Page 37 - the NOISE August 2015

>> continued froM 31 >> THe Monroes
gripped the mike with confidence and when he opened his mouth, heads turned and the dance floor filled up. Denton and his crew couldn’t believe what they were hearing. not only did Ortiz sing the latest Journey, styx, and Foreigner hits as good as the originals, he sang them better. The men looked at each other bug-eyed and silently nodded their heads. yeah, this was definitely the guy. Tony Ortiz had something the four of them tried to exude, but only came from an inner strength that had to be earned. Tony Ortiz had class.
After the set, they cornered the singer and spun their spiel. Ortiz was wary until they took him to Accusound and played the demos, which were impressive indeed. This was it: a shot at the big time. The vibe around these four just felt right. Tony Ortiz took the gamble. He moved his wife and kids to san Diego and the boys had their wild card.
His presence brought the group to the next level. when Davis or Jones sang their own compositions, they sounded like what they were: early attempts at songwriting from two twenty-something so Cal suburbanites without a lot of worldly experience. But when Ortiz sang them, the words gained depth, the music became art. years later, Denton would say Ortiz had the ability to make any song, good or bad, sound great.
The five now needed a name. They went through dozens without finding one they all agreed on. Bob Davis remembered his first paying gig was with Rick elias and The Monroes, so called because the original members were from Monroe, Louisiana. Rick elias left to become a successful songwriter and told Davis he could keep the moniker. The group disintegrated soon after, but ... it was a name.
The Monroes? why not, said Davis, it’s sort of like the Ramones; maybe they all could change their last names. The rest of the boys declined, but they rather liked The Monroes as a band name. It was simple, memorable, a bit mysterious, not in-your-face or cheesy, no krazy misspelled letterz. The Monroes they were. Their act was ready and they hit the clubs. Most folks in the scene knew Denton (many were making monthly payments to him) and the word spread. The little buzz around The Monroes quickly grew into a large one. within months, every show was packed. “what Do All the People Know,” drove the crowds nuts. The band kept getting asked, “you mean you guys wrote all those songs? And where did you find that fantastic singer? Do you have a record out yet?”
All in good time. Thanks to Ortiz’s connections, they landed a few plum Los Angeles gigs and the reaction was immediate. They acquired a manager who brokered a modest deal for them with Alfa Records, a Japanese label that distributed many American and British releases in Asia and the south Pacific. The company had opened a small U.s. branch and was looking for homegrown talent. The Monroes fit the bill. They signed a contract and Alfa booked them to record at L.A.’s Chateau studio with the legendary Bruce Botnick, producer of The Doors, Love, The MC5, and other big names.
The sessions went smoothly. Denton, of course, had recorded and engineered the Monroes’ demos and communicated what they were after to Botnick, who was sympathetic. The five songs they ended up with sounded great. except ... the band thought the demo of “what Do All the People Know,” was superior to the new version. nothing against Botnick’s production, but the five of them had poured their hearts into the old one. It was their baby, it was special.
Alfa Records thought so too. The label rejected the rerecorded version and sent the group back into the studio to polish up the original. Bruce Botnick took the Accusound demo of “what Do All the People Know,” and transferred its 8 tracks onto Chateau’s 24 track machine. The band added handclaps, redid the vocals, and threw in a little extra guitar and synth for color.
The results were magnificent. eric Denton felt a measure of vindication. His instincts were right: his demo had something intangible that couldn’t be recreated in a professional studio with a famous producer. He knew it, the band knew it, Botnick knew it and Alfa knew it. If The Monroes broke up tomorrow, this moment would have made everything worth it for Denton: a major label preferred his work over the man who produced The Doors.
The Monroes’ debut may be lightweight pop, but it’s really good lightweight pop. Two songs came from the pen of Rusty Jones, three from Bob Davis, credited on the jacket as Bob Monroe. Davis outshines Jones in the songwriting department, but Tony Ortiz sings the hell out of all five tunes equally. It’s truly his moment in the spotlight. The cover photo places Denton front and center (looking vaguely european), but everyone involved knew who the real star of this show was.
