Matt Mondanile | |
|---|---|
 Mondanile performing with Real Estate, 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1985 (age 37–38) Ridgewood, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Domino |
Matthew Anthony Mondanile [1] is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American indie rock band Real Estate, with whom he recorded three studio albums, and for his solo music project Ducktails.
Mondanile was born as Matthew Anthony Mondanile. He attended Ridgewood High School with two of his future Real Estate bandmates, Martin Courtney and Alex Bleeker. Mondanile auditioned the former to join his high school band as a bass player but opted for an older schoolmate with a car, [2] while the latter learned how to play Pixies songs from Mondanile, along with taking guitar lessons together. [3]
After graduating from high school, Mondanile attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he studied literature, history and art. [4]
While studying in Massachusetts, Mondanile became involved in the local music scene, where he would book shows for his campus [5] and join a number of bands, including Predator Vision with future Real Estate drummer Etienne Pierre Duguay. [3]
After a stint in Berlin to work on his thesis [4] where he became acquainted with musicians such as James Ferraro, Spencer Clark and Steven Warwick, Mondanile became influenced by their method of quickly recording music on cassette and releasing it. Upon returning to the U.S., Mondanile recorded what was to become the first Ducktails release in one day, and released it the next [6] by giving copies of the tape to friends. [5] Upon graduation, Mondanile moved back into his parents' house and continued writing and recording Ducktails material there. [6]
Mondanile kept in touch with high school friends Martin Courtney and Alex Bleeker while each of them had moved away from Ridgewood for college, and would send each other music that they had been working on individually. [7] During a summer break, they formed Lese Majesty with Mondanile's Massachusetts acquaintance Etienne Pierre Duguay for the purpose of being the touring band for Julian Lynch, another high schoolmate of Mondanile, Courtney and Bleeker's. [3] When Mondanile and Courtney moved back to Ridgewood in summer 2008, they starting writing and recording songs which formed the basis of what would become Real Estate. [2] After recording several songs, they were eventually joined by Bleeker and Duguay. [8] Real Estate released their self-titled debut album in 2009 to critical acclaim, with Mondanile in particular gaining praise for his distinctive guitar work. [9] Two subsequent albums, Days (2011) and Atlas (2014), brought the band further recognition.
On May 25, 2016, Real Estate announced that Mondanile had left the band, and "will continue to focus his creative energy on Ducktails." [10]
In October 2017, Real Estate elaborated on Mondanile's departure from the band by stating that they had fired him due to "allegations of unacceptable treatment of women" and that they were "no longer in contact" with Mondanile. [11]
On October 16, 2017, Spin released an article describing the allegations against Mondanile, sharing details of incidents reported by seven women. Mondanile was accused of shoving at least two women into confined spaces while forcibly kissing and groping them, and of molesting at least four women in whose apartments he stayed while on tour. Many of these women were fans of Mondanile whose experiences occurred after they attended a Real Estate or Ducktails performance, and many were 5-10 years his junior. A classmate at Hampshire College also alleged that Mondanile molested her in her sleep in a dorm room in 2005. [12] Julia Holter, Mondanile's former girlfriend who also contributed to the Ducktails album St. Catherine, stated in the wake of the allegations that Mondanile was "emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life." [13]
On October 20, Mondanile issued an apology through his attorneys, admitting that he "took advantage of [his] position as a musician" and referring to himself as an "insensitive creep." [14] In January 2018, Mondanile released another statement in which he claimed he had been in therapy for two years prior to the public accusations and lamented the effects of the allegations on his personal and professional life. He stated "I never considered myself a misognyist [sic] or sexual predator." [15]
As a result of the allegations, Ducktails tour dates in Asia and the U.S. were cancelled by the promoters [16] and Ducktails was dropped from Domino Recording Company. [11]
with Real Estate
Edwin Farnham Butler III is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire with Josh Deu and his wife Régine Chassagne.
Christopher Lane Conley is an American musician who is the lead-singer/rhythm guitarist of the rock band Saves the Day. He was the only remaining original member as well as major artistic contributor throughout their career.
