Get ready to rock out March with the Geomatic Attic who are going to get you dancing with MonkeyJunk and Peter and the Wolves, March 30 at the German Canadian Club.
Ottawa based blues trio MonkeyJunk have been putting their own unique brand on blues music for 15 years, so they are excited to be play again together in between many other projects.
Frontman Steve Marriner has a great new solo album “Hope Dies Last,” and spends a lot of the year touring with Colin James.
Drummer Matt Sobb also has several different projects and plays with guitarist Tony D’s (Diteodoro) band.
Sobb is excited about the 15th anniversary tour with MonkeyJunk , which is just one of many plans they have for 2023 including releasing videos and a new single, due out March 24.
“It feels like it’s gone by super quick and a lifetime all at the same time. It’s kind of strange,” Sobb said.
“When you’re going about your business you don’t really notice how much time goes by. But it’s kind of an opportunity to look back at all the miles we‘ve driven and all the places we‘ve been and it’s kind of fun to look back and look forward too, ” Sobb said.
While Marriner is also busy with other projects, Sobb and Diteodoro go back a long way even before MonkeyJunk formed.
“Before we formed MonkeyJunk, I played drums in the Tony D band. And Tony has fronted his own band for many many years, since the early ’80s. And so I’ve been playing with Tony since 2001. So when MonkeyJunk isn’t active I play with Tony in his band and I also play around the Ottawa scene with a lot of local bands here as well. Tony is busy continuing on with his own career. And all those things happen in between MonkeyJunk happening,” Sobb continued.
He noted it can be challenging to put the Monkeyjunk suit back on after spending time on other projects, but Sobb said the band has a special connection.
“That’s a really good question. And depending on the size of the break in between our shows or getting together the studio or what have you, it kind of varies. It’s crazy to me, well not crazy, but it’s intriguing to me how when we get together it’s like time never passed. It’s like that comfortable old sweater you just throw on and go. And it feels like time hasn’t passed at all. I think that’s the mark of a pretty good band that there’s that chemistry musically and personally and camaraderie, just the cohesion that happens when the three of us are in a room or on a stage,” he said.
MonkeyJunk have some big plans for their 15th anniversary including lots of touring beginning with a quick tour of Alberta, starting in Coleman at the Rumrunner, March 29.
“Beginning with this tour, we’re headed back out to to Alberta. Alberta’s been a great, great area for us almost since the start of our band and we‘ve played in Lethbridge many times. This show as well as I think pretty much every show we’ve done in Lethbridge has been organized and presented by the great folks at the Geomatic Attic by Mike Spencer and his crew. Mike is great. He’s always supported us and we’ve always had a great time in Lethbridge as a result. And then we’ll be playing a few other shows including one in Coleman, Alberta down near Crowsnest Pass and of course Calgary and Edmonton,” he said.
“Mike Spencer and the Geomatic Attic has always been great to us and we really appreciate their support,” he said.
“We really appreciate the support of live music fans in Lethbridge. We’ve always had great shows. I think it was two years ago that Mike had set up a one day festival up and it was like on top of a parking garage and it was great. Folks came out and we had an amazing evening there. It’s always been great in Lethbridge. We‘ve made some lasting friends there and just can’t wait to get back there and see everybody again,” he said.
“We’re very excited to get back to Alberta. Hopefully the weather will be okay. We’ll see,” he said.
They are also releasing a series of live videos including one with harp master and multi- instrumentalist Paul Reddick, who the band has worked with for many years .
“We came up with this idea. We’re doing a couple of things to commemorate our 15th anniversary as a band. And one of the ideas we had was to do a series of live videos. And invite some friends and colleagues and co-conspirators and people that we have a history with or that have been influential to us and what have you. So far we’ve released two of them. Our plan was to release 15 for the 15 years throughout the calendar year 2023. The first one was just ourselves the three of us. The second one was with Paul Reddick,” he said.
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