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#MusicExchange: Monark
We spoke to the band members, Eugene Coetzer (vocals, percussion) Ewald Jansen van Rensburg (guitar, synth), Deon de Klerk (bass) and Graeme Wuth (drums) this week to see what makes them tick.
We’re fantastic! So many exciting things going on right now in the Monark camp. We have our brand new self-titled album launching now, and the first single from that, Broken is already starting to do well, plus some amazing shows coming up in the calendar around South Africa!
Music means so much to us on an everyday basis. We can’t say it’s THE most important thing, as our families and friends will always fill that space, but making music is the most incredible creative outlet for all of us, and we’re continually in awe of how powerful that responsibility is.
Tons! We’ve had some very strange people find their way onto stages that we’ve performed on, most just seem very keen to dance with Eugene, but to be fair, he eggs them on quite a bit. Problem is that these people tend to trip over cables and guitars…When Ewald is not dropping his own guitar that is.
Anybody who stands up for what’s right, regardless of what people might think of them.
It would swing between a really nice Cabernet Sauvignon or a large draught beer depending on the place and mood.
Sergei Prokofiev – Dance of the Knights
Rolling Stones – Paint it Black
Michael Jackson – Beat It
John Mayer – Belief
A packed show at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. (In addition to a sold-out Wembley Arena or 02 in London.
We’d probably go back to what we do on the side or studied for, quite an interesting mix: Eugene, our front man has a doctorate in Ancient Greek mythology (Yes Dr. Eugene Coetzer). Graeme, our drummer is a qualified pilot. Deon is a computer boffin and builds websites and apps, and Ewald studied law and medicine so he would have some epic choices to make!
Driven, Fun, Original, Excited, Happy.
Coldplay – Parachutes
Radiohead – OK Computer
John Mayer – Continuum
Neo – For All We Know
Queen – A Night at the Opera
Toss up between Forrest Gump and Shawshank Redemption.
It’s cheesy, but after our families, we love our fans the most. We never cease to be amazed that people will spend their time and money coming to hear us play. It is such an honour. Always.
Something that fits perfectly, and often, into a figurative box.
Shoes! Shoes finish everything off!
Yes. Not sure how many would answer though?
A sold-out show and people singing your lyrics back to you.
Get really distracted by the crowd.
We Will Rock You – Queen. You don’t even need to hear the lyrics to know that what’s coming is badass!
We’ll be embarking on our album tour in June starting at the Barnyard Rivonia on 9th June and going through to July.
Wishes for 2017?
We really want to take things up a notch with our live performances and reach more people, not just locally in SA, but across the world. Having said that, SA will always be our home base.
Links
Monark website
Monark Facebook page
Monark Twitter page