Noah Benjamin Lennox, also known by his moniker Panda Bear, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and co-founding member of the band Animal Collective. In addition to his work with that group, Lennox has released six solo LPs since 1999, with his 2007 album Person Pitch inspiring the chillwave genre and numerous other acts. His subsequent albums Tomboy (2011) and Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper (2015) both reached the Billboard 200.
Real Estate is an American indie rock band from Ridgewood, New Jersey, United States, formed in 2008. The band is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, and consists of Martin Courtney, Alex Bleeker, Matt Kallman (keyboards), Julian Lynch (guitar), and Sammi Niss (drums).
Real Estate is the debut album by American indie rock band Real Estate, released on November 17, 2009 on Woodsist.
Julia Shammas Holter is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist, and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released Tragedy as her first official studio album in 2011. Ekstasis followed in 2012. After signing with Domino Records in 2013, she released the albums Loud City Song (2013), Have You in My Wilderness (2015) and the live-in-the-studio album In the Same Room (2017). Most recently, her double album Aviary was released in 2018.
Martin Courtney IV is an American musician and the frontman of the American indie rock band Real Estate.
Atlas is the third studio album by the American indie rock band Real Estate, released on March 4, 2014, on Domino Records. It was their first album recorded with the drummer Jackson Pollis and keyboard player Matt Kallman, and the last with the lead guitarist and founding member Matt Mondanile.
The Orwells are an American rock band from Elmhurst, a suburb west of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The members include Mario Cuomo (vocals), Dominic Corso (guitar), Grant Brinner (bass), and Henry Brinner (drums). Their debut album Remember When was released in August 2012. The band is known for their song "Who Needs You", which was performed on the Late Show with David Letterman and was featured in an Apple commercial for the iPad Air 2.
Ducktails is a solo project led by American songwriter and guitarist Matt Mondanile, started in 2006.
St. Catherine is the fifth studio album by the American indie rock act Ducktails, released on July 24, 2015, on Domino. Co-produced by primary recording artist Matt Mondanile and Rob Schnapf, the album features contributions from Julia Holter and her bandmates, Chris Votek and Andrew Tholl.
The Flower Lane is the fourth studio album by the American indie rock project Ducktails, released on January 28, 2013 on Domino. Co-produced by Matt Mondanile and Al Carlson, The Flower Lane was the first Ducktails album to be recorded in a full studio environment.
Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics is the third studio album by the American psychedelic pop act Ducktails, released on January 18, 2011 on Woodsist. The album was recorded at primary recording artist Matt Mondanile's parents' home.
Landscapes is the second studio album by the American recording act Ducktails, released on August 6, 2009 on Olde English Spelling Bee. The album was recorded entirely by Matt Mondanile, and was the second full-length Ducktails album to be released in 2009.
Ducktails is the self-titled debut studio album by American recording project Ducktails, released on May 11, 2009 on Not Not Fun. The album is the first of two full-length albums released in 2009, with Landscapes following three months later.
Alexander William Bleeker is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist of the indie rock band Real Estate, with whom he has recorded four studio albums, and as the frontman and primary recording artist of the indie rock band Alex Bleeker and the Freaks. Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann joined the Freaks onstage at Outside Lands in 2015.
Many Moons is the debut solo album by Martin Courtney, the frontman of the American indie rock band Real Estate, released on October 30, 2015 on Domino Records.
Pwr Bttm, stylized PWR BTTM, was an American queer punk duo formed in 2013 at Bard College by Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce. The duo's debut album, Ugly Cherries, was released in 2015. Their second studio album, Pageant, was released in 2017 to critical acclaim. Pageant's release was preceded by sexual abuse allegations against Ben Hopkins, which led to the duo being dropped by both Polyvinyl and Big Scary Monsters. Pwr Bttm denied the allegations and the band broke up that same year after a falling out between its two members.
In Mind is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Real Estate, released on March 17, 2017, on Domino Records. It is the band's first album since founding member Matt Mondanile's departure, and the first with his replacement as lead guitarist, Julian Lynch.
The Main Thing is the fifth studio album by the American indie rock band Real Estate, released on February 28, 2020 on Domino Records. The album was produced by Kevin McMahon, who had previously worked with the band on their second album, Days (2011).
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
