So the name may make you want to revert back to your childhood carefree days of Nickelodeon and that is a good thing! This is one band that wants you to have fun and bring out that carefree lifestyle again. In a world where we are forced to “grow up” quickly and face the “real” world, it is nice to have music that is entertaining and invigorating as is the music of Aaah!RealMonsters.
Aaah!RealMonsters from St. Louis is a five member band which have fused their various musical influences to bring you a pop punk/alternative sound which is quite addictive and engaging. They have recently released their second studio album, Don’t Quit and are even working on more new music. Soon they will be embarking on a West Coast tour in the fall. Who are these five crazy fun guys? Aaah!RealMonsters is:
- Tom Watkins – Guitar & Vocals
- Matt Moore – Bass & Vocals
- Nick Dawes – Guitar
- Keith Bowman – Drums
- Ryan Martin- Guitar & Vocals
We had the opportunity to chat with Aaah!RealMonsters and are pleased to bring you that interview here:
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Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. First, we have to ask the obvious. How did the name come up or are you all big cartoon lovers?
Nick: I was always a big fan of the cartoon. I watched it a lot when I was younger with my little brothers and as I got older and started playing music it occurred to me that it would be a pretty cool band name. I think when I actually thought about it I was in another band that was already pretty established under the name Centerpointe in the St. Louis area so we didn’t really want to change it but when that band separated and we all started playing music together I brought it up and everyone seemed to dig it.
Music Junkie Press: We understand that you are currently working on new music? How is that going and what stage are you in?
Matt: We are in the process of releasing some new music. It has been a difficult process this time around because we are all working around extremely busy schedules and we live hundreds of miles away from each other. It is safe to say that we are 80% done with the recording of our new album and we are hoping to have it released by the end of the summer. We have had a good little break from each other and I know we are all dying to get back out on the road with some new music to show.
Music Junkie Press: Your album Don’t Quit is quite an alternative / pop punk musical gem. What is great is that your music shows various influences. Can you tell us who are the most inspirational musicians for you?
Matt: I think that we all are heavily influenced by Blink 182, both in our music and the way we act on stage. We have always admired their ability to generate so much energy with 3 members. I know for myself, my influences range from Pop Punk to Delta Blues. Tom and Keith both have some heavy Jazz influences as well. In recent years, the band Real Friends has been a huge influence to us. We have been watching them grow as musicians since they were still playing in their hometown and now they are on the world stage, which is extremely influential.
Music Junkie Press: One of my favorite songs on the album is Recovery Tea. Can you tell me more about the song?
Nick: The name ‘Recovery Tea’ just came after one of our shows and we were all sitting in my apartment in STL the morning after a show. I think Tom was living in Cali at the time and so he and I were getting ready to record some acoustic stuff before he flew back home so we were just trying to get our voices to not sound like we had been smoking cigarettes and drinking heavily. Someone made a joke about the tea and honey we were drinking having super powers and making our voices recover. The song itself is about when a relationship ends and how sometimes that can seem very one sided to a person that feels like they have put a lot of themselves into that relationship.
Music Junkie Press: We at Music Junkie Press are very strong believers about how music can heal, help, inspire and move, do you remember a particular time where music was there to help you the most? Can you share the story with us?
Matt: Music is such a wonderful, powerful and strange existence. In most instances where I am hurt, down on my luck, or whatever negativity is present, it is almost always healed with the help of music. I find it weird how I will have a terrible event happen in my life and the song that comes on the radio happens to relate to what I am going through. That always generates a smirk and a small laugh. It isn’t much but it sends my mood/thoughts in a positive direction. Music also inspires in so many ways. Almost every song I have ever written has been inspired by another. Some might call this stealing music, but I consider it a compliment to the songwriter. If I wrote a song that hit the billboard charts and later found out that it inspired some musician to write a song, my heart would be fulfilled with great pride. “The Hoppah” which was a song off of Relocate, is by far the best song I have ever written. I heard the song “She Talks to Angels” by the Black Crows when it came up on my Pandora channel. I was always a fan of the song and I decided to try and learn it on guitar. As I attempted to play it, I discovered that it was written in Open E tuning. After 20 minutes of learning the song, I fell in love with the tuning and decided that I wanted to write a song in Open E. From there, “The Hoppah” was written. I was in a time in my life where I had that “one who got away” story with a girl. She is soon to be married this summer (just my luck). I wrote the song about her and about how we could go our separate ways, but if I ended up with her then everything would be fine. The song helped me get over my sadness over her and helped me move forward.
Music Junkie Press: Do you currently have any tours or upcoming shows planned you can tell us about?
Matt: As of right now, we do not have any booked shows or tours. We have been taking some time to focus on our own lives and save up money, while working on the new album. After we release the new album, we will be playing in St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Colorado Springs and maybe a couple more cities nearby.
Music Junkie Press: If someone was going to be seeing you in concert for the first time, what could you tell them they could expect at an Aaah RealMonsters show?
Matt: Aaah!RealMonsters shows are very high energy. We like to jump around, swear and tell as many terrible jokes as possible. Ryan likes to do power kicks and stick his tongue out. Nick likes to get right up on the front of the stage and sweat on the crowd — which they love. Keith just jams and keeps a great beat. Tom will jump right in between vocal lines, and it is pretty talented if you ask me. I like to power stance and head bang, while throwing in some random jumps that sometimes are a bit off time. However, we share one thing in common on stage — one lovely shot of fireball before we play J
Music Junkie Press: You have been known to have a high energy set when you guys perform live, do you have any pre-show rituals to harness that energy?
Matt: We take a shot of fireball literally when we are on stage. Hands in, glasses touching, shoot it back, shake our head and make the bitter beer face, and away we go.
Music Junkie Press: Another song from Don’t Quit that really shines is Output, it has such emotionally driven lyrics. Do you have a particular songwriting process?
Nick: The process output was just that: output. I honestly named that song about how easily it seemed to just spill out of me. It was a chord progression that just kind of happened and I remember just being obliterated one night at like 3 am and playing those chords over and over and the words just seemed to keep coming out. For me writing always seems easier when I am at the peak of emotion, whatever that emotion may be, and Output is the best example of that of any song I’ve ever written.
Music Junkie Press: If Aaah RealMonsters could be a comic book, what would each of your superhero names and super powers be?
Keith: Because I like to play drums, I am very much into time. With that being said, I would have the power of time control and my superhero name would be Keith.
Nick: I already have a pretty good nickname that has stuck with me for years so I guess mine would just be Jaws. I think my power would have to be something to go along with that so I guess I’d want it to be that I would have the most brutal vocal ability in all the land!
Music Junkie Press: If you could take a song from a completely different genre and turn it into an Aaah RealMonsters style what might that be?
Keith: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
Music Junkie Press: If we could peak into your Ipod, what artist or song might we be most surprised at finding in there?
Keith: Robert Glasper Trio
Music Junkie Press: Lastly, what would you like to share with your fans and audience?
Thank you for your time!
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We look forward to hear what Aaah!RealMonsters has in store for us with their new music and we can’t wait for them to hit the road and tour. Make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on their latest news.
~ Marisol
Information & Links:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AaahRealMonsters
- Bandcamp: http://aaahrealmonsters1.bandcamp.com/
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