Monkey is a

third wave ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

band based in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Their musical influences include the

Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many oth ...

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

, the Specials, and non-ska artists such as:

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

and

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

. Monkey has released six albums. The first two were independent releases, and the next three were on

Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established in May 1996. History Asian Man ...

. Their sixth album was released by SquidHat Records. Monkey’s debut album ''¡Changito!'' was listed as San Jose's Best Independent Release for 1998. They have toured the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the United Kingdom, and have earned several nominations and awards, including winning the California Music Award (Bammie) in 1999. Monkey's music can also be heard on several compilations, as well as movie and video game soundtracks.

History

Monkey was formed in the summer of 1995, by Curtis Meacham and Kevin Miller. In 1997 Monkey's first full-length release, ''¡Changito!'', was released. The lineup of the band changed numerous times after this, with Meacham and Miller remaining. In 1999, they won a Bay Area Music award, or Bammy. Their second self-released album, ''Station Wagon Living'' came out during the "crash" of third wave ska. Co-founding member Miller left the band in 2001. Meacham, up until then lead singer and organ player, became the band's lead guitarist. Monkey were signed in 2004, and released their first label supported album, ''Cruel Tutelage'' on Asian Man Records. While touring Europe, they met up with

Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...

in the U.K. They returned to the U.S. and toured as their backup band. In 2009, they released ''Lost at Sea''. The album featured Kincaid Smith from Hepcat on trumpet, and the artwork was supplied by

Parker Jacobs Parker LeGrand Jacobs (born July 17, 1975) is an American artist, musician, author and actor. He is known for his work as an art director on the children's television series ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', for which he has been nominated for four Daytime E ...

Yo Gabba Gabba ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a Children's television series, children's Musical film, musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz (producer), Scott Schultz and developed by Kay Wilson Stallings. The series is about five cos ...

fame.

Current lineup

*Curtis Meacham: Vocals/Guitar *Micah Turney: Drums *Brian Lockrem: Trumpet *Dan Root: Saxophone *Gabe Jimenez: Bass

Previous members (partial list)

*Aadith Srinivasan: Bass (2016-2017) *Aaron Blanding: Trumpet (1995–1996) *Adam Brioza: Guitar/Vocals (1995–2001) *Allen Teboul: Drums (1995–1996) *Bob Furber: Saxophone (1997–1998) (R.I.P.) *Bob Wilms: Saxophone (1999–2000) *Bobby Miller: Saxophone (1998–1999) *Brandon DuVall: Saxophone (2015–2016, 2019) *Dave Borton: Trombone (1996-1997) *Dustin James: Tbone/Org/Vox *Donelle Cory Rippon: Bass (2003–2006 & 2016) *Jimmy Boom: Drums (1999–2001) *Jordan Schwarz: Bass (2014-2016) *Kevin Miller: Bass/Vocals (1995–2001) *Michael Merrill: Trumpet (1997–1999) *Nikki Arias: trombone/flute (1996–1997) *Matt Kolb: Drums (1998–1999) *Rudy Sermeno: Bass (2007-2014) *Sherri Biondi: Euphonium (1996-1997) *Todd Bryan: Bass (2001–2003)

Special Guests (Non-Members)

*John Roy of Unsteady appears on ''Station Wagon Living'' *Kincaid Smith of Hepcat appears on ''Lost At Sea'' *Michael Valladares of

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, critical mass is the minimum mass of the fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction in a particular setup. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specific ...

appears on ''¡Changito!'' and ''Station Wagon Living'' *

Roland Alphonso Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonso "The Chief Musician" (12 January 1931 – 20 November 1998)Thompson, p. 262 was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites. Biography Born in Havana, Cuba, Alphonso c ...

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

performs the Tenor Sax solo on "Quemara" on the album ''¡Changito!''.

Discography

Awards and nominations

*1997 Wammie Nomination,

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...

*1998 Wammie nomination, S.F. Weekly *1998 Bammie nomination (Bay Area Music Award) *1999 California Music (formerly Bammie) Award Winner for 'Outstanding Ska Artist'

External links

Asian Man Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkey American ska musical groups Third-wave ska groups Asian Man Records artists