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Biography
For|the 1970s punk band|The Monks (UK band)Refimprove|date=January 2008Original research|date=August 2008Infobox musical artist | name = The Monks| image =| caption = Larry under the barber's shears during the Monks' first haircut.| image_size =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = Germany| genre = Garage rock , proto-punk , experimental rock , krautrock | years_active = 1964–1967; 1999; 2004; 2007| label = Polydor | associated_acts = The 5 Torquays, Copperhead (band)|Copperhead | website = http://www.the-monks.com/ the-monks.com| current_members =| past_members = Gary Burger Larry Clark Eddie Shaw Dave Day Roger Johnston| notable_instruments = electric banjo , Philicorda organ The Monks were a garage rock band, formed by United States|American G.I. (military)|GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late sixties|1960s . They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made. the Monks stood out from the music of the time, and have developed a cult following amongst many musicians and music fans.
History
Origins
All the members were American GI (military)|GIs stationed in Germany in the mid-sixties. They began playing together in 1964, calling themselves the 5 Torquays. They covered Chuck Berry songs and played music inspired by the British beat group s, but the band experimented together musically.cite web | last = Unterberger | first = Richie | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Biography of The Monks | work = | publisher = AllMusic Guide | date = | url =Allmusic|class=artist|id= p19398/biography|pure_url=yes | format = | doi = | accessdate = May 1, 2011 Band member Gary Burger said: "It probably took us a year to get the sound right. We experimented all the time. A lot of the experiments were total failures and some of the songs we worked on were terrible. But the ones we kept felt like they had something special to them. And they became more defined over time."cite web | last = Bedard | first = Will | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Year of The Monks | work = | publisher = | date = | url = http://www.the-monks.com/year1.htm | doi = | accessdate = May 1, 2011
Black Monk Time
The Monks played The Top Ten Club in Hamburg , where The Beatles had played earlier in the 1960s.cite web |url= http://blogs.citypages.com/pscholtes/2004/11/death_of_a_monk.php |title=Death of a Monk - Minneapolis / St. Paul News - Peter S. Scholtes - Complicated Fun |publisher=blogs.citypages.com |accessdate=2010-12-09 Upon their discharge from the army the band developed a distinctive musical style, and took up a distinctive name and image to go with it. The transition from their earlier, more conventional and less provocative aesthetic to the abrasive and cutting-edge sound of their Black Monk Time period was partly induced by the influence of "a pair of loopy existentialist visionaries" called Walther Niemann and Karl-H.-Remy.The Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time. Jim Irvin, ed. Edinburgh: Mojo Books, 2000. p. 58cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Interview with EddieShaw of the Monks | work = | publisher = Bad Vibes | date = | url = http://www.gimmebadvibes.com/index.php? /tctd/interviews/the_monks_answer_our_questions_of_doom/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = May 1, 2011 Remy, a university student of design in Ulm, and Niemann, a student of Folkwang Arts Academy in Essen, "designed" the Monks as "anti-Beatles": short hair with tonsure s, black clothes, ropes around the neck, image of being hard and dangerous.citation needed|date=May 2011 At the beginning of 1965, Dave Day and Roger Johnston, on a whim, got their heads shaved into monk s' tonsure s. The rest of the band followed their lead, and to complete the image, the band took to wearing a uniform - all black, sometimes in cassock s, with noose s worn as necktie s.citation needed|date=December 2010 Burger describes the band's "look" as completely their management's decision.cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Interview with Gary Burger | work = | publisher = Pop Junkie | date = | url = http://www.electricroulette.com/2008/01/interview-with.html | doi = | accessdate = May 2, 2011EddieShaw later claimed in his band autobiography Black Monk Time that the nooses were symbolic of the metaphorical nooses that all humanity wear. His explanation exhibited a literal translation of gallows humor . The same attitude seems to be exhibited by the blunt lyrics of the band. The brazen attitude toward sensitive subjects was reportedly not well met. They received confused audience reactions at concerts, and one attendee attempted to strangle Gary Burger at a show in Hamburg, for perceived blasphemy .citation needed|date=December 2010
After the Monks
As of August 2006, lead singer Gary Burger serves as mayor of Turtle River, Minnesota . http://www.lakesnwoods.com/TurtleRiver.htm Lake n Woods Guide to Minnesota Cities On January 10, 2008 Dave Day died of a heart attack. EddieShaw went on to play in a progressive rock band called Copperhead in the 1970s and went on to become a fiction writer, who also wrote their autobiography Black Monk Time (book)|Black Monk Time . Shaw's fictional work is based on his experiences growing up in Nevada and is published under his full name, Thomas Edward Shaw .citation needed|date=December 2010
Legacy
In 2006 play loud& #33; productions completed the documentary film Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback in conjunction with the release of the album silver monk time - a tribute to the monks . http://www.playloud.org/themonks.html play loud& #33; productions Artists to have acknowledged the Monks as an influence include: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion , The White Stripes , Henry Rollins , The Fuzztones , the Beastie Boys and Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys , as well as The Fall (band)|The Fall . The latter covered both "I Hate You" and "Oh, How to Do Now" on their 1990 album Extricate (under the titles "Black Monk Theme Part I" and "Black Monk Theme Part II", respectively), as well as the song "Shut Up!" on their 1994 album Middle Class Revolt . The Fall have also covered "Higgledy-Piggledy" for the Monks tribute CD Silver Monk Time . The White Stripes named Monks as one of their key influences, noting that "their melodies were pop destructive". http://www.whitestripes.net/faq.php#mojoinfluences White Stripes Official web site.
