“Over
the past couple of years Boston based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist [munk] has written, performed
and produced some of the biggest indie-rock songs in all of Podcasting, garnering
plays on nearly a thousand different shows reaching millions of ears around the
world. In the nascent and exploding world of Podcasting and New Media, he is
universally considered to be one of its musical crown jewels. Not only does he
have a tremendous amount of talent and heart, but he is an artist with an
incredible work ethic and the mind of a businessman”.
—Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, Director of Content
Development, Podshow, Inc.
Imbued
with the musical mood swings that are [munk]’s signature, his third
independent release MODEST AMONG THE LIVING weaves its way into a
cohesive allegory about unexpected second chances and major life changes. Songs
like 30 Days, Grave and Tell Me Nothing Is Wrong lay themselves bare to
the reality of existential crises of faith, families that tear themselves apart
and the indignity of old age while Awake and Waiting and Superheroes focus on vigilance
against those in power and personal accountability. Countering the more serious
tones are the upbeat and pop-laden Dirty Work, Sometimes Life
Starts To Fall Into Place and the “Beatle-esque” Beautiful (I Know
You’re). Also of note is the haunting track I Am, which was a “hit” for
[munk] in the Podcast world as the theme to the popular original dramatic
series Shadow Falls. MODEST AMONG THE LIVING showcases the next stage of
evolutionary breadth in [munk]'s ability to blend the sonically alluring with
classic pop sensibility, as promised in his two earlier outings. He genre jumps
at will to reflect whatever emotions he is wearing on his sleeve, plays all the
instruments, sings every note and crafts clever outlets for each body of
musical expressiveness.
After
the release of his electronic tinged, beats driven debut, 2001’s ANIME
SWEETHEART
and the darkly confessional, hard rock follow-up 2003’s SEVERED, [munk] was critically lauded
in traditional press, regional major market radio and national college radio. The
Boston Globe boldly wrote, “[munk] crafts his music with intelligence and
panache. Can superstar status be far behind?” He was invited by the program director
at WFNX,
Boston, to perform alongside signed touring artists in the WFNX/Boston
Phoenix Best Music Poll concert, was the listener voted feature artist on WBCN’s Buzzcut for two weeks and had
the phone lines lit for a solid hour at WAAF after an interview and
debut of tracks from SEVERED. The tracks YOU WILL KNOW and IF I from SEVERED
received honors in the 11th Annual Billboard World Song Contest, noted as "demonstrations
of the talent and dedication it takes to write a hit song" by Billboard Contest
Director David Kindred. [munk] also earned Top 30 airplay on over 100 college
radio stations around the country.
It
was a strong, grassroots start but the landscape of the music industry was
changing. [munk] saw which way the wind was blowing with Digital Distribution
and New Media, and seized upon an aggressive and experimental strategy to
utilize both outlets.
In
2005, [munk] was approached by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff who was hosting a Podcast
rapidly growing in popularity called Pacific Coast Hellway. Nemcoff suggested that
podcasting, as a movement, needed an irreverent call to arms. In response,
[munk] wrote and recorded a song called Podpeople which was originally
broken on PCH. The song rapidly made its way to the ears of podcasting pioneer
and former MTV VJ Adam Curry, who inaugurated the song on his popular
podcast Daily Source Code. Curry proclaimed Podpeople “the anthem for the
podcasting revolution”. Virtually overnight, Podpeople saw plays on hundreds
of podcasts all over the world, instantly exposing [munk] to tens of thousands
of new listeners and a new global audience.
[munk]
proceeded to make his music available in digital distribution outlets such as iTunes,
Rhaposdy, Napster, Sony Connect, Verizon, Music Match, MSN Music, to name a few. He also
made his songs freely available to the fledgling Podsafe Music Network, a site created by Adam
Curry’s company Podshow Inc. The PMN was created to offer content to
Podcasters and [munk]’s music became some of the most popular.
After 18 short months, [munk] audited his international Digital
Distribution for his previous releases ANIME SWEETHEART and SEVERED through 12/13/07 and
discovered 12,151 purchased downloads were registered—an impressive
number for an indie artist that had not released a full-length album since
2003. It became apparent that leveraging New Media was a sound approach.
Podcasting
was only one part of [munk]’s three-tiered strategy. He teamed with music
publishers to get his songs featured in over 100 placements on network and
cable television such as HBO’s The Sopranos, CBS’s NCIS, CBS Sports, CBS’s
The Young and The Restless, ABC’s One Life To Live, ABC’s All My Children, The
WB’s Charmed, composed music for the video game Dungeons & Dragons
Online: Stormreach®, the score for podcast drama Shadow Falls and the game show
Boned
and the list goes on. New Media and television exposure combined with [munk]’s
high visibility on the web, as is evidenced on his MySpace page, which has seen over
21,000 visits, is proving to be an effective and assertive strategic
response to the woes of an industry that has lost its way.
With
the successful infiltration into the consciousness of this growing new
community, the demand for a new [munk] release was prevalent. 2008’s MODEST
AMONG THE LIVING may never have been completed if not for the embrace of this new
audience. “Fan mail from all over the world is quite a motivator.” [munk] says. “This
record is a testimonial to the power of Podcasting”.
C.C.
Chapman
from Accident Hash says, “The wait was worth it. [munk] is the true definition
of an artist. Modest Among The Living is a mix of everything. [munk] is one of
the few artists I know who is comfortable in whatever genre his mood fits on
any given day. This CD covers everything from his soft gentle side on tracks
such as Tell Me Nothing Is Wrong and then turns around and slams you
against the wall with rocking classics like Dirty Work. This Boston based
rocker is growing up and his music is growing with him”. (AH 258)
Mark
Yoshimoto Nemcoff</b> comments, “Modest Among The Living is a great album!
There are a lot of independent artists out there who come out with one great
batch of material and the follow up doesn't live up to our expectations...
However [munk]'s follow-up record is REALLY amazing. I really love this
album". (PCH 452)
Adam
Curry
agrees, “ [munk] is one of the few guys that I could listen to a whole album
or playlist by and it just doesn't get boring for me". (DSC 730)
"MODEST AMONG THE LIVING", [munk]'s third indie release, is available now at CDBaby.com.
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