After a decade as one of Canada’s most acclaimed, successful and prolific blues/roots bands, the trio of talented Ottawa-based musicians that comprise the Juno Award-wining act MonkeyJunk show no signs of slowing down. In fact, the band barely made note of their 10th anniversary this year, treating it as just another year of touring across Canada, bringing their masterful musical machinations and powerfully fun live shows to audiences from coast to coast.
Featuring the melding of the creative minds of guitarist Tony D, baritone guitarist/harmonica/Hammond organ player and lead vocalist Steve Marriner and drummer/percussionist Matt Sobb, MonkeyJunk took home the Juno for Best Blues album for their most recent release Time to Roll a couple of months ago.
The 2018 Juno nod was in fact the band’s second victory, yet the moment is just as special, if not more so for lead guitarist/songwriter Tony D (Diteodoro), this time around.
“The first time we won was for Best Blues Album in 2012 and it was here in our hometown and it was for our second record [To Behold] that we put out and it was our first with Stony Plain Records and I gotta tell you it was a little surreal. We got asked right away if we wanted to be on the television broadcast the next day to give out not just one award but two. And at first, I thought maybe they got the wrong band, they said no they wanted MonkeyJunk. So, everything started to happen after that. People would take your phone calls, you could go to places and it was just easier. Gigs started coming in and people wanted to book us and more people in the industry were playing attention,” he said.
“Now with the second one, we realized how rare it is to win. We have been nominated three times in the same category [the other time was in 2014 for Blues Album of the Year for All Frequencies] and I never realized how rare that is and how winning two is an even rarer situation as well. Not a lot of people have been able to win two in any category. And we are all happy because you’re getting recognized for a body of work that you did over a specific time period. To be recognized and be handed Canada’s top music award for your current work is, to me and the whole band, quite an honour.”
Time to Roll actually came out in late 2016 but was still eligible for the 2018 edition of the Junos. It was the band’s sixth album since 2009 and fifth for Stony Plain and according to Diteodoro, sees the band swinging back around to a more blues centre approach, which sort of coincides with the band’s 10th anniversary taking place this year.
“This record felt very special and it was kind of suitable that we won the Juno for it in our 10th anniversary year because we kind of went full circle in the style that we played. We started out as kind of a blues band, but then evolved into a roots rock and roll, soul type band, with a lot of rock in there. And because of that we were able to cross over to different musical genres and were able to do a variety of festivals as well,” he said.
“And I think on this album you can hear the amalgamation of the blues along with different styles. It’s got a little bit of all of it on there.”
Diteodoro said the one thing he, Marriner, and Sobb did put a little extra effort into for Time to Roll was on lyrics, including casting their nets out to some of their songwriting pals to get some help.
“Because there are three of us we really try to be inclusive with everybody as far as the writing is concerned. One of the things we have always struggled with is lyrics. What you may think is cool I may not think is cool and vice versa. Or I write something lyrically and I say, ‘okay we need the chord to lead to another verse’ and somebody comes up with something good, but it’s not what’s in my head. We asked for a lot of help from other people so for example this record has Paul Reddick doing some lyrics as he did on the last album. Tom Wilson [Junkhouse, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings] contributed the lyrics to a song and the Chaffey Brothers, Matthew and Curtis from a band called The Split, the chipped in as well,” he said.
“We kind of went to some of our friends and colleagues in the music community that we admire lyrically, and they were able to come up with something different. That meant we were able to focus on the music a little bit better that we have and that’s why this album was put together really quick. Usually the biggest problem is that we have most of the music done, all this great music instrumentally, but we can never come up with some decent lyrics. And this time, thanks to our friends, they were already there.”
Diteodoro said there were no monumental celebrations once MonkeyJunk passed the 10-year mark as a band, saying it’s basically business as usual.
“To be honest, I am quite surprised that it’s been 10 years. It doesn’t feel like 10 years, it feels like we just started. There is still a freshness about the band, there’s still an excitement about the band. A lot of it has to do with our live shows, they are great and always fun to play because there is an openness to our material that allows for a lot of improvisation that we allow during the performances. And because we’re open to that sort of improvisation on stage, it’s actually led to other songs. In the past we would be playing something and there would be these groovy little parts in the middle of one song and afterwards we’re like, ‘you know that part we did that’s not really in the song, that could be a song itself,’” he said.
“What happens is the open mindedness makes for a fresh way of approaching the way we play and that is a big part of the band right there and that’s what makes it so enjoyable being with this band. It’s three guys who really hit it off. We communicate really well, especially live. And, honestly, we haven’t really sat down and said wow it’s been 10 years. It’s gone by in a blink, at least it has for me and I think the other guys feel the same way. I realize that there are not a lot of bands that go 10 years, but we have no plans to stop. We’re all in.”
That ‘all in’ philosophy is borne out by the band’s late spring touring schedule which stared May 3 in the band’s hometown of Ottawa with a show at the National Arts Centre, through dates in Whitby, Hamilton, Cobourg and up to Thunder Bay on May 12, before heading out west for shows in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, wrapping up June 3 at Blue Frog Studios in White Rock.
Later in the summer MonkeyJunk hits the festival circuit including RBC Bluesfest in Ottawa, Festival International du Blue de Tremblant and Perth Ribfest. More dates are set to be announced soon.
“We did go to the east coast already and that was awesome. It was one of the best tours we’ve done in a long time. And it’s a pretty intense tour over a short period of time which I like. We have been at it for 10 years, but if you think of it, it works out to about three years of actual playing and seven years of waiting around. You really want to go out there and play as many shows as you can, but you do need a day off here and there, especially for Steve who does all the singing. His voice will take a beating if he doesn’t take a break,” Tony D said.
“The other thing is the last 12 dates of this tour are non-stop; we do 12 straight nights in a row with no breaks, and that’s going to be a challenge for Steve. So, I think for a few of those shows in that run we’re going to be pulling out every instrumental we know.”
For more information on MonkeyJunk and their current and future tour dates, visit www.monkeyjunkband.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
SHARE THIS POST:
