Hello Rockstars! Today’s Artist of the Week is Alt-Rock band La Monte!
Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy! 🙂
Photo’s by: Jordan!!
VMS:
“When did you start writing and performing your music.
What’s your backstory and current lineup.”
La Monte:
“Some of our earliest recordings of rehearsals/ songs date back to August of 2021. I had bought my first real guitar setup and began writing music. I reached out to Jesser to see if he would play bass and there we started. A few months later Jesser and his younger brother, Jared, ran into an old friend from middle school at a local show. After reconnecting, the topic of playing in a band was brought up and Andy mentioned that he was playing bass and interested in jamming with us. From there Jesser moved to guitar and Andy became the bassist.
Eventually Jared joined us as well, becoming the first drummer of La Monte. The next half a year was spent leisurely jamming and connecting with each other musically, discovering what it was that we wanted to sound like and what our songwriting process was. In May of 22′ our drummer and dear friend, Jared, passed away. After taking a few months to mourn and readjust we reconvened and decided to carry on with the band. We felt that it was a way to honor his memory, continuing making music together.
We found ourselves needing to fill the position of drummer and looked to our friend Orlando Rico, a college level euphonium player, we placed him on the throne and worked for the next year. Our first show was played on August of 23′ in a backyard, poolside, alongside our friends in Sticker, The Channel, and Zerzura. Shortly after that show we lost Orlando to Grad school on the east coast. Our next couple shows were played with Joe from EU (Elevated Undergrounds) filling in on the kit. Eventually we ended up moving Jesser to drums and now currently stand as a 3 piece, Alex on Guitar/Vox, Andy on Bass/Vox, and Jesser on drums. We are currently looking for a permanent replacement for the drummer or maybe a 2nd guitarist, so we can go back to having two guitars.”
VMS:
“What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.”
La Monte:
“When we first started and hadn’t yet bought a drum set and brought in Jared, we put out an ad online looking for a drummer. In it we listed: Frank Zappa, Tricot, Interpol, The Strokes, Slint, Tortoise, and Unwound as influences. I don’t know if we really sound like any of them though, we kinda just mix in whatever we listen to when we write songs. At the end of the day our inspiration comes from anywhere we can get it and the band is just a means of expressing that musically.”
VMS:
“What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.”
La Monte:
“Originally we wrote songs together through a kind of long form jam sesh. Results varied but we squeezed out about two or three songs this way before we realized how ineffective of a songwriting strategy this was. Now either Andy or Alex bring riffs or full song ideas to rehearsal or upload it prior to jamming.”
Alex: “Lyric inspo for me comes from everyday happenings or mindlessly aiming at words hoping they can express something i’m feeling at the moment.”
Andy: “A lot of my lyrical inspiration comes from listening to a lot of Interpol and The Strokes, I really admire the way they can sing a story and I felt that was the way that worked best for me to translate my feelings into our music.”
VMS:
“I love your songs “Empty House“, “Anyone from Anywhere ” and the “Untitled” song you played at Taverna Costera. What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.”
La Monte:
“”Empty house” was the first song we wrote together with the original lineup. The song to stands as the core of what we wanted to sound like.
Alex: “”Anywhere with Anyone” was a song I wrote to kind of help expel all the negativity and self-loathing that was a byproduct of a failed attempt at romance. The opening up, emotional vulnerability and investing in someone else after being alone for a long time. I was also listening to a lot of Duster and Helvetia at the time.”
Andy: “At the time that I wrote our “Untitled” song, I felt that I was and had been at a point in my life where everyday would begin and end without meaning or purpose. The song is me trying to find and understand answers thinking about what my life was in the past, what it is now, who I am, who I should be, and what I should be.”
Listen to La Monte On Soundcloud:
VMS:
“Tell me about what we can expect from you guys musically for the future. Any new EP or Albums in the works.”
La Monte:
“Musically I feel like there’s some things we want to tackle together that we haven’t had the chance to yet. So in the future you can expect to see us playing those songs in whatever form they end up taking. Right now we’re planning on recording a single in March and hopefully an EP by the end of the year.”
VMS:
“Which local artist would you like to work with and why.”
La Monte:
“Anyone that’s willing to work with us, we’re pretty open to working with anyone cool.”
VMS:
“What’s your overall theme or message of your music.”
La Monte:
Alex: “Music to me is whatever you choose to make of it at the moment you listen to it. Some songs help us heal, some make us want to move and sometimes they destroy us. I just want to be able to express any and all of those feelings however I want.”
Andy: “I just want everyone to feel understood.”
VMS:
“Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.”
La Monte:
“”Museum” is the band’s favorite song to play live. It’s a song that holds significant meaning to us as well as being enjoyable to perform.”
Listen to “Museum” on Soundcloud:
VMS:
“Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.”
La Monte:
“We do, but they’re not really things to talk about.”
VMS:
“What does the future hold for La Monte.”
La Monte:
“Bigger shows? An album? Shows in neighboring states? Merch?”
VMS:
“What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.”
La Monte:
“I figure any feeling is ok so long as it doesn’t negatively affect anyone else there. Feel free to feel what you’d be too afraid to otherwise.”
Watch the Live Stream I did of La Monte at a house party:
VMS Thoughts:
What I love about La Monte is how their music just makes me feel. It has a beautiful euphoric / 80’s New Wave / Alt-Rock 90’s vibe and still feels very unique to who they are as artists. While lyrics are always an important part of any band, and of course with La Monte they are no exception, talking about subjects as love, relationships, loss and self-loathing while trying to find meaning and getting yourself mentally out of a bad situation.
Musically, when I saw them live they have this magical quality to transport me to this wonderful musical landscape of sadness, joy and self reflection. I found myself just getting lost in the moment, which sometimes is hard to accomplish, especially at a concert, but their music truly moved me in a way that is just simply hard to describe, you just have to experience it first hand for yourself. I was surprised at the house show how incredibly solid of a band they are, all of them have so much passion with the music they play and it is exciting to see them become one and the same with their instruments; music really flows through them so effortlessly.
I’m so incredibly excited to see where the future will take La Monte, I feel the evolution of their music and sound will be a beautiful one, just stay true to who you are, and that natural talent you have for finding the right emotion for each song. You guys really have something special.
For More Information on La Monte, please check out their Instagram.
—-VMS 🙂