There are two types of musicians in the music industry: the kind who care about the fancy car, big house and diamond necklace; and the down-to-earth kind who will debate with you on which curb looks best to conduct your interview with them on. Lead singer and guitarist Kenny Bridges of Canadian emo-rock band Moneen is the second type.
Just as our interview had a humble beginning outside of the Alley in Fullerton, so did the band.
Moneen founders Bridges and fellow guitarist Chris “Hippy” Hughes grew up together in the same neighborhood in Ontario, Canada. They were in separate bands, but they eventually decided to join forces to try and make something happen. They started numerous projects, but they had little luck finding a band that could last. One strange night at a movie theater seemed to change that.
“We were in a movie theater, ’cause we always go see movies, Hippy and I. And for some reason, there was a bar in the movie theater, which I had never really seen before. I don’t drink, but Hippy does, and I think he had a drink, and we were just talking and we were really bummed cause we couldn’t find a drummer. On the next day, a Saturday, I met our drummer Peter,” Bridges recalled.
With drummer Peter Krpan on board, Moneen was finally able to begin writing music as a full band. Early influences of the band included Jimmy Eat World, Muse, Failure and Radiohead.
The band went through numerous bassists, but eventually Erik Hughes joined the band and solidified the lineup. The band released its first EP “Smaller Chairs for the Early 1900s” in 2000 on Smallman Records and toured Canada immediately following its release. The tour was a turning point for the band, according to Bridges.
“Our very, very first tour [was a tour across Canada] in the winter of 2000. It was an insane winter and no other bands were touring. We were actually really lucky. We would play a place, say Winnipeg, [and] by the time we got to Edmonton kids had already heard about things that had happened at the previous shows. [They would say] ‘Hey Kenny, we heard in Winnipeg you took your pants off on stage! It was on the Internet!’ That was the tour where we realized that we were doing something that we really loved,” Bridges said.
In its early days, Moneen honed its skills to put on the impressive live show that it is known for. The band has tons of energy throughout its set and is constantly interacting with the crowd. Stage diving, crowd surfing and jumping off their amps are all routine for these boys.
“We really love playing live,” Bridges said. “It sounds cheesy, but every show we put as much as we can into it. We don’t see any other way to do it. It comes really naturally to us.”
Moneen went on to release two more albums, “The Theory Of Harmonial Value” in 2001 on Smallman Records and “Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?” in 2003 on Vagrant Records. Followed by extensive touring, Moneen sat down to take on its most daunting task yet: taking an extended amount of time to write its next record, “The Red Tree.”
“We took a lot of time. We took about a year for Red Tree,” Bridges said. “We just didn’t want to rush into it. We just didn’t want to write another Moneen record that was the same as the others.”
With “The Red Tree,” Moneen reached outside of the creative boundaries that had existed with its past albums. The band members sought to create a fresh sound that would stand out from their previous work.
“We wanted to experiment and try a lot of new things, and we did,” Bridges said. “We did a lot of stuff that we would normally never try before because we were too scared to try it or [we would say] ‘I don’t know, that’s a little dark,’ or ‘That’s in a minor key; we can’t play that.'”
As a result, the songs developed much more naturally on the latest album than they had in the past. The band members were writing songs for the songs, not making music so they could show off what they could do on guitar.
Though the band went through difficulties during the writing and recording process of “The Red Tree,” the result was worth the effort. With the album, Moneen has created an album that not only vastly improves on its already strong catalogue, but sets the table for Moneen to continue to gain popularity around the world.
“[Taking the extra time] was the best thing we could have done,” Bridges said. “If we recorded when we were originally going to record, the record would have been so different. It would have been pretty shitty. We wouldn’t have the record we do now and we are really proud of this record.”
Moneen’s touring cycle for “The Red Tree” has also been a bit different from its norm. With this record, not only has Moneen been able to do headlining tours throughout Canada, but it has also had the opportunity to headline in the United States, giving a chance for its American fans to finally see a full set from the band.
“We wanted to do this tour so we can headline and get in front of the people that have had to watch us play the same five songs for three years now,” Bridges said. “Regardless of how many people come, it doesn’t make a difference. We just want to play for people that want to be there.”
One of the most enjoyable tours for the band was a recent short trip to Mexico.
“That tour was the greatest experience. We met such good people over there that took us around and showed us real Mexico. It was amazing,” Bridges said.
Up next, Moneen will continue its long touring cycle internationally including tours of Canada with Sparta, a co-headlining tour of the U.K. with Bayside and dates with Alexisonfire in Australia.
Whether the boys of Moneen are rocking out live on stage, working their own merch table or talking with me about how they are going to start producing the Mexican drink horchata in Canada, it’s nice to know that someone in this music business is as down to earth as you and me. The members of Moneen love what they do, and they show it in their music and life.
