The Monolators

Last updated
The Monolators
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Indie rock, garage rock, post-punk revival
Years active2002 – present
LabelsMonolator Music
Associated actsCobra Lilies
Website Official website
MembersEli Chartkoff
Mary Chartkoff
Ashley Jex
Ray Gurrola
Jillinda Palmer
Past membersMichael Dennis
Andy Bollas
Tom Bogdon

The Monolators are an American rock band from Los Angeles composed of Eli Chartkoff (vocals, guitar), Mary Chartkoff (drums), Ashley Jex (bass), Ray Gurrola (lead guitar), and Jillinda Palmer (keyboards).

Contents

History

Originally called Lonely 451, the band formed as a trio in January 2000 with Eli Chartkoff on bass/guitar/vocals, Mary Chartkoff on drums and Mike Dennis on bass/guitar/vocals. This configuration lasted only 9 months and played a single show: a house party in Mary Chartkoff's living room. The band reformed as The Monolators in the summer of 2002 with Eli Chartkoff on bass/vocals, Mary Chartkoff on drums, and Mike Dennis on lead guitar. [1] [2] Soon after, The Monolators began taking the project more seriously and recorded the EP Hi-Fi Sound in their garage, followed by their first live show at Silverlake restaurant Zen Sushi in September 2002. In 2003, the band self-released a holiday-themed 7" vinyl single Santa Claus vs. Dave Matthews, followed by the full-length record Rejection Set Me Free in 2004. In 2005, Mike Dennis left the band but they continued as a duo with Eli on guitar. The band recorded their second album Our Tears Have Wings in the Fall of 2005 at producer Raymond Richards's Red Rockets Glare Studios with future member Tom Bogdon as a studio musician on lead guitar. They began a monthly "First Friday" residency at the Los Angeles club Mr. T's Bowl in June 2006, which ended exactly two years later in June 2008. [3] The band became a trio again in 2006 with the addition of Andy Bollas on bass. After releasing the You Look Good on the Train EP in 2007, the band (following the departure of Bollas and with new members Ashley Jex on bass and Tom Bogdon on guitar) released their third record Don't Dance in 2008. In October 2008, the band won the LA Weekly Detour Music Festival Battle of the Bands contest sharing the stage with Gogol Bordello, Black Lips, and Datarock. [4] [5] In November 2008, the band contributed their song "Hot Sleigh" to the benefit holiday compilation "Plastic Snow" featuring Los Angeles bands Great Northern, Earlimart, and others. [6] In 2009, the band changed their lineup again with the departure of Tom Bogdon and the additions of Ray Gurrola on lead guitar and Jillinda Palmer on keyboards, followed by the digital EP release of Ruby, I'm Changing My Number in Spring 2009. [7] [8]

Discography

Albums/EPs/Singles

Compilations

Music Videos

Related Research Articles

Broken Social Scene Canadian indie rock band

Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the other core members of the band are Justin Peroff (drums), Andrew Whiteman (guitar) and Charles Spearin (guitar).

American Hi-Fi American rock band

American Hi-Fi is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1998. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Stacy Jones, lead guitarist Jamie Arentzen, bassist and backing vocalist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan. Prior to the group's formation, Stacy Jones was well known for being a drummer in the successful alternative rock bands Veruca Salt and Letters to Cleo. American Hi-Fi has a close relationship with Miley Cyrus, whose band shares two members with American Hi-Fi. The group has a mixed musical style that includes influences from pop punk, alternative rock, and power pop.

Why? (American band) American band

Why? is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock band. The band was founded in 2004 by Cincinnati rapper and singer Yoni Wolf, who had been using Why? as his stage name since 1997. In addition to Wolf, who serves as lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, the band consists of multi-instrumentalists and backing vocalists Doug McDiarmid and Matt Meldon, and drummer and backing vocalist Josiah Wolf, who is Yoni Wolf's older brother.

Figurines (band) Danish rock band

Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began touring Germany in 2003. Their second full-length, Skeleton, was released in 2005 on Danish label Morningside Records and German label Pop-U-Loud, and on US label The Control Group in 2006.

Autolux American rock band

Autolux is an American alternative rock band consisting of Eugene Goreshter, Greg Edwards and Carla Azar. The trio formed in 2001 and have released three full-length albums, Future Perfect (2004), Transit Transit (2010) and Pussy's Dead (2016). Their eclectic sound draws from post-punk, electronic music, krautrock and shoegaze.

Ethan Luck Musical artist

Ethan John Luck is an American musician, producer, multi-instrumentalist and photographer who has played in several bands, most prominently, the ska band The O.C. Supertones, Christian metal band Demon Hunter, and pop punk band Relient K. He has played on albums for Kutless, Roper, Nikki Clan and Last Tuesday.

