Velvet Monkeys
Encyclopedia
Velvet Monkeys is an American
rock
band currently based in New York City
, formed in 1980. The name "Velvet Monkeys" was a combination of The Velvet Underground
and The Monkees
.
's many rock 'n' roll projects. Formed in 1980 from the ashes of Williamsburg, Virginia's new wave rockers Citizen 23, the band relocated to Washington, DC at the right time to become darlings of the local art-punk scene, along with other post-punkers such as Egoslavia, Bob Boilen
's Tiny Desk Unit, Chalk Circle
, and The Insect Surfers.
The band was originally formed as a three-piece combo that included prominent use of a Roland Dr. Rhythm drum machine, which gave them a Europunk sound more akin to Echo & the Bunnymen
or OMD
than their local counterparts in the Washington, DC scene. This line-up included Fleming on vocals and guitar, girlfriend Elaine Barnes on vocals and synthesizer/organ, and bassist Steven Soles. In 1982, the drum machine was quietly replaced with drummer Jay Spiegel a.k.a. The Rummager and the band moved from Euro-wave pop toward a more rock-oriented guitar-meets-synth post-punk wash.
The band self-released a ten-song cassette, an LP on the Fountain Of Youth label, and appeared on several compilations before undergoing personnel changes in the mid-1980s that found them with a radically different sound than their electro-pop origins. Ousting all but Spiegel and himself, in 1985 Fleming brought on guitarist Malcolm Riviera of D.C.'s Grand Mal and bassist Rob Kennedy, formerly of D.C.'s The Chumps, and more recently NYC's The Workdogs. The band now turned away from its synth-pop roots completely and developed a twin-guitar driven sound similar to what music critics would call grunge
in the late 1980s. The band's stage show also changed, becoming a kind of glam/trash rock theatre that included light shows, smoke machines, live wrestling with the audience, and even instrument-free lip-syncing.
By 1988, the Monkeys had morphed into a full-on rock outfit that lived somewhere between Spinal Tap
and The Stooges
. Occasionally touring and merging with Maryland's Half Japanese
, the band continued their downward (upward?) spiral toward rock 'n' roll suicide toward the end of the decade. Fleming and Spiegel eventually re-located to New York City where they teamed up with former Shockabilly
bass player and Shimmy Disc
impresario Mark Kramer
and drummer David Licht to form B.A.L.L.. After that group's acrimonious demise, the duo of Fleming and Spiegel enlisted such indie celebrities as Thurston Moore
, J Mascis
, and Julia Cafritz
in a reformed Velvet Monkeys. This supergroup line-up recorded the band's final album, a soundtrack parody called Rake that paid tribute to the 1970s blaxploitation film Shaft
. After that one-off effort, Spiegel and Fleming briefly joined Dinosaur Jr., then created a new band, Gumball
, in 1992 with former Stump Wizards' bass player Eric Vermillion. In 1994 Malcolm Riviera joined Gumball
on second guitar and keyboards, making the line-up little different from the Velvet Monkeys circa 1985-1988.
The band has never officially broken up, and Fleming continues to revive the band when the time is right. A series of recordings found their way to the record and CD bins through the 1990s as well.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band currently based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, formed in 1980. The name "Velvet Monkeys" was a combination of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
and The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
.
Background
Velvet Monkeys is the longest running of New York musician Don FlemingDon Fleming (musician)
Don Fleming is an American musician, best known for being the frontman of Velvet Monkeys, B.A.L.L., and Gumball.-Biography:...
's many rock 'n' roll projects. Formed in 1980 from the ashes of Williamsburg, Virginia's new wave rockers Citizen 23, the band relocated to Washington, DC at the right time to become darlings of the local art-punk scene, along with other post-punkers such as Egoslavia, Bob Boilen
Bob Boilen
Bob Boilen was the director of the NPR show All Things Considered and is the current host's and the creator of NPR's online music show All Songs Considered. Boilen writes music with electronics and friend Michael Barron; both were founding members of the psychedelic dance band , for which Boilen...
's Tiny Desk Unit, Chalk Circle
Chalk Circle (band)
Chalk Circle were an American punk rock band formed in 1981 in Washington, DC. Their raw, rhythmic, minimal sound had more in common with post-punk or art punk than D.C. hardcore, a community they initially helped pioneer...
, and The Insect Surfers.
