Monks of Mellonwah is a four-man indie rock band out of Sydney, Australia. This modern rock band brings not only something new, but something from the past as well. Lead guitarist, Joe De La Hoyde, has a distinct sound that could be compared to the solos of Josh Klingoffer of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jimi Hendrex. Together with smooth vocals of William Maher and Drummer, Joshua Baissari also on vocals, Bassist, John De La Hoyde, and Guitarist, Vikram Kaushik they bring a unique modern rock sound that compares to the likes of Katastro and Slightly Stoopid.
Our Q&A interview with Monks of Mellonwah and All Indie Magazine:
You're nominated in multiple categories, "Best Rock Artist" and "Best
Indie Rock Artist", at the 2012 All Indie Music Awards. How excited
are you for these nominations?
We are absolutely stoked. It came as a big surprise to us when we found out that we had been nominated for not just one, but two categories in the awards. We have been working so hard with developing our sound, recording and gigging and also trying to build our fan base that it makes these nominations all the more amazing !
Have you ever been nominated for an award before, if so, what was it?
Yes we were very fortunate to win first prize for our music video 'Swamp Groove' at a short film festival in Sydney called Harolds Shorts. The award was judged by legendary music historian and journalist Glenn A Baker which made it all the more special for us!
This being our inaugural year, how did you hear about the All Indie
Music Awards?
We heard about the awards through Musicxray and thought 'why not' and sent off our new track Neurogenesis along with all our links and band history! We never thought for one minute that we would be nominated!
You are currently in the running to perform at the award ceremony in
Hollywood, CA on February 10, 2012. How optimistic are you that you'll
be selected?
You have to be optimistic right? Whatever happens we will be ready to rock The Key Club on February 10, 2012 and show what the Monks of Mellonwah are all about !!
If selected to play live, which two songs will you play?
Definitely Neurogenesis will be one of the songs .. the other one might will be a new song called Neverending Spirit that has not been released yet. We are really excited by both these songs!
Have you listened to some of your competition's music, what do you think?
Yes we have listened to the other bands in the competition and yeah they are all very cool!! The competition is really strong..some great bands and great music is being showcased!
How did you get into music and what was your inspiration?
We are mates and Mwent to the same school in Sydney and were all involved in music or performing arts in one way or another. John and Joe are brothers and have been addicted to playing guitar and writing their own music since a very young age. Our inspiration is very varied, each one of us brings something different to the table and we can thank all the incredible bands and musicians for the last 40-50 years for their contribution to music for giving us the drive to march forwards!
Is your current EP, Stars are Out your first release?
Yes we released Stars are Out around June/July of last year.
What was the meaning behind the name?
You mean the name of the EP - Stars are Out or the band name Monks of Mellonwah? Everyone asks about the band name haha... The name Stars are Out comes from one of the songs on the EP. We kind of thought it was a good name for the EP and we hoped that one day it might have some greater significance! The name of the band comes from an old computer game; some of the characters in the game were called 'The Mad Monks of Mellonwah'... we thought we were all a bit mad so why not the 'Monks of Mellonwah' haha
For sure we would recommend these awards to other bands... it is so hard to get noticed or receive recognition in the music industry and in particular for up and coming bands. It is so awesome that there is such an award as The All Indie Music Awards as it gives hope to bands like us !
Where can readers find more of your music and music videos?
We have our own wesite www.monksofmellonwah.com but you can also find us on a number of different websites including facebook, reverbnation, musicxray, soundcloud and youtube!
Lastly, what are you looking forward to most at the All Indie Music Awards?
Honestly? We want to play.. to perform at the awards in front of all the wonderful fans at The Key Club. Winning an award would be simply amazing and a dream come true but ultimately we are performers and a chance to play at such a venue....? Well that would be one step closer to heaven ... this is what we feel we were born to do'!!!
Vote for Reachback at "Best Rock Artist" and "Best Indie Rock Artist"
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