Velvet Monkeys

Velvet Monkeys is an American rock band currently based in New York City, formed in 1980.

Background

Velvet Monkeys is the longest running of New York musician Don Fleming's many rock 'n' roll projects. Formed in 1980 from the ashes of Williamsburg, Virginia's new wave rockers Citizen 23, the band relocated to Washington, DC at the right time to become darlings of the local art-punk scene, along with other post-punkers such as Egoslavia, Bob Boilen's Tiny Desk Unit, Chalk Circle, and The Insect Surfers.

The band was originally formed as a three-piece combo that included prominent use of a Roland Dr. Rhythm drum machine, which gave them a Europunk sound more akin to Echo & the Bunnymen or OMD than their local counterparts in the Washington, DC scene. This line-up included Fleming on vocals and guitar, girlfriend Elaine Barnes on vocals and synthesizer/organ, and bassist Steven Soles. In 1982, the drum machine was quietly replaced with drummer Jay Spiegel a.k.a. The Rummager and the band moved from Euro-wave pop toward a more rock-oriented guitar-meets-synth post-punk wash.

The band released a cassette EP, an album, and appeared on several compilations before undergoing personnel changes in the mid-1980s that found them with a radically different sound than their electro-pop origins. Ousting all but Spiegel and himself, in 1985 Fleming brought on guitarist Malcolm Riviera of D.C.'s Grand Mal and bassist Rob Kennedy, formerly of D.C.'s The Chumps, and more recently NYC's The Workdogs. The band now turned away from its synth-pop roots completely and developed a twin-guitar driven sound that would later be called grunge by music critics in the late 1980s. The band's stage show also changed, becoming a kind of glam/trash rock theatre that included light shows, smoke machines, live wrestling with the audience, and even instrument-free lip-syncing.

By 1988, the Monkeys had morphed into a full-on rock outfit that lived somewhere between Spinal Tap and The Stooges. Occasionally touring and merging with Maryland's Half Japanese, the band continued their downward (upward?) spiral toward rock 'n' roll suicide toward the end of the decade, eventually re-locating to New York City where they teamed up with such indie celebrities as Thurston Moore, J Mascis, and Julia Cafritz. This supergroup line-up recorded the band's final album, a soundtrack parody called Rake that paid tribute to the 70's blaxploitation film Shaft. The band began to unravel around this time, and Spiegel and Fleming devoted their time to B.A.L.L., which morphed into the major label act known as Gumball in 1992.

The band has never officially broken up, and Fleming continues to revive the band when the time is right. A series of recordings found their way to the record and CD bins through the 1990s as well.

Trivia

The name "Velvet Monkeys" was a combination of The Velvet Underground and The Monkees.

Selected Discography

Albums

• Rake (Rough Trade - 1990)
• Rotting Corpse Au-Go-Go (Shimmy Disc - 1987)
• Future (Fountain of Youth - 1983)

Singles/EPs

• "Houseparty" - God Bless CD (1998)
• "Rock the Nation" b/w "Why Don't We Do It in the Road" Sub Pop Records 7" (1991)
• "Better Living" Ecstatic Peace - Double 7" (1990)
• "Spooky" b/w "The Trance Band" Go Records 7" (1985)
• "Colors Parts I & II" Bona Fide Records 7" (1985)
• "Everything is Right" Monkey Business Cassette (1982)

External links

• Official Myspace page
• Discography and info on Don Fleming's Instant Mayhem site
• Allmusic entry