The Legend of the Monroes

Laugh away at the above band photo, but The Monroes may be the greatest band that never was. For those of you unfamiliar with the epic 80s New Wave Classic known as "What Do All the People Know" I recommend calling all your loved ones and saying "Goodbye" because I'm about to blow your mind.



Pretty Earth shattering isn't it? I've been a fan of the song all my life since I first heard it back in my car seat days singing along with my dad (true story.) As I grew older and continued to hear the wonderful sounds of The Monroes asking if "it's just another game that you and I pretend to play?" I started asking around my local record stores inquiring where I could get their album and continue getting my fix of New Wave Goodness. The trouble was, nobody had ever heard of the Monroes ever putting out a record. Then I hit the internet to find the missing LP and lo-and-behold, all I can find is "What Do All the People Know" on 80s Compilation CDs.

I then began to assume that the band of the Monroes were time travelers from the future who came back to 1982 for a social experiment, releasing the infectious hit single to see it's affects on humanity and study the song from the distant future but were saddened to see it rise up the charts without an album or single available for purchase. Here's the real story to a song that touch America's hearts and fell victim to poor label support.

The year is 1982 and keyboardist Eric Denton of San Diego set out with a group of friends to change the world. Following rock stars "The Ramones," Eric wanted his new band to have a cohesive identity so these random musicians from San Diego became "The Monroes" and using stage names like "Bob Monroe" and "Tony Monroe" (real names Bob Davis and Jesus Ortiz respectively.) They played a few gigs at small clubs on the San Diego scene and get approached by Japanese record producers at Alfa Records. Alfa is small time in Japan in the year 1982 and thought it was a brilliant idea to expand to US Markets to try and boost its reach and "success." Of course, the young band jumped at the chance to have their songs recorded and signed their musical lives away to Alfa.

The fan favorite "What Do All the People Know" was the clear choice as the bands first single. The agreement with Alfa enabled them to cut an EP and see how it does before recording the full album. The song quickly rushes to the top of the local charts in San Diego and then jolts across the country. The Monroes are an overnight sensation and get asked to open for the then mega-star Rick Springfield on a national tour. So the boys hit the road with Rick and all his "Jessie's Girl" catalog of sing-alongs. Everything is falling into place with signs the Monroes are destined for greatness.

But then, tragedy strikes. Alfa Records decides to shut-down its US division and file for bankruptcy. All before the presses are finished on the EP with their hit single. The Monroes' Self Titled EP is never released, never pressed, never bought by fans, never made to a mix-tape for a friend, never getting the chance for dust to collect on its jacket-sleeve, never anything. The Monroes' lose the steam behind the hit single after a few months and without an EP or another single to release (Since Alfa still had the rights and no longer existed) they fall to obscurity and "What Do All The People Know" is only available on the FM airwaves. Two years later, The Monroes sign with CBS records, but management there shelved the one project they worked on, the band members slowly get replaced by in studio musicians until the official breakup soon after.

One moment rock stars and the next back to obscurity. All the band members remain friends and play solo for the most part these days. But The Monroes are now radio-legends. More than 20 years since their brush with fame, they are still a staple of radio cycles. All the people tell me so, but what do all the people know?

Concert Review: Chali 2na

Every once in awhile I'll go to a concert and will do my best to copy Mark's format for reviewing concerts. And not just any copied review, I'll grade everything that goes into a good concert going experience (10 categories) and then average out that score out in the end. Grading scale goes from 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest score and 10 being highest.


Bands: Prophit, The Ear Force, Elemental Kazen, Sons of Kalal, Whosane feat. Pangaea, Chali 2na
Venue: Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
When: 7.16.09

The Lowdown: Chali 2na was once the much-beloved baritone MC from hip-hop group Jurassic 5. Two years after J5 went their separate ways, Chali 2na has just released his first proper solo effort "A Fish Outta Water". I went with a couple of friends to see if he could live up to the hype that J5 had set him up to deal with.

The Venue: Middle East Downstairs
Score: 9
I love Middle East Downstairs. It is definitely one of the best club venues in the Boston area. The place has a good sized floor and a raised floor to the right of the stage so it's always fairly easy to get a place where you can see clearly. The sound was solid and with two bars serving $3 tall boys, it's a great place to party. Plus, you can snag some tasty eats upstairs before the show.

Price: $15 at the door.
Score: 7
Totally reasonable, although I've paid less for shows there.

The Chicks
Score: 4
There were definitely a some attractive girls there but they were either slightly trashy or not interested in talking to anyone new. Wasn't the kind of show I expected to find tons of friendly chicks at so it wasn't a problem.

Jail bait
Score: 10 (1 being full of it and 10 being none at all)
I try not to deal too heavily in non-21+ shows these days...

The Crowd
Score: 5
Honestly, the crowd was much smaller than I expected it to be. I thought that the draw of Chali 2na would be enough to convince all the suburban white boys who thought they knew hip-hop to come out for this show, but apparently I was wrong. The people who were there were really into it, but the numbers were weak. Also, it was mostly white suburban dudes, like myself.

Ganja Factor
Score: 10 (1 being I could have gotten a contact high, 10 being sXe)
Nada. Middle East security was pretty tight and the crowd wasn't big enough to have lit up.

Hilarity Factor
Score: 8
Funny might not be the exact word but between how much we laughed as some of the opening acts and how much Chali 2na made everyone smile, I'll put it up there.

