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The best kept secret in music
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When I put this in the CD player, I didn't realize it was on "shuffle" so it did not play the first song on the CD, but skipped right to track 6, "Dream Alive". Wow. I was not expecting this type of music OR this type of vocal when I popped this in! I don't know why, maybe because of the photo (in which she reminds me of Joan Osborne), maybe it's that Monica sent me a couple of sweet friendly emails…but I was not expecting the voice to be this deep and rocking or the music to be this hard.
The guitar is frenetic and the music follows. Yonge's gutsy voice is the focal point and the instrumentation is more background, but it's there. It's there, and it's pretty straight up rock. No candy pants pop here!
If I'm reading the credits correctly, this band consists of Yonge and a guy named Dino Verdis. All this sound coming from two people? Amazing.
If you like your rock a tad hard with strong solid female vocals, Monica Yonge's CD is a good choice.
- Amy Lotsberg, Collected Sounds
Monica Yonge : Rock On
By Jimmy Caterine
November 28, 2005
Whether it’s playing an instrument, songwriting, engineering, producing, mastering or any number of other talents, it takes all of this to make a CD. There is a lot of independent music out there and I mean A LOT!! There’s so much, in fact, that most of it gets shoved over to the side without a listen. For those who have a valid message and the talent to get it across, putting together their own CD is by no means ‘the easy way.’ Many artists and bands will be overlooked.
Monica Yonge is one of those individuals whose multi-tasking skills are shining bright. She has been able to put together a CD of her true inner self, which translates well to the listener’s ear. In a lot of ways Rock On is a fitting title for this, her 2004 debut CD, because Monica really draws from classic influences like Johnny Winter and her vocals remind me a lot of Jefferson Airplane era Grace Slick with a hint of Cher.
I can’t say that this is my favorite genre of music but I couldn’t help but feel inspired by the passion Ms Yonge portrays during songs like All Your Loving and Surfacing. Then there is All That Matters, which is so amazingly 60’s anthem- like, I could close my eyes and see tie-dye, beads and booths selling Freak Bros comic books and paraphernalia in a festival setting. I really enjoyed these songs. I think the thing that hooked me is that Monica let’s you know she’s a real person. You hear it in her lyrics and her voice. She has been angry, she laughs, she has felt pain and she loves. - By Jimmy Caterine
Discography
For Immediate Release
May 2006
Indie Rocker Monica Yonge Releases New Single “One Way Track”
Songwriter/guitarist Monica Yonge is a unsigned musician from Toronto, Canada. Her new single “One Way Track” is a euphony
of alternative/pop/rock. Yonge’s new single can be heard at her myspace page.
One Way Track is available by mail order for more info visit here:
Monica Yonge’s debut “Rock On” released in October 2004 went to the number one spot on KGFM Grossmont College Radio and has received radio play in Canada and the U.S. She is also the founder/publisher of e-zine indieguitarists.com
"Rock On" released Oct 9th 2004
Radio stations that have played "Rock On" include:
www.wdyn.net
www.ciut.fm/
www.radiocrystalblue.com
www.netteradio.com
www.wpmd.org
www.wrfl.org
www.grossmont.edu/kgfn
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Monica Yonge was born in Holland and raised in Toronto, Canada. At an early age she had a natural feel for music. She began playing acoustic guitar in her late teens after purchasing a second hand guitar from the local music store with money she saved from her part-time job. A self taught guitar player she picked up cover songs from sheet music, other guitar players and tablature. It was at this time when she began to experiment with different chord progressions that sparked her to begin writing her own songs.
Yonge received private vocal instruction and has been singing for a ripe sixteen years with a number of Toronto underground bands. She has an alto/contralto vocal range which is why she is sometimes compared to Cher, Johnette Napolitano, Grace Slick or Chrissie Hyndes. Of the many bands that Yonge grew up listening to Etta James, Johnny Winter and Jim Morrisson had the most influence on her.
Monica Yonge’s debut released on Oct 09 2004 is edgy and melodic, a cross between Led Zeppelin, Grace Slick & Cher. “If you like your rock a tad hard with strong solid female vocals, Monica Yonge’s CD is a good choice.” Amy Lotsberg, Whimiscal Productions
To purchase "Rock On"
-By phone call 1800-289-6923
-Purchase online www.Cdbaby.com/monicayonge
-mail order www.monicayonge.com
For more information visit www.monicayonge.com
Monica Yonge is the founder/publisher of indieguitarists.com. Indieguitarists.com is a music resource and promotional tool for independent guitarists & bassists that are not currently signed with any of the major record companies. The e-zine offers a database of guitarists websites, interviews, spotlights, message board, news and articles . Indieguitarists.com is accepting submissions for "The Weekly Mp3 Playlist" and is open to all indie bands. Indieguitarists.com has been growing steadily since its launch date, April 2005.
Read a recent article in Guitar Player Magazine about indieguitarists.com here:
www.guitarplayer.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=9468
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