MonsoonBand

Check out the new 2016 Toyota Corolla featuring the song Ride A'Rolla written by Sienna Chandler. -

Astute Athenian viewers probably noticed a familiar song coming out of the ol' talky-box during the ad break following last night's Super Bowl halftime show. The tune was "Ride A'Rolla," the title track from local group Monsoon's 2015 debut. - Gabe Vodika

A few months ago, Jason had the opportunity to photograph 31 musicians from around the state of Georgia at the newly restored Georgia Theatre for a centerpiece in the new Georgia Travel Guide for Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Tourism and Travel’s Lisa Love.

The annual meeting for the Georgia Tourism & Travel Board was held earlier last month at the Atlanta History Center (which by the way has a really interesting folk art and music history exhibit on display right now). This annual meeting is where the folks who care about tourism in our great state go to network once a year, and we had the honor of being invited to the party because of Jason’s photo– which they, incredibly, managed to put into an ice sculpture. - Jason Thrasher

From Thursday, Feb. 11–Saturday, Feb. 13, the band will headline the club, with a rotating cast of openers. On Thursday, a lucky group of campers from Nuci's Space's Camp Amped will play, as will local punks Monsoon. - Gabe Vodika

Friday night, Chapel Hill indie rock vets Archers of Loaf filled Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg with a ferocious sense of vibrant nostalgia, part of a three-city tour over the weekend. The very enthusiastic crowd was animated all night and shouting out lyrics to old favorites such as "Harnessed in Slums," "Wrong," and "Web in Front." Genial, gracious, and gifted, the band closed out with an encore that included "The Greatest of All Time," giving a nod to the sounds and styles that fueled a fabulous of evening laughing and reminiscing. Pictures and setlist are in this post.
Opening the night were Athens, GA's Monsoon and pictures from their set, plus more from the 'Loaf, below... - Brooklyn Vegan