The eP was released in late spring 1982, along with an edit of“what Do All the People Know,” as a single. As expected, the song went top 10 in san Diego. To everybody’s surprise, it was rapidly picked up by other radio markets across the country. Alfa sent the band on short promotional tours with Rick springfield, Toto, Greg Kihn, and The Motels. They opened for Blondie in their hometown and almost stole the show. They appeared on Merv Griffin’s late night program, which was broadcast nationwide.
The Monroes were riding high. each week they would excitedly observe the progress of their single up the Billboard charts. They had a record company who believed in them: the group would call Alfa, be put on hold, and hear their own music coming through the phone. How cool was that? stardom was within their grasp.
And then, just like that, it slipped away.
To be continued ...
deAr fACeBooK user By Tony BAllz
Dear Facebook user:
Greetings! My name is Matt Zuckerbird, chairman and CeO of Facebook, inc. you may have noticed that your account has been blocked and you cannot log in. Don’t panic! The solution is quite simple.
Recently, we here at Facebook decided that all accounts need to bear the full legal name of the user, not a pseudonym or nickname. I’m sure at this point you’re probably thinking:
What? I’ve been a loyal Facebook user for nearly a decade, why is this important now? All my friends know me by this name. My real identity can easily be found due to the massive amounts of personal data I have willingly uploaded to the internet, where the whole goddamn world can see it.
Isn’t it enough that Facebook knows my name, age, gender, birthday, hair color, eye color, race, current and past addresses and phone numbers and email addresses, the names of my friends and spouse and parents and siblings and in-laws and past girlfriends and entire extended family, my bank account number, my credit card number, the numbers of my PayPal and eBay and Amazon accounts (and every item I’ve purchased through them), my high school and college (and when I attended and graduated), my current and past jobs (and how long I worked at each), my past relationships (and how long they lasted) and what languages I speak?
Not to mention my political and religious beliefs, who I voted for in national and local elections, my MSN screen name, my LinkedIn profile, my Twitter profile, my Tumblr blogs, my Xbox gamertag, my Playstation network ID, my Wii code, what websites I comment on, what weddings and parties and meetings and sports events I’ve attended, every place I’ve gone on vacation or a work trip, what hotels I stayed at, what restaurants I visited, what kind of car I rented, and what airline I flew on?
And my favorite bands, TV shows, movies, books, video games, color, food, websites, coffee shop, pizza place, and sports teams? And my daily routine? And the hundreds of photos of me and my acquaintances, all of which are GPS tagged? And every comment I’ve posted on the important events in my life and the lives of everyone I know? What gives, Facebook?
Let me assure you that all this is for your own safety and has nothing to do with the sale of your personal data to advertisers, nor the rumor that the nsA has given us millions of dollars in taxpayer money for disclosure of that same data, nor the fact that when Facebook went public in 2012, our shares sold for way less than anticipated due to the revelation that millions of accounts were fake, generated by bots and spammers. nothing at all. It’s for your own safety. we’re doing you a favor, you selfish jerks.
But, I hear you say, Facebook’s methods in this matter are unusually severe. no warnings were issued, accounts suspected of being under a false moniker were immediately suspended and flagged, not to be reinstated until proper identification was provided and the screen name changed. This included accounts under traditional native American names such as Dana Lone elk (plenty of irony there). Isn’t this emotional blackmail? My whole life is wound up in Facebook: my contacts with friends and family and coworkers, all my photos and data ... is that fair?
To which I would reply: fair schmair. when you joined Facebook, you signed a legally binding agreement to honor our terms and rules. Don’t have time to read all that fine print or uncheck those opt-in boxes? Tough titty. Trying to further your career by using a stage or DJ name? not on our watch, pal. need to keep your personal and public lives separate? Ha ha ha, nope. Hiding from an abusive family, stalker or former boyfriend? waah, poor you. Don’t like the way we run our company? Go use Myspace, schmuck. ever hear the term “putting all your eggs in one basket?” I didn’t think so. Look it up, dummy.
Of course, exceptions will be made for famous people like whoopi Goldberg, but the rest of you lumpen proletariat are screwed, Jude. Our basic message remains: you will obey because we are Facebook and we said so. My personal fortune is estimated at $35 billion. not million, billion with a B. I wipe my nose with $100 bills. How much did you make last year?
Love and kisses, Matt Zuckerbird
| Tor more fun filled times with Tony Ballz, check dailydiscord.com
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