Monsters are not Myths

Artist Information

Biography

Monsters are not Myths wants you to play cowbell with them.

The Bay Area indie band combines rock, folk, blues and an insatiable appetite for the ridiculous. Featuring dancing bears, inflatable guitar solos, and audience cowbell competitions, a Monsters are not Myths show is more than great music...it's an experience that is never quite the same.

While aurally similar to Wilco, Nirvana, Spoon and Ryan Adams, the band is just as quick to cite entertainment influences like Andy Kaufman, The Dana Carvey Show, and the legendary live shows of the Barenaked Ladies.

With their new album, Corporate Grown, the band captures the humor, fun, and raw emotion of their live show on disc. From the sometimes comic travails of a desk job in Silicon Valley (LED, IV) to the seething plea for nostalgia in OldSoul, the band keeps you on your toes. "Republican Girls" recounts the tragic story liberal boy meets conservative girl, while "Burrito in my Heart", the final song on the album, is a drinking song for the ages.

Corporate Grown, will be released on October 9, 2009 and will be available to buy on iTunes and CD Baby as well as independent retailers throughout California. Tour and showcase gigs are planned for fall 2009.

Accomplishments:
* Metro Readers Poll Goldie Award Winners for Best Local CD - 2006 (Vague Smiles)
* Metro Readers Poll Bronze Award Winners for Best Local Band - 2006
* Metro Readers Poll Silver Award Winners for Best Local CD - 2005 (Portable Luminaire)
* Finalists- Your Music Magazine Battle of the Bands
* Finalists in the Quilted Fish Production Deal Contest
* 10th Place Winner in the Santa Cruz Live Online Battle of the Bands - 2005
* 3rd Place Finish In The Guerrilla Music Project Battle of the Bands - 2005
* CD’s Featured – Red Carpet Boutique, Hollywood

TV, Radio, Podcasting:
103.9 The X (Santa Cruz/Monterey, CA)
"The Timothy Jordan Show" 88.1 KZSC (Santa Cruz, CA)
Pirate Cat Radio (San Francisco/Los Angeles/Berlin)
Indie 104.7 iRadio LA (Los Angeles, CA)
105.1 The Disc (St. George, Utah)
"Idle Hands," Santa Cruz Community TV
On the Horizon Radio Network
FTM Podcast
Amplified Indie Music Podcast
Radio Crystal Blue
The YourOnLive.com Radio Show

Instrumentation

Evan Hamilton: Lead Vocals, Keyboard, Harmonica
Nick Giordano: Guitar, Vocals
Annie Nguyen: Bass, Vocals
Tyler Null: Drums, Vocals, Glockenspiel

Discography

- Corporate Grown (2009)
- Vague Smiles, LP (2005)
- Portable Luminaire, EP (2004)

Compilations:
-San Francisco Bay Area Bootleg Compilation, Vol. 1 (No Left Turn Records, 2006)
-1st Annual Santa Cruz Live Online Battle of the Bands Winner's Compilation (2005)
-Alright Records Compilation (2005)
-BayMusicScene.com Compilation (2006)(No Left Turn Records)
-Clear Thinking Records New Talent Compilation: Vol 1 (2005)

Official Website

http://www.monstersarenotmyths.com

Audio

• Bits of Sins
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• Straw Man
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• OldSoul
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• Madness
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• Burrito in my Heart
  Listen  
• Netcat
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• LED
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Lyrics

• Bits of Sins
• Straw Man
• OldSoul
• Madness
• Burrito in my Heart
• Netcat

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Off The Record: Local Shows - Sludge, Indie and Stuff [+ Show ]
  

  "With indie rock precision, MANM are an amazing bar band. If there's an afterlife, they'd perform in..."With indie rock precision, MANM are an amazing bar band. If there's an afterlife, they'd perform in the waiting room."

• Fresh Music: Monsters are not Myths [+ Show ]
  

  'Corporate Grown' takes you through one hell of a roller coaster ride of rawness and fun. The melodi...'Corporate Grown' takes you through one hell of a roller coaster ride of rawness and fun. The melodic opening track "Bits of Sins" prepares and sets the tone while "Old Soul" dishes out a gritty 70's rock influence dose. Blended with some fresh songwriting and lyrics, the numerous combination of instruments will leave a delighted earful.

• Monsters are not Myths [+ Show ]
  

  These Monsters are hell-bent on eating your eardrums, one waxy bite at a time. Somewhere between Mod...These Monsters are hell-bent on eating your eardrums, one waxy bite at a time. Somewhere between Modest Mouse, Queens of the Stone Age and Barenaked Ladies, the band's tunes are as headbangingly satisfying as the loudest rock jams and as headscratchingly weird as the oddest indie dirges.
  

• Monsters Are Not Myths - A True Silicon Valley Band [+ Show ]
  

  "The music makes me think of what Jerry Garcia might have written if he'd worked in an office....The..."The music makes me think of what Jerry Garcia might have written if he'd worked in an office....The arrangements are creative and imaginative and fun to listen to. And their warmth and friendliness as a band is very compelling."

• Monsters are not Myths "Vague Smiles" [+ Show ]
  

  This CD was a pleasant surprise. With haunting lyrics, and excellent instrumental accompaniment, Mon...This CD was a pleasant surprise. With haunting lyrics, and excellent instrumental accompaniment, Monster's music is an interesting mix of indie and folk rock. And they have their own pianist! Whether you are drifting through the timeless frustrations in "Blame" or pounding through chunkier beats in "Dress Me Up," Monsters will impress you with their insight and versatility. Props to Engineer Dave Egan for creating a professional, finished final product (the missing link on most unsigned bands CD's), and kudos to the band for doin' it right.

• Sat. 22nd Monsters are not Myths [+ Show ]
  

  They live among us. In closets behind the winter coats, under the bed, in rooms too dark to make out...They live among us. In closets behind the winter coats, under the bed, in rooms too dark to make out the furniture. They are not myths, these monsters, they are here, they are real and they will eat your soul (and your esophagas too). Luckily a local trio is dedicating its entire recorded catalog to excising the threat of monsters living among us. To follow up on this goal, they have released another recording of stripped-down indie pop and rock called "Vague Smiles." Its title is an appropriate approximationof how your face will appear as they launch into little ditties about jello shots, Reaganomics, and dress-up time. The kids these days, they've got their priorities straight. Fight the monster menace, support the myth busters.
  
  -Peter Koht

• Monsters are not Myths - Vague Smiles
  

  "...the record is saturated with potential..."

Setlist

Typical Setlist:

LED
Sunday Morning Nightmare
Bits of Sins
Madness
Medicate
Republican Girls
IV
OldSoul
Straw Man
Burrito in my Heart

Our sets are better at 45 minutes to 1 hour. We have enough material to go at least 1.5 hours.
Also, our typical setlist varies on acoustic shows.

Basic Requirements

Calendar