The Blue Indian: You all each grew up in Athens and met in high school, right? What was the best part of your high school experience and what was your favorite lunchroom item?
Sienna Chandler (all answers): HA! I was one of those lame kids that brought their lunch to school, usually a loud smelling, unrecognizable leftover from a household that celebrates international cooking. Occasionally, I would snag one of my BFF’s French fries when they weren’t looking. The fries were pretty good.
Scott and I both attended Oconee County High School and both braved the miserable heat of marching band together, but since he was a senior and I was a freshmen at the time, it would have been a faux pa to approach him. I remember my friend passing me a note saying “Isn’t Scott so dreamy?” He was a total heartthrob. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I sought him out to be in my band.
I never actually met Joey, properly anyway. I knew him through a friend of a friend of a friend and knew he was an incredible drummer. I sent him a note asking if he’d be interested in playing a one time gig and the rest as they say, is history.
The best part of high school for me WAS marching band. It was sweaty and everybody stank, but the minute we’d hit the field there was this pure rush of adrenaline and a thrill that consumed EVERYONE- Much like playing in a band. The feeling is addicting.
photo courtesy of Monsoon
photo courtesy of Monsoon
Who or what motivated you to start playing music and what was the first time you played in front of anyone else like?
I grew up around guitars and musicians. My pa collected Stratocasters and other music gear so when I picked one up and taught myself to play, I just figured that was something everyone else did. Kind of like eating soup. Everyone has soup in the pantry, right? It didn’t really register with me until guitar hero came out, that not everyone had access to an actual full size, stringed instrument.
My first experience playing in a band for real live people was at age 15. It’s hilariously dreadful to look back on. I’ve never really been one to stand still and play, so when the spirit moved me, I started dancing and jumping around like a wild child…without strap locks. As you can imagine, mid song, the guitar flew right off my person. Thank God it was Birtha, an old Mexican Strat that’s been dropped, thrown, spilled on, and still plays like a champ. I picked her back up and kept on playing. Note to young readers: STRAP LOCKS. Get ‘em, use ‘em, love ‘em.
What was the moment when you realized there was more to Monsoon than just getting together and making a bunch of noise in a garage or basement?
December 2012. Before then we had been floating around for 2 months as a new un-named band, and writing songs for show deadlines. When we wrote Monsoon, to me, it felt like “WHOA! We’re a band, this is our song, and we have a heartbeat!” The next week we played a show at an old party house called Plush Palace. Everyone fell in love with this new song. The next day a video of the performance went a little Facebook viral and the nice man at
Wuxtry Records gave it a listen and asked us to be on The Wuxtry Records compilation album. We began recording New Years Day 2013 under the official name, Monsoon. We literally became Monsoon overnight. That’s when I thought to myself “dayum gurl. I gotta keep writing.”
Ride A 'Rolla Album Art
Ride A ‘Rolla Album Art
Ride A ‘Rolla was released earlier this month, much to the delight of fans around Athens and beyond… What was the recording process like and what stands out the most about the release to you?
We recorded with Joel Hatstat here in town and it couldn’t have been a better experience. He let us do our thing, take our time, and let it be our own. If you’re anywhere near Athens and looking to record, I wholeheartedly, without reservation would point you in his direction.
The release of this album was very much a graduation for all of us. We’ve been working on and towards this album since we were 16. That’s a lot of life and a lot of writing with Monsoon in the forefront, background, and alongside.
The video for the title track off the album is a whirlwind of activity, incredibly enjoyable to watch, and its an equally entertaining song.. What can you tell me about the whole process of recording the video?
Thank you! Recording the video WAS a whirlwind! It was shot in one take using a MoVI M5 camera at the end of the day in a quickly dimming warehouse with few windows and little light. Dominar LTD, the folks that put the shoot together, is the creative love child of Benjamin Roberds and Jordan St. Martin- Reyes. They’re the masterminds behind the video and the concept, the camera angles, and the flow. They constructed and brought to life the idea for the “Ride A ’Rolla” video and it’s absolutely genius. I can’t speak as to the whys and hows of their process, especially for this particular song, but they nailed it. They really captured, for me anyway, what it’s like to be in a band. You have this thing you’re compelled to do. You write the songs and put together the band. You play the shows and then, one day, you realize people are listening. They’re watching. They’re talking. And then this whirlwind takes off! It’s fast and furious, exciting and fun-but it’s a little mind boggling as well. For something we’ve been working for and towards for two years, it feels like it’s all happening overnight. The video really puts it in visual perspective.
photo courtesy of Monsoon
photo courtesy of Monsoon
What was it like playing the Georgia Theatre earlier this month? It makes for an impressive venue to host your album release show at and it’s definitely one that has proven difficult to fill for much more seasoned acts….
It was a nail biter for sure! We played on a cold, rainy, MONDAY night. I had no idea, up until I hit the stage that it was packed out. I started the show from backstage, playing the beginning chords to Intro as flower girls set the stage. I heard a few folks cheer and thought, “Good! Some people came.” When the flower girls took their leave and we walked out, everyone went nuts. I’ve never seen that many people staring back at me. I was proud, I was happy, I was blown away. I can’t thank the folks at the Georgia Theatre enough for hosting us or the people that came out late on a cold rainy Monday night to support. It was the perfect celebration.
Conversely, what do you all enjoy the most about coming up as a band in Athens?
The support. The artistic support. The creative support. The personal support. Athens is an incredible town.
Now that the album is out, are you all planning to take the show on the road anytime soon? Absolutely.
We are hitting the road this summer!
Without mentioning any revealing details, what’s something you’ve always wanted to tell someone but haven’t?
Dear everyone. Thank you for your interest in our band and for taking the time to ask us questions but PLEASE STOP ASKING WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A FRONT WOMAN. It’s no different than being a front man. It’s 2015. I rock, you rock, we ALL rock. Ask Joan Jett, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Cyndi Lauper, Courtney Love, Kim Gordon, The Deal sisters and countless others. The road was paved for woman in rock long before I was born and it is because of them that I’ve never once been discriminated against or given special treatment because I’m a girl. I’m a musician, plain and simple.
Go Dawgs, right?
Ralphie said it best: “Football, whats a football?” - The Blue Indian