Douche Factor
Score: 8 (1 being full of douches, 10 being none at all)
There really were not too many douches around. At worst, there were some guys who thought they were fairly "hard" but they weren't bothering anyone. A pretty good crowd all in all.

The Opening Bands: Prophit, The Ear Force, Elemental Kazen, Sons of Kalal, Whosane feat. Pangaea
Score: 5
I was going to give this category a 6 because 3/5 of the openers were solid but I had to bring it down a notch because The Middle East shouldn't have allowed there to be five openers in the first place. They ran into Chali 2na's 11:45pm start time, which is late for a Thursday when I have to work at 8am, and some of the openers were terrible. Prophit (Queens) started off the show with a good set that presented those who were there early enough with a taste of what's going on in New York's scene right now. The Ear Force (Boston) was an absolute joke. Out of four MCs, only one had decent flow, so why not spend at least a quarter of your set free styling? Terrible. Elemental Kazen (Seattle) brought some fury. A rapper originally from Cambridge, brought his rapid fire rhymes back to his home town and was nothing short of impressive. Sons of Kalal (New Hampshire) were the second terrible four-MC group of the night. At least they gave everyone something to laugh at. Whosane (Brooklyn) feat. Pangaea (So. Africa) was the opening act of the night. Whosane brought heartfelt and well spoken rhymes to the stage and kept the energy high the entire time. Pangaea added a wonderful female vocal part to many of his songs and the chemistry between them was great. Check them out if you have a chance.

The Main Act:
Score: 8
Chali 2na had a room filled (well, actually, quarter-filled) with people there almost solely because of his former crew Jurassic 5. With such high expectations, 2na did a great job not disappointing. Playing with the only live band of the night, 2na kept it funky and fresh throughout his whole set. The biggest pitfalls where his renditions of J5 classics What's Golden? and Quality Control, although he did a great job with Freedom. I can understand why he wanted to work a couple J5 tracks in there but without the whole group, it's near impossible to do those songs justice. Fortunately, his solo material had plenty of groove and funk to keep everyone dancing throughout the set. His hypeman/backup MC, whose name I don't remember, had a great energy and held his own with the larger than life 2na. Their occasional choreographed dance moves helped keep the energy going too. While Chali 2na's flow can get a bit repetitive over the course of a set (and no doubt on his new album), he is such a charismatic character on stage that his live show is simply one big party. The best part was that he might have been having more fun than anyone in the house and when an entertainer can get that across, you know they're in it for the right reasons.

Average Score: 7.4

Final Thoughts:
Aside from the lengthy opening sets, and the fact that two of them were terrible, this was an awesome show. Certain things like a lack of loose women weren't really a concern and Chali 2na wasn't deterred by the lack of a full house. It ran a bit late for a weekday show but 2na made it all worth it in the end. I would recommend checking him out in you get the chance.

Worthwhile:
Elemental Zazen
Whosane feat. Pangaea
Chali 2na

Album Review: Big D & The Kids Table(and The Doped Up Dollies) "Fluent in Stroll"

Only two years after their hit or miss record "Strictly Rude" Big D and the Kids Table return with "Fluent in Stroll" with the help of a female back up vocal section called the "Doped Up Dollies." Congratulations Big D you've finally put out an album I've loved all the way through. Not only that, it may be my album of the summer unless something comes out of left field.

This isn't your typical Big D album. First off there's no strictly punk songs on this album. Not a single one. Nothing like songs "LAX" or even anything like "Noise Complaint." I think where "Strictly Rude" fell short in its inability to mix in punk with the more relaxed songs that made the album sound disjointed. This album is a mix of ska, rocksteady, blues and even has a hint of swing in it. If it weren't for the contemporary themes and lyrics in most instances, there's something about this album that feels older. Like I wouldn't be surprised if it came out in the early 60's in terms of its sound. That may turn off some listeners and can be the only reason I imagine people would be turned off. While this probably upsets many of Big D's punk fans, I've gotta say I love the more relaxed Big D. In fact I've always been a fan of their ska/rocksteady side rather than their punk side. They've always been a band with two faces (I once saw them live perform a ska/reggae set, then came back and performed a punk set). "Fluent in Stroll" is just the ska face of Big D and in my opinion, the better face.

The second part is the addition of the Doped Up Dollies. The Doped Up Dollies include Hayley Jane, Sirae Richardson and to my massive delight, Simone and Nicole Oliva who are the lead singers of CT's own Tip the Van. The first track on the album "Doped up Dollies on a One Way Ticket to Blood" introduces the Dollies right away and they are featured heavily in the album.

This is a fantastic summer album. Laid back and peppy all at the same time. There's a strong theme in this album and that's love. I don't know if David McWane just got married or something but something in his life had to influence these songs and it seems he's head over heels. A few other songs are about finding love, but not in the desperate and sad way, but in the "hey lets go to a bar and find some chicks" way. In fact one lyric from "Kiss a Week" goes "A little liquor helps pave the way to romance yeah, get you both on your way." Then there's always the theme of not caring about how others think you should live your life and just do it the way you want. That's always been prevalent in Big D albums though.

16 songs clocking in at around 53 minutes makes it your average length album and the song linked above is "Describing the Sky" as there's only 2 songs available to link from Youtube as the album is relatively brand new and Big D is out on Warped Tour right now pushing the album. "Fluent in Stroll" is going to be in heavy rotation for me all summer long and I'd suggest you look into as well.

Grade: 96 (A)