The Monks
The Monks, were an American rock band formed in Gelnhausen, West Germany, in 1964. Assembled by five American GIs stationed in the country, the group grew tired of the traditional format of rock, which motivated them to forge a highly experimental style characterized by an emphasis on rhythm over melody, augmented by a heavy use of distortion.
The band blended shrill vocals, anti-Vietnam war lyrics, guitar feedback, and a six-string banjo into a sound that music critics later recognized as prefiguring the punk rock movement. The band's appearance was considered as shocking as their music, mimicking the look of Catholic monks by wearing black habits, cinctures, and styling medieval tonsure haircuts. Local newspapers at the time labelled the band "the anti-Beatles". In March 1966, they released their sole studio album, Black Monk Time, via Polydor Records, with the help of a German management team, alongside their single "Complication" backed with "Oh, How to Do Now". However, the album and additional singles issued throughout 1966 and 1967 achieved limited success which led to the group disbanding.
During the 1990s to early 2000s, the band acquired a cult following as a result of newfound interest in Black Monk Time. They were subsequently featured on several compilation albums, most notably the 1998 expanded version of Nuggets. This resurgence was followed by all five of the original band members holding a reunion concert at the Cavestomp festival in New York City on November 5, 1999, which was followed by sporadic touring in the 2000s. They have been cited as an influence by notable artists such as Jello Biafra, Jay Reatard, Mark E. Smith, Lenny Kaye, Krist Novoselic, Ira Kaplan, Jack White, Jon Spencer, Iggy Pop, and the Beastie Boys.
Musical style
According to Stephen M. Deusner of Paste Magazine: "The Monks were all rhythm section, with every instrument clicking into a tense lockstep punctuated by Gary Burger’s wild-man yelps and Dave Day’s electrified banjo—an instrument as distinct as the Thirteenth Floor Elevators’ electric jug. In their lusty frivolity, The Monks find a measure of gravity and outrage." Their style was self-described as "Über-beat". In 2011, bassist Eddie Shaw underlined their musical process in an interview:The Guardian cited the minimal drumming style of the album as a precursor to krautrock, noting an early form of the "motorik" beat in Roger Johnston's performance, which was described as "tightly wound playing".
History
Beginnings (1963–1964)
The nucleus of the Monks formed in late 1963, when American G.I.s Gary Burger, Larry Clark, Eddie Shaw, and Dave Day, along with a West German civilian identified simply as Hans came together as a quintet known as the Torquays, a name inspired by Burger's admiration for the Fireballs' instrumental "Torquay". Burger and Day had previously spent time together informally performing as an on-duty musical duo called the Rhythm Rockers, which soon recruited Clark and Hans to bolster their sound. Soon after, Shaw auditioned for the band and was reluctantly accepted by Burger. Shaw, a jazz musician by trade, was recruited largely because the band urgently needed a bass guitarist rather than for his limited experience with the instrument. The band first performed at military hangouts near their outpost in Gelnhausen, Hesse, playing a combination of American rock and roll standards from the 1950s and some original songs penned by Burger and Day to rowdy crowds and servicemen.After seeing the band at the Maxim Club, talent manager Hans Reich convinced the Torquays to stay in Germany when their military careers came to a close with the promise of work. For a brief period, the band included vocalist Zack Zachariah and drummer Bob Rose; however, the two were forced to excuse themselves from the Torquays because their discharges were long after the other band members'. Burger solved the issue relatively quickly by introducing the band to drummer Roger Johnston, and, henceforth solidifying the line-up which would exist for the duration of the group's recording career. As the Torquays began to rehearse, Burger arranged a one-off single deal for the group at an independent studio in Heidelberg. The single, which coupled the band originals "There She Walks" and "Boys Are Boys", had 500 copies pressed in late 1964, which were sold by Clark at live performances. This single was later collected on the compilation album Five Upstart Americans.
In early 1965, the Torquays began a residency at the Rio Bar in Stuttgart, which they used to experiment with electronics and sound manipulation and expand their repertoire. It was during the rehearsals at the Rio Bar that the group's signature style, including abrasive feedback and high-volume distortion, began to emerge. Sensing potential to expand upon their sound, a German management team composed of Karl Remy, Walther Niemann, and Günther and Kiki Aulich signed the Torquays to promote an entirely new image and hone their ensemble playing. During one of the first sessions with the team, the band decided to rename themselves the Monks, a moniker that was initially met with some misgivings by Clark, whose father was a priest.
