Mondo Vibrations

When I asked Mondo Vibrations guitar hero Mike Gerdes where the band would be in five years, he said, “Celebrating the five-year anniversary of you asking that question.” Aside from my affinity to smartassery (it takes one to love one), Gerdes made a profound point about the five-man reggae/funk band. Jah knows. In the meantime, Mondo will just keep making life, love and music.

“Mondo allows me to have the room to experiment,” says Gerdes. At a young age, Gerdes is an old pro in the Albuquerque music scene. Having played for popular bands like VoW and People’s Republic, he currently still gigs with brokenBREADwinner. Gerdes is also an AV tech around town, works in the audio department at Grandma’s Music, and co-owns Central Root Studio with partner Colin Diles.

As part of Mondo, Gerdes does more than just bring da noise, he brings the equipment. “I play midi guitar and I am, in essence, a keyboard player in the band,” he says. “I have recently expanded my set-up to include a guitar-mounted Kaoss pad, which allows me to run effects such as delay and reverb on vocals, snare or guitar.”

Though they play world music riddims, the name Mondo comes from a six-pack of delicious sugary drink that lead vocalist Kenny Cernius’s mom would buy the band when they got together. The rest of the Mondo family includes Shea Longi on bass and brothers James and Kevin Sanchez on percussion/vocals and drums, respectively. Family indeed.

If you like Sublime, so does Mondo. Along with Rebelution and “my nephew” Snoop Lion, there are no other bands that they would rather join on the tour of their dreams.

But you don’t have to dream, you can do the body rock with Mondo Vibrations in person on June 29 at the Launchpad for the Reggae Sol Splash Festival and on June 30 at Sister Bar with Dre-Z and Reviva. Your support could save Kevin Sanchez from being forced to get his foot modeling career started earlier than planned. Seriously. All smartassery aside.
Check out Mondo Vibrations at reverbnation.com/mondovibrations.

Hakim Bellamy is Albuquerque’s poet laureate. - IQ Magazine

Recently I had the pleasure of taking some time to sit down with one of the men behind the “Mondo,” one of the talented souls that “vibrates” beautiful music into our Burque bars and show venues – Mike Gerdes of Mondo Vibrations and I chatted about how Mondo came to be – where they like to be – who they are – and when they are coming to the Beer Farm. Enjoy.

I started by asking Mike, when did Mondo Vibrations form? “Mondo started in 2009 when Kevin and Kenny would jam out at Kevin’s mom’s house. They soon added James and original bass player, Jacob. I joined in 2010 and recorded the first album in 2011. Shea and Rick joined in 2013, and we released the second album in 2014.” That’s a lot of folks, huh? At least I think so – but I guess that’s what it takes to create music that makes Burque’s dread heads, old heads, and hip-hop heads alike, all nod their heads on any given night when these cats take the stage. I have a hard time keeping them straight – perhaps that’s the Tractor beer more than half the time, but for means of our conversation, and the next time I see them all on stage with instruments in hand, I asked Mike to run down the roles of the members of the band. He listed them for me – thanks, Mike.

Kenny Cernius: Guitar/Vocal
Rick Gonzales: Keys/Vocal
Shea Longi: Bass
Mike Gerdes: Guitar/Synth/Effects
James Sanchez: Percussion/Vocal
Kevin Sanchez: Drums

As we got that out of the way, we talked about “back in the day,” reminisced a bit – of course, not all projects are “past” projects, Mike ran down the projects come and gone, and the ones that are steady keeping on. “Kenny and Kevin were in When May Ends. Shea was in Morning Wood and Dead on Point 5. Mike and Shea are in BROKENbreadWINNER and we’re in People’s Republic together,” said Gerdes. Crazy right? I’ll never remember all that – no matter the number of beers or lackthereof – but at least now I won’t think I am crazy when I see these numerous other bands take the stage; it’s never fun to think you’re hallucinating or seeing double… unless you planned on it.

If you plan on going out of town anytime soon – and want to see these guys, you can often catch them in two of their favorite spots, “We love to play Taos, but Colorado Springs has treated us very well,” said Mike. Sounds like our friends enjoy a higher elevation than your typical human being, we see you, Mondo – cheers! As we wrapped our conversation – we talked about the fact that Mondo Vibrations simply loves Albuquerque. “Burque is a great place to play. There is quality local music and a passion by the fans that not many places have. There are ups and downs in regards to attendance at shows, but the energy and passion is still present,” said Mike. As far as what is to come for these folks, Gerdes gave me a little bit of the skinny on their 2015 plans, “We are doing pre-production on our next album, writing new songs, and developing our game. We will continue playing shows locally and will be touring in the region this year,” he said. I would imagine some trips to, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, and the like are in order? Just shots in the dark really… but something has me guessing those might be on the list of places they’d like to hit. You’ll have to ask them if my guesses were on point though. You can do that when they come to Tractor Brewing Wells Park on the 19th – to play Tractor’s Thirsty Thursday Music Series. The show will start at 8pm and be totally FREE – except for the beers you buy the band, and yourself of course! Cheer!
-Carlos Contreras
Tractor Brewing Company’s Good Times Liaison - GetPlowed.com

Vibrations, with a chill attitude and hot sound, is a local reggae/rock outfit. Kenny, James, Kevin and Mike came by the Alibi offices for an interview before the SOS Music Fest tomorrow. They talked about the many artists they admire, from Marley to Led Zeppelin, and the friendly cooperation of bands in New Mexico.
The Mondo Vibrations' members also told me about their favorite memory: They were working on the music video for Slow Moving during a house party. So many people were dancing in the upstairs of the house, the floor was moving visibly.
SOS Music Fest is an all-ages event at Expo New Mexico’s Spanish Village. Scope the full lineup. Tickets are $10 in advance until tomorrow at noon when the gates open. Kids 10 and under get in free with a parent or guardian. - Weekly Alibi