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Monkeyfeather/The Other Band Concert Raises Nearly $1,100
Thanks to our friends Monkeyfeather and The Other Band, the great folks at the Takoma Park VFW, and an outpouring of community enthusiasm, our June 2 benefit concert was a huge succcess.
A good-sized crowd of all ages spilled out into the expansive VFW back yard on a beautiful late-spring evening to hear ecclectic covers and original music from two bands with their roots deeply planted in our community.
And ... drumroll please ... the Foundation raised nearly $1,100 from donations at the door. Money that will go to building community and changing lives. Follow Monkeyfeather on Facebook here.
Plus you read our interview with Monkeyfeather's Scott Williams below.
TF: What can people expect from the typical Monkeyfeather/The Other Band concert?
SW: With Monkeyfeather, you've got four guys who have had a long-term love affair with a wide range of music. We're really excited about playing the music we love -- and our own music -- together. A nice thing about having a band in your 40s is that a lot of what can put a band off track is gone. We're not trying to catch the ear of record companies, appeal to a certain demographic, impress the girls, or even get free beer. We just want to share our excitement about the songs we love with you.
A lot of what we play is centered in the college rock heyday of the 80s and early 90s, but it spirals pretty broadly out from there. If you were listening to alternative rock back then, you'll know a lot of the stuff we play, recognize some of the other stuff but maybe not quite be able to place it, and maybe discover some things you haven't heard. We play things from the 60s and 70s, and more recent stuff as well. So, T.Rex and the MC5 to the Queens of the Stone Age and Decemberists, but the heart of it is REM, the Replacements, Pylon, Television, bands like that.
I have not played with The Other Band before, but I've talked to them a fair bit by now, and I think you'll find much the same thing -- they're playing music they love, because they love it. I've heard their sets stretch from Radiohead to Deep Purple, so they're clearly not genre-bound, either.
Why did you choose Takoma Foundation as the beneficiary for this concert?
Both bands are composed mostly of Takoma Park residents, and we're playing at a Takoma Park venue. Supporting the Takoma Foundation seemed like a great way to have the event be even more deeply rooted in this great community.
OK ... So lame rock interview question. But where did the name "Monkeyfeather" come from?
In 1953, Dr. Seuss wrote a movie, called The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., which is totally worth finding and watching if you haven't seen it. The villain (Dr. T.) makes a passing reference to a monkey feather cloak. I had also used the title for a song in the band I was in after college. It came up when this band was getting together, and ended up being what stuck. Like most band names, it's this random thing that ends up being the one name no one objects to.
How long have you been around, and how did you come to start playing together?
We've been playing together just over a year, though we haven't played out much. I knew Matt from the neighborhood, though I didn't know he played drums until about the time we got together. He and John had played together a few times, and we found Rob on Craigslist. It's been a really good combination -- we have a lot in common musically, things that we all love, that keeps things together. But at the same time our tastes diverge enough that we can pick up new things from one another, keeping things interesting.
For someone who knows you or your music, what would you say the most surprising thing is they'd find on your Spotify playlist? (Spoiler Alert: It's NOT Bob Seger's "Against the Wind")
Nothing is secret on Spotify is it? It all gets posted on Facebook, and then everyone knows. In terms of people who have known me for a long time, the fact that I'm playing a Dead cover and enjoying it would come as a surprise.
Can't wait for the 2nd? Get a taste of MonkeyFeather here.