Formed in 1997 when megalomaniacal control freak Pete left his first band Girl Friday to make fun, catchy indie pop, Moneypenny came together surprisigly quickly. Pete had met singer Renee months earlier in the hipster-infested Minneapolis anglophile scene. Minutes after her successful audition, Pete's roommate and former Girl Friday bass player Matt offered his services. Within weeks, Matt brought in friend and funk drummer Rico, who blew everybody away. Suddenly, Moneypenny (the name inspired by a lengthy, drunken N64 "Goldeneye" session) was a reality. Before more than a just a handful of songs were ready, Red Sea sound man and Girl Friday fan Rob Curtis offered the band a gig. After a January 13th, 1998 debut, the band embarked on a ridiculously heavy schedule of local gigs, saturating the town with their obnoxious presence, but oddly never venturing outside the Twin Cities area. Touring would have been very wise, but the band aparently wanted to keep their crap jobs. Go figure. Four-song EP "Apply the Labels" was recorded by Dave Pinsky at Gark studio in August of '98, followed in 1999 by the full-length "She's All the Rage", recored at the Terrarium by Bryan Hanna and Jason Orris. By the time the second CD was recorded, Rico had moved on. He was replaced by the very dynamic Karl, formerly of the Harlows. Gaining regular airplay on KVSC, KSMM (both largely thanks to former Rev 105 dj Brad Savage), and occational, grudging play on local college station Radio K, Moneypenny attracted intermittent tepid half-interest from several local and regional indie labels, but nothing ever quite materialized. Seemingly millions of gigs were played, including the huge but bizarre Cities 97 Basilica block Party and and an ill- fated "world tour" of Milwaukee. There were wacky radio and print interviews, and even an awkward cable access concert. Moneypenny were also featured on several compilations, including one in Japan and one in Sweden. After beating their heads against the indie music wall for three years, Moneypenny finally packed it in with a farewell show at the 400 Bar in April of 2001. Karl got married and played for a time with Invisible Pedestrian before getting a job designing laser rifles that can shoot around corners. Renee got married and gained an alarmingly fanatical following of confused geeks when she recorded a song for the trailer of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Matt got married and picked up a pair of drumsticks for Yachts and Planes. Pete went on a lengthy sabbatical and spent years contemplating his own navel, but also got married in September 2006 to former Girl Friday vocalist Jennifer Weglarz and will hopefully have a new band of shiny indie pop soon. Thanks for the memories, kids.
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If you're around on Thursday, December 10th, we are playing a show at Mario's Keller Bar. I don't know if you've been there, but it's a very cool place. It's a comfortable space, the room sounds great and they have a stellar beer selection.
Also, we will be playing ALL NIGHT! We'll play some funky, bluesy, and soulful music. We'll project live video onto a 9 ft screen. We'll play some older material that hasn't been heard in awhile, as well as some brand new songs that've never been heard. All bets are off!! We'd love it if you'd come down and listen/party with us!
Thank you very much for the Link Up & Sharing Your Music
Nice to meet you through cyberlink!
Keep up the Great Work!
Wishes you All the Best in 2009!
Enjoy your Weekend!
I was going to go camping over the weekend, but this is definitely NOT camping weather. So me and some friends went to check out Dueling Pianos. Those guys are amazing - they can play just about any song that's been on the radio between 1950 and 2005.
Speaking of music, I wanted to let you know about a show we have @ Station 4 on Friday, October 16th. We are debuting a project called Sonic Transformations. It is a series of audio-visual performance pieces. The first one is called "AN OBJECT TO CRAVE". It features live music and visuals based on a short story about life, love, loss, fantasy, obsession and death.
Another group of mine, The Magnetrons, which plays an exciting and innovative Livetronica set (i.e. STS9, Disco Biscuits, The Histronic) will also be playing. The night will be full of creative, interesting, high-energy music, good drinks and good times.
Here's the info:
Blood Root Mother - "An Object to Crave" w/ The Magnetrons & Thought Thieves Friday, October 16th Station 4 201 E 4th St St Paul, MN 55101 9pm / $5 / 18+
Hi there! We have a brand new summer popcast up now at Popshifter magazine! Seventeen of our very favorite summer tunes, PLUS our newest recording "Summer's Gone"!
Catch a wave and surf on over to have a listen! Let us know what ya think!
Just stopping by to say hello and give you some news. The new album 'Coolgilly and the Freakshow' from Centascope is now available worldwide from CD Baby and directly from the merchandise page of the official website. You can also get the album from Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon and many more.
Since you seem to have good taste in music and live around the cities, I wanted to let you know about our show next Thursday, February 26th. We will be burning down the house at Trocaderos Nightclub in Minneapolis (107 3rd Ave N). If you've been there before, I don't have to tell you it's one of the best venues in the Twin Cities - classy atmosphere, great drinks, and the sound is always fantastic. We're gonna be recording live for a DVD, and this is definitely gonna be the coolest show we've done yet. So COME ON DOWN! The show is 18+, it starts at 9pm, and the cover is a mere $5.
Hope to see you there!
Peace, Elliot
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." -Albert Einstein
Hello...Thank you very much..I know the band comments can be pretty cheesy, but we had to say Hi to all our new friends...since you and others gave us a chance...and we care very much about people giving us their time...thanks again
Thanks for adding me. ¶ People hear only what they want, so facts alone won't wake them; they need inspiration too. ¶ This world's evils have a common root: Bullies, liars, thieves, & murderers — whether in school, home, work, market, or government — believe we're all separate, motivated only by self-interest, by greed & fear. They want us to share that belief; they use it to justify themselves, to manipulate us, to shape the world's political & economic systems, perpetuating war & poverty. ¶ But you & I have found something better inside ourselves & our friends. It's in everyone, if we can just wake them; we're all one flesh & blood. Let's spread that vision, for until we do our other advances will be minor & temporary. ¶ The outcome of the ideological struggle is not yet determined, so no one can afford to be just a spectator. Join the movement, if you haven't already: get involved in whatever way feels right for you. Question authority. Keep fighting, loving, hoping, singing. Hand in hand, we may still be able to heal this world. ¶ I'm impressed with ideas of Lakoff & Waldman about *how* to spread the vision, so I'm trying to promote their ideas via comments like this one and the essay on my MySpace page. It's free (I'm not selling anything). ¶ The real war is between classes, not nations. So I'll celebrate July 14, not July 4. CLOSE GITMO BY BASTILLE DAY; PASS IT ON. ¶ Love, Eric
