Monroe Brown

When you sign on for the rock and roll life, you pretty much know going in that you’re chasing a very elusive dream. The members of Albany rock band Monroe Brown understood the program when they started playing music together just over three years ago.

Now on the verge of breaking the small-town bonds that hold so many of their contemporaries captive, that pie-in-the-sky longing that has sustained Monroe Brown through their early dues-paying doesn’t seem so impossible anymore. And it’s a pretty good time to be a member of this band.

“The pieces of the puzzle are finally all in place,” MB drummer Jeremy Dollar said after the band returned from recording sessions in Orlando, where they worked on a white-hot, three-song demo that is generating major buzz. “We’ve been working all this time to get to this point, and although we haven’t by any means ‘made it,’ we’re at least getting a shot.”

And it’s a pretty good shot. Monroe Brown – Dollar, singer/guitarist Jason Culberson, bassist Brian “Tater” Culberson and lead guitarist Ryan Wilson – recently signed a management deal with Alvers Management & Promotions in Orlando, they’ve already been booked to open for some big-name acts (including sharing the bill with Socialburn in Albany); their demo is opening once off-limit doors in the entertainment industry; and they’re being courted by record labels like Atlantic, Windup, Warner Brothers and heavily by Elementree, the label of Korn singer Jonathan Davis.
And the band’s likely first single, “Never Enough,” is getting airplay at Real Rock 97.3 in Albany, Real Rock 101 in Orlando, X101.5 in Tallahassee, 97X in Panama City and is being shopped by Alvers to 99X and 96 Rock in Atlanta.

“I’m extremely proud of this demo,” Jason Culberson said after playing it for a visitor. “I’m not ashamed to say I was a little scared going into it. I always questioned whether or not my voice fit the music we played. It was time for me personally – and the band in general – to step up. I think we did.”

Working with producer Pete Thornton, who’s done studio time with Cold, Limp Bizkit, and Shinedown, Monroe Brown finished “Today’s Skeptic,” “Never Enough” and “Taken Away,” over 14 days of intense recording.
“I think one of the things we got from this process was an understanding of how hard it is for a band to stay together,” Brian Culberson said. “What most people don’t understand is that there is a lot of hard work that goes into this. It’s a business… It’s a job.” After finishing the demo (which is available at the band’s Web site http://www.monroebrown.net), Monroe Brown returned to Albany and started a search for a guitar player. They found Wilson.

“We put an as on 97.3’s Web site saying we were looking for a guitar player,” Dollar said. “Ryan was the first person to call us. Eventually we had tons of people answer the ad, but Ryan was a good fit. He was the one person looking for the same things we were.” Add Jason Culberson: “We were looking for someone with the same attitude we had, someone that we could get along with quickly. Of course, none of that would have mattered if he couldn’t play.”

The band then whipped through an impromptu six-song set, including a new tune they’d written with Wilson, and it became apparent that the new guy could indeed play. Wilson had played with Brian Culberson in local bands From the Last and Agent 0077, and he’d also built his reputation with local combos Devonside and The Morning After. But he said the opportunity to join Monroe Brown was what he’d been hoping for.

“I played with several bands whose heart wasn’t really into it,” Wilson said. “But I think I fit in well with these guys because I’ve worked my butt off just like they have to get to this point. I was the first person to hear their demo, and I was like ‘Wow.’ I was blown away, and I was so proud to be asked to be a part of this band.” Wilson replaces original MB guitarist Shannon Shipley. Brian Culberson replaced original bassist Michael Wilson six months ago.

“We love those guys,” Jason Culberson said of the original members. “With both of them it was just a matter of reaching a crossroads professionally, and they both wanted to go in other directions. We’re all great friends still, and I hope there’s never any hard feeling between us. It hurt when both of them left the band, but those were the decisions everyone felt was best.”

Monroe Brown will spend the next three months rehearsing, writing songs, playing select shows and getting their affairs in order. Showcase performances, more recording and possible tours are already being planned.

“We know the deal,” Jason Culberson says. “We realize we may only get this one shot. So we’re going to do everything we can to make the most of it.”
- Carlton Fletcher for Audiopages Magazine

If you’re  one of those folks who likes to get new music first – and there are a lot of you out there, I know – here’s and opportunity to jump on a bandwagon before it really starts rolling. Albany rockers Monroe Brown are releasing copies of the three song demo they recorded with hotshot producer Pete Thornton in Orlando recently on their website (www.monroebrown.net). For 5 bucks you can pick up a copy of the music that has landed the band a deal with Alvers Management & Promotions and has created major buzz among rock and roll insiders.

The collection includes Monroe Brown originals “Today’s Skeptic,” “Never Enough” and “Taken Away,” tunes that are under Thornton’s skilled hands show why record labels like Atlantic, Windup, Warner Brothers and Elementree are courting them heavily. “Never Enough” is already getting airplay at rock radio stations in Albany, Panama City, Orlando, and Tallahassee.

“I think they’ve got a bona fide hit on their hands,” Real Rock 97.3 personality DoubleDown said of “Never Enough.” “I also think ‘Today’s Skeptic’ would be a perfect follow-up single for them. We’re playing both of them and are getting lots of requests from our listeners.

“I’ve also talked with some people in the music industry who’ve said they were impressed with the demo. It defiantly fits in with what we’re playing.”

“Never Enough” was written by Monroe Brown singer/guitarist Jason Culberson and drummer Jeremy Dollar.

“It’s about a friend of ours that Tater (bassist Brian Culberson) and I played in a band with,” Dollar said. “We were really close, but when his girlfriend broke up with him, he lost it and beat her with a hammer. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.”

Jason Culberson picks up the story. “ The song is about how no matter what we did to help this guy, it was never enough,” he said. “We’d all go to the ends of the Earth to help him, but that wasn’t enough to stop him from doing what he did.”

All three songs on the demo feature solid work from the three members of Monroe Brown (new lead guitarist Ryan Wilson joined after the studio work was completed), with Dollar showing off the skills that have made him one of the best young drummers in the business. Getting a copy of the disc now most likely will help you avoid the later rush. - Carlton Fletcher for Audiopages Magazine

"Monroe Brown has proven themselves to our audience which consists of faithful fans across 3 states. Their first single "Never Enough" has become the second most requested song within our playlist. These aren't their buddies bombarding our phone lines, but people who are digging the great alternative sound that Monroe Brown provides our station. I am looking forward to following their promising career, while lending our support anywhere we can."

Doubledown- Mornings On Real Rock - DoubleDown (APD @ WRAK - Real Rock 97 Three)