Astrid (band)

Astrid is a guitar-pop foursome formed in Glasgow in the mid 1990s, but with strong ties to Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, Scotland. The group released three studio albums, as well as several singles and EPs, before breaking up in 2004.

Shaun Lopez Musical artist

Shaun Lopez is an American music producer, composer, and musician.

Silversun Pickups American rock band

Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester.

Finlay were a five piece indie rock band from London, England. The band was formed in 1996 by school friends Adam Straw, Anamik Saha and Christopher Allison. Lorna Crabbe joined in August 1997, and Giles Littleford three years later. They released a single and an EP on their own label, Growl Wow Records, before signing with British independent label Fortuna Pop! who released their two albums to critical acclaim. Kerrang! called their debut a "Ragged and Wonderful sliver of a debut", while Uncut magazine described Finlay's sound as "heroic and inspired pop music tuned in from an unearthly frequency". The band became particularly known for their DIY lo-fi aesthetic, most evident in their earlier recordings.

<i>Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer</i> 2007 studio album by Relient K

Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer is the second Christmas album by Christian rock band Relient K.

Erben der Schöpfung is a dark-gothic-metal/EBM band from Liechtenstein, founded in 1998/99 by Oliver Falk.

Search the City was an American alternative and punk band from Detroit, Michigan who released two EPs and two studio albums.

Eli Young Band

Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli, James Young (guitar), Jon Jones, and Chris Thompson (drums). They released their self-titled debut album in 2002, followed by the Carnival records release Level in 2005. Their third album, "Jet Black & Jealous", was released in 2008 by Universal South Records. A second major-label album, "Life at Best", was released in 2011 by Republic Nashville, with 10,000 Towns following in early 2014. The band has charted eight times on the Billboard country charts, with four of their singles having reached No. 1: "Crazy Girl", which was the top country song of 2011 according to Billboard Year-End, along with "Even If It Breaks Your Heart", "Drunk Last Night", and "Love Ain't".

<i>Tennessee Christmas: A Holiday Collection</i> 2008 studio album by Point of Grace

Tennessee Christmas: A Holiday Collection is a compilation from Point of Grace's two holiday releases, A Christmas Story, released in 1999 and Winter Wonderland, released in 2005. It is the first holiday release by the group as a trio. In it, they revisited Amy Grant's memorable "Tennessee Christmas." The album was released along with How You Live: Deluxe Edition in October 2008 by Word Records.

<i>Oh Blue Christmas</i> 2009 EP by A Fine Frenzy

Oh Blue Christmas is an EP by the American band A Fine Frenzy that was released in November 2009 in the United States by Virgin Records. It was initially released exclusively through Target two months after the release of the band's previous studio album Bomb in a Birdcage. The EP contains cover versions of three popular holiday songs—"Blue Christmas", "Winter Wonderland" and "Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas—as well as three original tracks. According to Alison Sudol, A Fine Frenzy's leader, the collection of songs was recorded in five days at record producer David Bianco's studio in Los Angeles.

Dum Dum Girls American rock band

Dum Dum Girls was an American rock band, formed in 2008. It began as the bedroom recording project of singer and songwriter Dee Dee. She is currently based in Los Angeles. The name is a double homage to the Vaselines' album Dum Dum and the Iggy Pop song "Dum Dum Boys".

The Raw Men Empire is an Israeli Indie folk band, operating from Tel Aviv since 2009. The Raw Men Empire is made up of Tsvika Frosh, Yonatan Miller, Nadav Lazar and Itai Kaufman.

Social Studies is an indie rock band from San Francisco, California, composed of Natalia Rogovin, Tom Smith (guitar), Ben McClintock (guitar), Jesse Hudson, and Michael Jirkovsky (drums). Their sound has been described as “structurally trim and sonically dazzling”.

Jennifer "Jen" Turner is a singer/songwriter musician and producer.

References

  1. ↑ "The No-Fi "Interview" with The Monolators". No-Fi "Magazine". Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  2. ↑ "Mini-Interview: The Monolators". Radio Free Silverlake. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  3. ↑ "I will always love you T-Bowl". Feed Us A Live Insect. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  4. ↑ "MONOLATORS WIN L.A. WEEKLY DETOUR CONTEST!". LA Record. September 22, 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  5. ↑ "DETOUR: SET TIMES". LA Record. September 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  6. ↑ "confessions of a would-be hipster presents: plastic snow". Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster. November 1, 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  7. ↑ "Monolators digital EP release show tonight at Echo Curio". Feed Us A Live Insect. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  8. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Allmusic: The Monolators". Biography. Allmusic . Retrieved 2009-07-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.