Dave Day (born David Havlicek ): Banjo (initially rhythm guitar ), vocalist (died January 10, 2008cite web|url= http://mog.com/mollifire/blog/136563
|accessdate=2010-06-02 |title=Dave Day, Electric Banjo Player For The Monks, Died This Week |date=2010-06-02 |h1=Dave Day, Electric Banjo Player For The Monks, Died This Week |keywords=music news, album reviews, music blog, music blog posts )
Roger Johnston : Drum kit|drums , vocalist (died November 8, 2004)
Discography
Albums
Black Monk Time (1966, Polydor ) LP
: Reissues: ::* Black Monk Time (1979, Polydor) LP::* Black Monk Time (1994, Repertoire Records ) CD::* Black Monk Time (1997, Infinite Zero ) CD::* Monk Time (2004, Retribution Records ) ::* Black Monk Time (2009, Universal Music Germany) LP, CD::* Black Monk Time (2009, Light in the Attic Records ) LP, CD
:* List of The Monks demos#Five Upstart Americans (Omplatten, 1999)|Five Upstart Americans (1999, Omplatten ) CD:* List of The Monks demos#Demo Tapes 1965 (Play Loud& #33; Productions, 2007)|Demo Tapes 1965 (2007, Play Loud& #33; Productions ) LP, CD:* List of The Monks demos#The Early Years 1964-1965 (Light in the Attic Records, 2009)|The Early Years 1964-1965 (2009) LP, CD
'' Let's Start a Beat - Live From Cavestomp (2000, Cavestomp Records ) CD
: Reissues: ::* ''...let's start a beat! (2004, Munster Records ) CD
Singles
" There She Walks " b/w "Boys are Boys" (as The 5 Torquays) (1964, self published; reissued 2006, Munster Records)
" Complication (song)|Complication " b/w "Oh, How To Do Now" (1966, Polydor; reissued 2009, Play Loud& #33; Productions)
" Cuckoo (Monks song)|Cuckoo " b/w "I Can't Get Over You" (1966, Polydor)
" Love Can Tame the Wild " b/w "He Went Down To The Sea" (1967, Polydor)
" Pretty Suzanne " b/w "Monk Time" (2009, Red Lounge Records )
DVD releases
Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback (2009, Play Loud& #33; Productions)
Tributes
Silver Monk Time - a tribute to the monks (2006, Play Loud& #33; Productions)
:*" Monk Time " b/w "Higgle-dy Piggle-dy" (2006, Play Loud& #33; Producitons) - a single from the above album :*" DrunkenMaria " b/w "Monk Chant" (2009, Play Loud& #33; Producitons) - a single from the above album
References
Reflist
Bibliography
Shaw, Eddie & Klemke, Anita ( 1994 ). Black Monk Time . Carson Street Publishing Inc., ISBN 0-9633371-2-2
Film
Lucia Palacios & Dietmar Post (2006) Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback Play Loud& #33; Productions
Monks' "I Hate You" is featured in the soundtrack of The Big Lebowski during the "World of Pain" scene.
External links
http://www.the-monks.com/ The Monks Official Website
http://www.cultcargo.net/modules/AMS/article.php? storyid=105 Monks article on Cult Cargo
http://www.playloud.org/pressSPIEGELonline07.pdf "American GIs, Shaved Heads and Cold War Music History" Spiegel-International, February 7, 2007
http://www.aaronpoehler.com/monktime.html Back to Monk Time Retrieved May 2, 2011
http://www.adweek.com/video/powerade-bus-ride-122573 Powerade ad (2000) featuring Monk Time
The Monks DEFAULTSORT:Monks Category:Beat groups Category:Garage rock groups Category:Musical groups established in 1965 Category:Protopunk groups Category:German rock music groups Category:Musical groups reestablished in 1999