The band was originally formed as a three-piece combo that included prominent use of a Roland Dr. Rhythm drum machine, which gave them a Europunk sound more akin to Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
or OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
than their local counterparts in the Washington, DC scene. This line-up included Fleming on vocals and guitar, girlfriend Elaine Barnes on vocals and synthesizer/organ, and bassist Steven Soles. In 1982, the drum machine was quietly replaced with drummer Jay Spiegel a.k.a. The Rummager and the band moved from Euro-wave pop toward a more rock-oriented guitar-meets-synth post-punk wash.
The band self-released a ten-song cassette, an LP on the Fountain Of Youth label, and appeared on several compilations before undergoing personnel changes in the mid-1980s that found them with a radically different sound than their electro-pop origins. Ousting all but Spiegel and himself, in 1985 Fleming brought on guitarist Malcolm Riviera of D.C.'s Grand Mal and bassist Rob Kennedy, formerly of D.C.'s The Chumps, and more recently NYC's The Workdogs. The band now turned away from its synth-pop roots completely and developed a twin-guitar driven sound similar to what music critics would call grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
in the late 1980s. The band's stage show also changed, becoming a kind of glam/trash rock theatre that included light shows, smoke machines, live wrestling with the audience, and even instrument-free lip-syncing.
By 1988, the Monkeys had morphed into a full-on rock outfit that lived somewhere between Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
and The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
. Occasionally touring and merging with Maryland's Half Japanese
Half Japanese
Half Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
, the band continued their downward (upward?) spiral toward rock 'n' roll suicide toward the end of the decade. Fleming and Spiegel eventually re-located to New York City where they teamed up with former Shockabilly
Shockabilly
Shockabilly was a band which included Eugene Chadbourne on guitar/vocals, Mark Kramer on bass/organ, and David Licht on drums.Shockabilly released a number of albums during their brief existence , most were later re-released...
bass player and Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,...
impresario Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer , known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc...
and drummer David Licht to form B.A.L.L.. After that group's acrimonious demise, the duo of Fleming and Spiegel enlisted such indie celebrities as Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, J Mascis
J Mascis
J Mascis is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.. In 2011, he was ranked in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.- Biography :...
, and Julia Cafritz
Julia Cafritz
Julia Cafritz is a musician who has performed with Pussy Galore and Free Kitten.- Biography :In 1985, guitarist Julia Cafritz joined fellow Brown University drop out, Jon Spencer, to form the punk noise band Pussy Galore. In May 1986 they moved to NYC...
in a reformed Velvet Monkeys. This supergroup line-up recorded the band's final album, a soundtrack parody called Rake that paid tribute to the 1970s blaxploitation film Shaft
Shaft (1971 film)
Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob neighborhoods in order to find the...
. After that one-off effort, Spiegel and Fleming briefly joined Dinosaur Jr., then created a new band, Gumball
Gumball
Gumball may refer to:*A ball made of bubblegum often dispensed from a gumball machine*Gumball , a video game for the Apple released in 1983 by Broderbund Software*Gumball , an alternative rock band from the 1990s...
, in 1992 with former Stump Wizards' bass player Eric Vermillion. In 1994 Malcolm Riviera joined Gumball
Gumball
Gumball may refer to:*A ball made of bubblegum often dispensed from a gumball machine*Gumball , a video game for the Apple released in 1983 by Broderbund Software*Gumball , an alternative rock band from the 1990s...
on second guitar and keyboards, making the line-up little different from the Velvet Monkeys circa 1985-1988.
The band has never officially broken up, and Fleming continues to revive the band when the time is right. A series of recordings found their way to the record and CD bins through the 1990s as well.
Albums
- Everything Is Right (CD) (Thick Syrup Records - 2011)
- Rake (Rough Trade - 1990)
- Rotting Corpse Au-Go-Go (Shimmy Disc - 1987)
- Future (Fountain of Youth - 1983)
- Everything Is Right (cassette only) (Monkey Business - 1981)
Singles/EPs
- "Houseparty" - God Bless CD (1998)
- "Rock the Nation" b/w "Why Don't We Do It in the Road" Sub Pop Records 7" (1991)
- "Better Living" Ecstatic Peace - Double 7" (1990)
- "Spooky" b/w "Trance Band And Process" Go Records 7" (1985)
- "Colors Parts I & II" Bona Fide Records 7" (1985)
Compilations
- "Everything Is Right," Sub Pop 9, 1983, Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
- "We Call It Rock," Let's Sea, 1986, K RecordsK RecordsK Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...