Starting as a band without any original songs, local punk-pop-rock trio Monsoon has come a long way from its initial Elliot Smith tribute performance at the 40 Watt Club.
Since then, lead vocalist 19-year-old Sienna Chandler has strutted the bar, ripping chords on her guitar and spouting lyrics atop the drink-filled surface. The band has been performing musical skits for holidays, making appearances at Rowdy Dowdy parties, the Rooftop and slightly more civil downtown parades.
Finally, on Jan. 12, Monsoon will perform at its final un-played venue in Athens: the Georgia Theatre.
Monsoon will release its debut album “Ride A’ Rolla” at the show alongside Chief Scout, Concord America and Shade. For the past two years, Monsoon has been working on “Ride A’ Rolla.”
A year ago, Monsoon released a demo EP called “Dead” on Bandcamp. The group’s updated Bandcamp site features a single, titled “Ride A’ Rolla” and the album cover art, sporting Japanese characters. “Ride A’ Rolla” opens with Chandler spouting rapid Japanese lyrics.
“It does feature a Japanese song, and that comes from this long, long interest in Japanese culture,” Chandler said, “I grew up with my dad speaking Japanese. I thought it was fascinating; I thought the culture was beautiful.”
Chandler has always wanted to visit Japan and said some of her infatuation with the country has permeated the single. She provided a rough translation of the song to showcase this.
“There’s the ‘go, go, go’ part, I’m saying ‘black car, go, go go / This car of the future, let’s go, go, go’ and then I say ‘ride a’ rolla,’ which I made up,” Chandler said.
Drummer Joey Kegel contributed an interpretation as well.
“You say ‘I wanna go to Japanese’ ‘cause the translation of Japan doesn’t really rhyme [with ‘go, go, go’] in English,” Kegel said.
Chandler said the Japanese on the album cover translates to the band’s name, Monsoon.
Kegel is as excited as Chandler is about the album, feeling that it stands apart from other works of the group’s genre.
“I really like that unlike a lot of recent albums leaning toward the punk-rock genre, a lot of the songs are like two and half, three minutes,” Kegel said. “We’ve come up with four, four and half minute songs with a lot of good content all the way through. Not just repeat the chorus, repeat the verse. Each song has a beginning and end.”
“Speakeasy” is Kegel’s favorite song.
Both Kegel and Chandler said they gave particular attention to song order. Motifs of a blood-red moon, fast cars and the color red recur throughout the album and keep the songs flowing together.
“We wrote ‘Intro’ to be the very first song, but then when we finished recording, we realized it sounded best in the middle but we kept the title. Right after that, it goes into ‘Geriatrics,’ which is fast-paced - probably our biggest punk song,” Chandler said.
Monsoon is grateful for the creative opportunities its had in Athens, working with the 40 Watt, Rowdy Dowdy and performing in the downtown Athens Christmas parade.
“We did a Halloween show at Rowdy Dowdy where I had an exorcism performed on me,” Chandler said. “We got Scott [Andrews, Monsoon’s bassist] to play a demonic bass line. I got a bucket of fake blood and did a ‘Carrie.’ The audience loved it.”
Kegel noted that electing to have the album release show on a Monday as opposed to a weekend day was a conscious decision.
“I love the idea that every single person who will be there has gone out of their way to go,” Kegel said. “They’re not just the normal crowd walking around on a Saturday. Every person will be there for a reason. I think it will make for a very participative audience.”
Monsoon has been together for two years. After positive and supportive reviews of the group’s Elliott Smith tribute, the group decided to band together more seriously. Chandler immediately began writing original songs.
The name “Monsoon” hails from a song the band played about sailors meeting their long-lost love after being at sea with the same title. The group attributed the christening to Gordon Lamb of Flagpole.
During Monsoon’s initial music forays, two out of three of the band’s members were still in high school.
“I was definitely sleep deprived much of the time. I’d play a show and then wake up to take a math test. It was neat, it was like living in two different worlds. I’d play shows and be around worldly people and then I would [sleep,] wake up and go to high school,” Chandler said, who begins college Jan. 5.
Even though Monsoon has not yet released its debut album, half of its second album is already written.
“It’s a big production,” Kegel said.
“[We] think there will be a big shift in this next album,” Chandler added.
Monsoon plans to take its music beyond Athens with a tour in August, hoping to make it all the way to New York.
“It might be a little sweaty. But I’m ready, I’ve got my no-aluminum deodorant so I don’t stink,” Chandler said. - The Red & Black

“Ride a Rolla” by Monsoon

It’s hard not to get instantly jealous when finding out how young Monsoon’s members are. The punk trio ranges in age from late teens to early 20s, meaning that most University of Georgia students are probably older than the band, which formed during frontwoman Sienna Chandler’s senior year of high school. Unlike most people their age, the talented musicians are now members of one of Athens’ most beloved bands and creators of one of the year’s most acclaimed local albums. “Ride a Rolla” makes it easy to see why Monsoon is so lovable: the record is full of wacky musical decisions and creative vocal deliveries that coat what is at its core a collection of masterfully made post-punk tunes. - The Red & Black

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32lrMbVLnxo

BY EMILY ERDELYAN, RAINEY GREGG & DAVID GLENN
Members of the Athens based pop-punk group Monsoon give The Red & Black a tour of their practice space, talk bloody guitars and engage in a quick-fire Q&A. Check out their new Album "Ride A'Rolla'" on their Bandcamp at http://monsoonband.bandcamp.com/
SONG: Ride A'Rolla by Monsoon - The Red & Black

by Candace Parker-Dickerson

The term “monsoon” brings many thoughts to mind, mainly storms and chaos. So for three-piece indie punk band, Monsoon, the name that originated from the first song they ever wrote together, is a perfect fit. With a firecracker of a front woman, unyieldingly in-your-face songs, and explosive, raw energy, this band is anything but calm and quiet.