Experimentation and album (1965–1966)
Under the supervision of the management team, the Monks conducted extensive rehearsals with a focus on gritty, rhythmically oriented music. The band equipped themselves with new instruments and hardware to achieve that goal: a Maestro Fuzz-Tone for Burger, a floor tom for Johnston, and a six-string banjo for Day, the latter of which offered a disorienting counter-rhythm to the bass section. Shaw explained that the group's motivation was to possess "high rhythm and high energy". He elaborated further, saying "The idea of it was to get as much 'beat' out of it as we could. As much 'bam-bam-bam-bam' on the beat or whatever. The only time cymbals would be used would be for accent. If anyone wasn't contributing towards rhythm, then it wasn't part of the Monks sound". However, the band's transformation into the Monks was slow, taking the group nearly a year of trial and error before they were confident enough to return to the studio.In September 1965, the Monks recorded new, self-penned compositions to present to Polydor Records. However, Polydor was reluctant to sign the band to a recording contract until they performed at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, where the Beatles had garnered attention three years earlier. Much was made at the time of the Monks' unconventional attire, with their tailored-made black robes strikingly at odds with the prevailing trends among contemporary beat groups. With all five members abandoning their Beatlesque hairdos for tonsures and plain rope serving ties, the band exuded a mysterious aura, while also looking menacingly non-conformist. The Monks' image was met with mixed attitudes from their audiences. Younger fans were playfully curious about the band's eccentric appearance, but conservative patrons were shocked and at times furious at what they considered blasphemy. The group's relative detachment from the crowd was compounded by a loud and dissonant "steamroller of sound" intended to challenge and not necessarily please audiences.
Polydor Records was willing to gamble on the Monks' radical approach, and the band entered a studio in Cologne in November 1965. The recording sessions for Black Monk Time brought the band to the edge of exhaustion, as they had to juggle nightly performances alongside Bill Haley and His Comets with early morning work in the studio. Another challenge was record producer Jimmy Bowien's limited resources to properly record the Monks' loud acoustics to four-track tape. The band members had to play behind baffles in separate corners of the studio.
In May 1966, Polydor Records released Black Monk Time and the "Complication" single. The striking approach that the Monks had taken on rock music was a precursor to punk rock. Burger's bursts of disorienting feedback was played through a heavily modified Vox Super Beatle amplifier. The songs strayed far from the typical verse-chorus-bridge, but their emphasis on rhythm was nonetheless reminiscent of R&B music acts of the 1950s. Lyrically, Black Monk Time showcased blunt and paranoid commentary on the Vietnam War, social alienation, and love-hate relationships. Polydor did not release the album in the United States, considering it "too radical and non-commercial"; it was circulated on tape in the country in the 1980s and had developed a cult following by the early 1990s. The band itself re-released the album in 1994, marking the first time it was officially released in the US.
Changing musical direction (1966–1967)
The release of Black Monk Time was followed by press events, photo shoots with Charles Paul Wilp, and a six-month tour of one-nighters in music halls and bar taverns across West Germany, orchestrated by the newest member of their promotional team, Wolfgang Gluszczewski. Unfortunately, the tour was debilitating for the Monks, and their music often alienated new audiences attempting to catch on with the latest Monk craze. With the album underachieving in sales, Bowien urged the group to capitalize on the popularity of "soft wave" music, particularly the Beatles' song "Yellow Submarine". Although most of the band resisted the idea in favor of protecting their image, Day used the opportunity to introduce his love song, "Cuckoo", to the rest of the Monks. When the band returned to Hamburg for their second residency at the Top Ten Club, they recorded "Cuckoo" along with "I Can't Get Over You".Soon after the release of "Cuckoo", the band promoted the single on the television program Beat-Club, and several radio stations, resulting in the record charting in some German markets. In particular, the Monks' music was appreciated by citizens in East Germany that heard the group on Radio Luxembourg, evident by the flow of fan mail arriving over the Iron Curtain. Shaw speculated the band's themes and idea of individualism were more accessible to Eastern Germans who were unable to express the same kind of individuality. Writer Mike Stax has noted that after the initial burst of publicity for "Cuckoo" subsided, the group had exhausted all outlets on the German music market and by late 1966 the Monks were looking to expand to other countries. The band took their act on a two-week tour of Sweden to positive reception, concluding with an appearance on Swedish National Television.
Upon their return to Germany in February 1967, the Monks learned that Polydor Records had refused to distribute Black Monk Time in the United States because of its commentary on the Vietnam War. At Carl Remy's recommendation, the Monks were scheduled to tour in Vietnam, and persuaded to incorporate subtle psychedelic rock influences into their third single, under the expectation that it could theoretically expand the Monks' dwindling audience. Additionally, the management team reiterated its ultimate goal of releasing two more Monks albums to be called Silver Monk Time and Gold Monk Time.
Following Remy's request, the band made tentative moves to change their sound on the single "Love Can Tame the Wild"/"He Went Down to the Sea". Gone were Day's banjo, Burger's frantic vocals, and Clark's organ, replaced by rhythm guitar, subdued singing, and calculated orchestration featuring Clark on piano and Shaw on trumpet. Monks historian Will Bedard would later deem the single "as uninspired as the LP was revolutionary". While performing with the Jimi Hendrix Experience in May 1967, there was increasing tension among the members of the group. Day became increasingly irritated by the addition of covers to the band's live set, and Burger and Johnston abandoned the Monk outfit in favor of colorful clothing to the annoyance of their bandmates. Despite the Monks' inner turmoil, the band was still arranged to depart for Vietnam from Frankfurt airport; however, just a day before the flight, Burger informed the band that Clark had returned to his hometown in Texas. Johnston, who had read about Buddhist monks that self-immolated in Vietnam, irrationally believed that the Monks would meet a similar fate at the hands of the Viet Cong. Without suitable replacements, the group disbanded in September 1967.