Moneen

Moneen is a band from Brampton, ON, Canada. Formed in 1999 after the dissolution of another band named Perfectly Normal, the original members included Kenny Bridges (vocals and guitar), Chris "Hippy" Hughes (vocals, guitar), Peter Krpan (drums) and Mark Bowser (bass). In 2001, Bowser was replaced by the enigmatic "Nu Chris", who was subsequently replaced by Erik Hughes. Moneen put out their first releases on Smallman Records, 1999's Smaller Chairs for the Early 1900's EP and 2001's The Theory of Harmonial Value. In 2002, the band signed to Vagrant Records, maintaining Smallman Records as their Canadian distributor. The Trever Keith-produced Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? was released in July 2003, and was the band's introduction to most American listeners, chock-full of their trademarks: uncommon jazz extensions, frequent meter changes, absurdly long song titles, etc. The band's follow-up, The Red Tree, arrived in April 2006, and features more compact compositions than the band's previous releases. Moneen is currently on tour to support this album. Moneen has toured with Alexisonfire, Braid, Brand New, Choke, Circa Survive, Dashboard Confessional, Northstar, Park, Saves the Day, Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday Underoath and Yellowcard, among others. Listen at Last.fm Working on their latest album The Red Tree, Moneen had a new awakening. For a band that is accustomed to touring extensively and taking only a month off to write an album before going back on the road, having real time to work on their songs was a concept they weren't used to. The process was both refreshing and painful, but the frustration that came from continually analyzing their work turned into determination to make the best album they could. The payoff is a mature and diverse record where each song is epic, not in length but in scope.