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, the band originally came together in 2013 for an Elliott Smith Tribute before forming Monsoon. Since then, lead guitarist / vocalist Sienna Chandler, drummer Joey Kegel, and bassist / vocalist, Scott Andrews, have created a unique and captivating sound all their own, drawing comparisons to other groundbreaking bands like No Doubt. And though the band has cited St. Vincent, The Pixies, and Of Montreal as some of their influences, Kegel said, “We all feel like we’re playing something that doesn’t take too much influence from other artists. It’s really a product of our own.”

After releasing their debut album Ride A’Rolla in January 2015, the band not only gained new listeners inMonsoonRideARolla their hometown, but were listed as one of Yahoo Music’s “25 Singer-Songwriters Under 25 to Watch” this March, as well as being named The Blue Indian’s “Band of the Month” in February.

The first single from their debut album, also titled “Ride A’Rolla” is a Japanese-infused, pop-punk concoction that is sure to have listeners singing along with its catchy chorus, not to mention mesmerized by the impressive music video for the track.

When asked about the inspiration behind the song, Chandler said, “I’ve always had a fascination with Japanese culture. I think it’s beautiful and I love the traditions. So I learned a little bit of the language and it just felt right with the song. So I put some Japanese lyrics in there about the car of the future.”

As for the single’s action-packed music video, which was shot in one take, Kegel said, “They [creative directors] thought the song had a very constant flow and wanted to express that in the video.”

Now, after developing a strong fan base in their home state, the band will be stopping in Oxford to play their first show outside of Georgia on Wednesday, April 8th, at local hot spot, The Blind Pig.

And just in case anyone is wondering what to expect at the band’s live show, Chandler gives a fair warning. “We never play two shows the same,” she said. “We like to do a lot of theatrics because it’s fun for us and it’s also for the audience. But I feel like our shows are pretty wild! So expect chaos and something insane!”

Be sure to check them out while you have the chance. - The Local Voice

FRIDAY
Local mainstays powerkompany plays their avant pop string and synth based set upstairs at the globe at 11:30. Singer Marie Davon shines in small spaces around town and the globe has increasingly improved the sound in their upstairs space. Caledonia hosts a trifecta of edgy and graceful rock, with Mothers, Shade and Muuy Bien all sharing the stage starting at 10 p.m. Each of these bands delivers their own brand of heat and distortion. If you want to ever so slightly southernize your evening, Dead Confederate and Roadkill Ghost Choir take the mainstage at the Georgia Theatre. Both of these bands have reauthorized southern rock to represent a few of its many permutations in Athens. With a similar southernization, chop masters New Madrid will be on the main stage at the slightly cooler hour of 7:45 on the Pulaski Street stage. New Madrid shines on outdoor stages.
SATURDAY
There is no shortage of music on Saturday in Athens, Georgia. Georgia Theatre hosts Surfer Blood and Grand Vapids on the main stage. Surfer Blood, although not a local band, brings its guitar driven ’90s influenced pop hits that hark back to the band’s influences of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. Grand Vapids supports with its moody and beautifully blurry distortion and subdued vocals.
Atlanta band Warehouse fits in nicely during Athfest, as it has quite the Athenian sound already. Its pointed vocals and choppy guitars are obviously tipping its hat to Pylon in a number of ways. That being said it still finds a singular space of its own, and the band is great live. The 40 Watt, where the band is playing, is a logical move. The support acts at the Watt include a number of wonderfully original bands making the entire bill great: Dip, Monsoon, Mindbrains and Shehehe will surely create a diverse and typically Athenian mood, with sounds ranging from power pop to punk, to abstract soundscapes. Outdoor on the main stage, the last two acts should not be missed. The southern and atmospheric T. Hardy Morris takes the stage at 8:25 and the verbose and poetic pop queens, of Montreal, close out the night. - Online Athens