In a world where Britney Spears and Rihanna dominate Billboard charts, it can be refreshing to hear something vibrant, eclectic and exciting. Cue New York City band I Love Monsters, a unique indie group that will storm the college scene in no time. The band's members are Brett on bass and covals, Micah on guitar and vocals, Jeff on guitar and vocals and Jon on drums. See College Magazine’s interview with Micah and Brett below.
College Magazine: What made you (or each of you) get into music in the first place? Do all of you sing/can play other instruments?
MICAH: My parents introduced me to pop music. My dad loved The Beatles and my mom loved the Stones. I taught myself how to play guitar chords listening to those albums and then started writing my own songs after that. Jeff and I sing a bit of harmony in the band but Brett is the main vocalist.
BRETT: We all share a strong passion for listening to and making music. What we play in the band, for the most part, are our primary instruments, though we all dabble a bit in other instruments. I've actually only been playing bass since this band started – I was initially a guitarist. When we started I Love Monsters, I happened to own an old bass, so I was nominated to take over that role.
CM: How do you feel about your music being featured on television shows like Entourage and Teen Mom? How did that happen? Did they approach you, or you them?
M: Its always a great surprise to find out one of our songs got placed in a TV show. We have to thank our friends at Jingle Punks (an indie music licensing company) for helping us get our music out to the masses and into the hands of the music supervisors on these shows.
CM: What bands would you say you are most influenced by and why? Was there a band that you liked most while growing up?
B: We all come from very different musical backgrounds, which adds a lot of flavor to our rehearsals and the approach each of us take into the songwriting and structuring process. Jon loves jazz and funk, Jeff is really into classic rock and R&B, Micah loves Brit Rock and indie rock, and I came from a punk-inspired background.
CM: When you guys got together in 2008, was it more of you guys just jamming out or did you have dreams of becoming a hit band?
M: Well when we formed in 2008 we were all hungry to create original music together and play it live for people. We still have the same drive today, just on a slightly larger scale. We just went on an East Coast tour opening for a friend's band. We made loads of new fans and friends and that experience only makes us want to go bigger next time around.
CM: Tell me about your new EP. What is your favorite part about it? Do you think your fans will enjoy it? Is it a newer style than what you usually play?
M: We just released a Remix EP online (www.ilovemonstersmusic.com) and are currently finishing 3 new songs that will be out sometime this fall. The tracks sound much more indie to me … more dancy and dreamy than our previous material. Very excited to put them out there for people to hear.
B: We had such a blast writing and recording this new EP. It builds off ideas and techniques we've used previously, but definitely takes it many steps further. We were also really fortunate to work with Andrew Maury as our producer/engineer. Andrew has worked with Ra Ra Riot, Chris Walla and bunch of other bands we really respect and admire. He was great to work with.
CM: How did you get your band name? Why do you think it gels well with fans? (I love it!)
M: Thanks, yeah everyone seems to love the name. We were walking down 6th Avenue in NYC and noticed a little boy walking with his mum. He was picking his nose and loving it. We were laughing about that and then noticed he was wearing a kids t-shirt that read "I love monsters" on it. I liked the sound of it, plus the words can be taken many different ways … the name really fits our songs and personalities in the band.
CM: Do you have a specific age group that you target?
M: No, we are all-inclusive … we seem to appeal to both a younger teen crowd as well as the college/indie crowd here in the city. We make music for people to dance to and sing along.
CM: What are your goals as individuals and as a band for the future?
M: My personal goal is to keep writing songs, for our band AND for other artists. I love the process and want to work with a variety of musicians. As far as band goals, I think we would like release a full-length record at some point and continue to tour the country. Playing colleges would be a lot of fun too!
B: We want to keep making music we love, keep meeting new friends, and keep going places we've never been.
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