Monogroove is a California based rock and roll band, led by the immensely talented singer, songwriter and guitarist Rin Lennon. I’ve raved about their terrific albums like There’s Something Here, Into The Sun, and Popsicle Drivethru in previous posts on this blog. All of those discs, as well as the rest of Monogroove’s discography, are filled with terrific songs which are deeply infused with the sounds of pop, rock and punk, topped off with more than a dash of power pop thrown in for good measure. The band recently released Anthology, a career-spanning retrospective celebrating the group’s 30th anniversary. The 20 track collection is chock full of fabulous music, including song demos, rare tracks and early recordings, as well as a trio of awesome new songs, “Back To School,” “Autopilot” and “Betty Can't Come.,” recorded by the group’s current lineup. Rin Lennon recently took some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for me about the band’s history, and the release of Anthology.
Q: Monogroove has been around for 30 years now. The band has created some phenomenal music, and achieved a significant amount of success. As the heart and soul of the band, are there any moments in Monogroove's history that stand out for you?
A: There are a few, but one festival we did back in 99 at Rio Grande's Bass Derby Festival was very entertaining to say the least, to us anyway. We road tripped it to Rio in a beat up VW bus van, affectionally known as “Janis.” We arrived in Rio and kind of rolled out of the back dragging ourselves to the hotel rooms. To this day, I wonder how that van made it there and back, it was so broken down and beat up. Anyway, we couldn’t help but giggle about the title of the event, which was “The Bass Derby.” They even had a contest for Miss Bass Derby wearing a wonky fish dress of some kind, and we went on about "what is this place and why is there a Queen Fish?” That was the big deal ya know. Our performance was fun, the stage was at least 20 feet high off the ground, and the only entrance to the stage was through the back. We played in front of 10,000 people. That was pretty cool, signing autographs afterwards and the like. They treated us as if we were some big famous band, we were grateful about that.
Q: Monogroove is an incredible live band. It’s clear that you have a real passion for performing, and truly enjoy being on stage, doing what you love. Are there any venues that you really enjoyed playing at throughout the years?
A: I love playing events: The Bass Derby, the LA County Fair, the OC County Fair, and the Del Norte County Fair. My favorite venues were "the Joint" "Molly Malones” and "Rusty's Surf Ranch.” I guess its a nostalgia feeling with the venues I mentioned, as that was the original band line up: Rin, Dre, Hector, Scott and Mac Beth, I miss Hecky and Beth a lot, both have passed.
Q: I'm a big fan of your music, and you’ve got an incredible catalog of songs. I hear a lot of influences in your songwriting and the band's sound, ranging from the 1960s to the present, including rock, pop, power pop and punk. Who were some of the artists that inspired you?
A: Oh man so many, my biggest influence is definitely The Beatles, I’ve loved their music since I was 4 years old. I also really dig The Pandoras, The Bangles, Slamdinistas, The Woggles, The Weeklings, and Teenage Fanclub; there far too many to name! I admire all musicians that write, sing and play because they love it. I believe they must feel like me; they play, sing write, etc. because its like breathing for them: THEY HAVE TO.
Q: With the release of Anthology, you're shining a light on 30 years of amazing music from Monogroove, including some early demos and live to DAT recordings, right on up to three fabulous new tracks, “Back To School,” “Autopilot” and “Betty Can't Come.” Are there any tunes on the collection that you're especially excited for people to hear?
A: Hmm, there are a few, "When You Touch Me,” which is currently being played on Bill Kelly's Blackhole Bandstand, "No One Left To Play", 'Spanish Dancer" and "Punk.Com." I always thought that one was kinda different.
Q: What’s coming up next for the band?
A: Well, we're behind on making videos for our last record, Popsicle Drivethru, so we need to get going on those, and I think one or 2 from the Anthology. Outside of that, we're mostly a recording band these days, playing out rarely. Monogroove is working with One King Entertainment and their CEO, John Mendoza. It’s a new company that is putting together events for "Original Bands" only, which is great. We participated in one last year. There were very few original bands in this area when I moved up here back in 2016, today there are more than 20 new original bands and more starting up every year.
Q: I think long-time fans of Monogroove will really dig Anthology. This superb collection will definitely gain you a lot of new ones as well. Anything you’d like to say to Monogroove’s fans, old and new?
A: Thank you to everyone that has come on this journey with us, and those that are just coming along now. Cheers to all!
Anthology by Monogroove is now available on disc exclusively from Kool Kat Music, https://www.koolkatmusik.com/ and as a digital download at Bandcamp, https://bandcamp.com/. This splendid album is highly recommended for fans of the band, and for for those who enjoy classic rock, pop, power pop and pop/punk. Congratulations to Rin and the band for 30 years of fantastic rock and roll!
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