1000 epic Moto Cross, a Surfline Magazine video, and, the band has played those red-eye sunrise and pancakes segments on FOX news and more just like it.
“Here in San Diego we’re running out of options. We’ve played all the major venues,” including the Casbah and House of Blues. “So we decided to stash money, buy a bus, and hit the road.” If all works according to plan, this road trip could be indefinite. Vara says they plan to work the Western loop twice in hopes of bringing in enough coin to make it across to the East Coast where they can launch a new tour. - San Diego Reader
The full MIS interview: Can you describe your music for readers who may not have heard? Kerp: Well i obviously think that its good music but if i had to describe it i would say it rock music that will put you in a state of "all you want to do it have fun" feeling. Johnny: frantic high energy rock n’ roll with a couple grooves mixed in- its all real and we are constantly fighting the real world for our right to rock.. and that’s what we sing about. - Jay Allen Sanford - San Diego Reader
Monkeys In Space Featured in Fox Racing Shox video recap of the 2010 SCORE Baja 1000 - Video of the 2010 SCORE Baja 1000 for Fox Racing Shox When it Counts campaign Featuring: Tavo Vildosola, Cameron Steele, Andy McMillin, Dan McMillin, Luke McMillin, Justin Bean Smith, Cody Stuart and more Music by Monkeys in Space Paradigm-Pro.com FoxRacingShox.com - Fox Racing Shox/Paradigm Productions
Monkeys In Space Live on the CW Channel 6 Morning News: San Diego Living,
Part 1
facebook.com/monkeysinspace
Footage Courtesy CW Channel 6 News; San Diego Living
http://www.sandiego6.com/... - Channel 6 CW News: San Diego Living
Surfing America Prime presented by Got Milk? Upper Trestles 2011 vimeo.com Video from the Surfing America Prime presented by Got Milk? at Upper Trestles, San Onofre State Beach, February 5 & 6, 2011. The best under 18 year old surfers in the west do battle in epic surf. Some of the be contest waves ever!" - Surfing America - www.surfingamerica.org
Discography
In Wake of Recent Events
My Drinking Buddies Have a Rock ‘N’ Roll Problem
Flying Under the Influence
Photos
Bio
We are Monkeys In Space – a rock ‘n' roll band from Southern California. The four of us come from a town called Poway, which sits on the outskirts of San Diego, and we all became friends and grew up together in high school. What began as an elite tight-knit group of punk rockers, hell-rasin’ on the “reg” and rockin’ the music of our time, eventually came together after many failed attempts at socially acceptable means of living. We reunited after college in 2009 for a jam session - in a 10×10 room we dubbed “the box” - and turned our music up for the first time. It was at that first sloppy, sweat-soaked and energy-filled session that we realized we had something. As weak as it may have sounded, the chemistry was automatic - and so we formed the band that we all hope will save rock ’n’ roll!
Our four-member ensemble became Monkeys In Space (MIS), and we immediately jumped into the studio to begin recording the first six songs we ever wrote. You could say that our first set was influenced by bands like Foo Fighters, Lagwagon, NOFX, Strung Out and our “Poway predecessors” Blink 182 and Unwritten Law – but mostly we focused on playing and singing about fighting the real world for our right to rock! To help put nerves aside, we bought a “fat sack,” a 30-rack and faked our way through our first real studio session. Needless to say, we didn’t get exactly what we wanted - but the demo served its purpose. To our surprise, it managed to produce a few tracks that were played repeatedly on a few San Diego radio stations local segments.
Following the release of our first (self-financed) EP, “In Wake of Recent Events,” we began booking shows all over San Diego with high hopes to spread the madness. San Diego is where our fan-base and “crew of misfits” originates, and for anyone who’s ever attended a MIS show at Pacific Beach’s 710 Beach Club – then you already know who the crew is. They’re the maniacs in the front throwing each other around like playful chimps – spilling drinks, head-banging and holding it down for what little is left of the rock ‘n’ roll scene in this city.
Shortly after the initial response of our audience and demand for new music by our newest fans and most loyal friends, we recorded our second EP, “My Drinking Buddies Have a Rock ‘N’ Roll Problem,” in the summer of 2010 and didn’t stop there. Our latest EP, “Flying Under the Influence,” features our newest sound, a unique blend of rock music influenced by the many musical backgrounds and personalities of each member in the band.
We’re a hard working group of guys, that recently quit our full-time jobs to pursue our goal to become a touring band. We bought a used 94' Ford Econline Shuttle Bus and converted it into our mobile home. Monkeys In Space is currently touring the American west, 100% DIY. We play on busted equipment (we rep duct tape so hard you’d think they sponsor us), and at this moment, don’t have any money or industry connections - but we’re on the grind every damn day - from space to your MF face! Our core belief is that with music and friends, we’ll keep it ROCKIN’ till the end!
We are nothing but monkeys with a civilized front; Embrace the animal, or forever be trapped in their space… WE ARE ALL MONKEYS!
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