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New moves w/Alfonse and new music w/Dub Trio

I want to break and pop just like Alfonso! Well you can too...



After you're done learning the centipede or the windmill, why don't you take a listen to one of most exciting bands that MONO has come across this past year. Dub Trio has been burning up the New York scene for a few years now, and you might have noticed them with Mike Patton as Peeping Tom. It's of no mistake that Mike chose them to back him up since the Trio mixes all genres of music so well. Dub, metal, hip-hop, funk, shoegaze...just to name a few. It's a blistering pace they set and we at MONO would love to keep up with them.



We caught up with the guys when they opened for Helmet, long time supporters of MONO. There was a Mike Patton siting as well, but the man slips in and out of places like a trained ninja. I knew something was up with the fella when I first entered backstage. It hit me about 10 minutes later who that was and...yeah...ninja gaiden. DubT is posed for something bigger than big. And if you do have a chance to catch them live, well do yourself a favor:

On tour in the US:

Sep 4 Trocadero Balcony Philadelphia, PA
Sep 5 Ottobar Baltimore, MD
Sep 6 DC9 Washington, DC

In Europe:

Oct 8 L'Epicerie Moderne Feyzin, FR
Oct 9 L'Orange Bleue Vitry Le Francois, FR
Oct 10 La Nef Angouleme, FR
Oct 11 Le Forum Vaureal, FR
Oct 12 Le Son'Art Bordeaux, FR
Oct 13 Gruta 77 Madrid, SP
Oct 14 La Phare Toulouse, FR
Oct 15 La Fourmi Limoges, FR
Oct 16 Le Reservoir Perigueux, FR
Oct 17 La Poudriere Belfort, FR
Oct 18 Les 4 Ecluses Dunkerque, FR
Oct 21 013 / Batcave Tilburg, NL
Oct 22 L'Astrolabe Orleans, FR
Oct 23 Victoire 2 Montpellier, FR
Oct 24 L'Ebullition Bulle, CH
Oct 25 Festival Rocktambules Grenoble, FR
Oct 27 Lido Berlin, DE
Oct 28 Hafenklang Hamburg, DE
Oct 29 Tsunami Club Koln, DE
Oct 30 AN Club Athens, GR

Big Business means big business in San Francisco.

The duo Big Business, now a trio after adding renowned studio engineer Toshi Kasai on guitar, has been seen sporting MONO product! We're glad we caught them when they strolled into town headlining the new Totimoshi cd release party of Milagrosa. The night was hot, I mean it was literally 90 something degrees at 12 Galaxies. It was enough for even die-hard fans to leave their respective spots on the floor to get a quick breath of colder San Francisco air outside. It was there that we got to catch up with Toshi and what's been happening in the world of BB.



By the time they got onto stage, the floorspace was gone. The place was packed so I headed upstairs where photo opps were waiting to be had. The dynamics of Coady Willis (drums), Jared Warren (bass), and Toshi on guitar are freaking amazing. There's a chemistry already brewing with the trio that has spilled over when it was just Willis and Warren tearing it up. It's of no surprise to say that you could hear some Melvins within the loudness of sonic glory. Heavy is kind of an understatement when listening to this band.







They played a grip of songs from their latest "Here Come the Waterworks" and "Head for the Shallow". We hear that they are in the studio right now working on a new album. Don't sit on your hands...grab this one quick.

MONO bags arriving in the UK

Word has hit the street in the UK. MONO will be distributing with Madison & Fifth (guitar/bass products) and The Music Shipping Company (drum/percussion products), both specialized companies that focus on setting trends all across the country. We at MONO feel very privileged to be working side by side with both of them along with Brendan Murray who has been instrumental and an asset to our recent success in the UK. A fresh "off the presses" news flash will give more detail from miPRO (Music Instrument Professional):

Mono bags arriving in the UK

Andy Barrett Aug 14 2008, 11:46pm

The Trust Network establishes a second ‘multi’ distribution deal


A new line of gigbags and straps for guitarists, bassists and drummers, Mono, is soon to be launched in the UK through two separate suppliers, the Music shipping Company (handling the cymbal and stick bags) and Madison & Fifth – a new guitar accessories distributor in the UK.

Mono is the brainchild of Daniel Kushner (pictured), a California based designer with something of an esoteric background, having qualifications in industrial design engineering, environmental sustainability, and cultural anthropology.

Kushner’s bag designs feature an ultra light, laminated foam shell with strategically placed ABS panels, providing, he affirms, “an unmatched level of protection for your most prized investments”. His thinking behind the products is similar to that taken by several other accessory manufacturers, in that an expensive instrument deserves (and requires from the owners) suitably matched quality for its accessories.

Following on from the success of finding three specialist distributors for the Schertler range of acoustic instrument pickups, Brendan Murray’s The Trust Network sourced two distributors to handle Mono’s lines in the UK.

"We're very excited to be working with both Madison & Fifth and The Music Shipping Company to serve our players in the UK,” Kushner told MI Pro. “With such focused expertise in their respective markets, fuelled by a personal enthusiasm for our product lines, we have the elements in place for a highly successful collaboration.

More importantly, with this specialized distribution model we will offer a valuable new addition to our dealers' stores by attracting the many under-served musicians we design for".

Peter Miller Smith of Madison & Fifth said: "We are delighted to have been appointed as the UK distributor for Mono's guitar range. The intelligent design, strong aspirational branding and sheer practicality of these unique cases and straps fits perfectly with our existing lines. The Mono product set will offer the retailer a real differentiator compared to the many 'me too' products on the market."

"With two such specialist companies in the UK percussion and guitar markets, recognising the area of business that is there to be catered for by Mono cases, the UK’s dealers can be sure of the backup and marketing being done necessary to buy the brand with confidence,” commented Murray. “Mono is already proving in recession-hit USA that there is an entire section of musicians who, when presented with an aesthetic in case design that exudes taste, displays top-flight industrial design engineering to deliver tremendous protection combined with less weight than anything comparable on the market and a truly innovative feature set, they are happy to pay for it. And the value is real. Normally the UK retail in pounds is around 80 per cent of the US dollar retail. At around $189 versus around £99, Mono's UK retail will be more like 50% off US retail."

Click here to get a full list of our dealers and distributors.

Owen @ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco 7/29/2008

The whole day did not, in fact, revolve around this show. It actually revolved around the fact that I was about to get 2 wisdom teeth pulled out of my head. I was especially afraid of looking like a chipmunk after the procedure and have always heard of horror stories of the swelling never really going away. Why do people tell you these things?



The wisdom teeth were pulled at around 3:30 in the afternoon and I was supposed to be doped up with Nitrous...well I was, but I didn't really feel it doing much of anything. Anyway, aside from some bleeding and two holes in my gums, I would have to say that I felt rather good. I made dinner for my wife and drooled over not being able to consume any of it, and then we promptly changed to head into the city.

A good friend of mine got us tickets and we headed into Bottom of the Hill and this being my first time and all I gave it a good going over. It was small as expected but nice inside. There were quite a few people there and I quickly found out that the show was sold out. Rocky Votolato was headlining the event, but I was there to see Kinsella being a fan of American Football, Joan of Arc, and Capn' Jazz. I'll skip to Owen's set as the opener was someone I hadn't heard of...

Like many of his shows that I've caught and heard of, Mike was talking to the crowd quite a bit. He opened with a song that was interupted by cell phone interference coming from his monitors...it seemed to lighten the mood even more.



By the third song, it was apparent that someone needed to turn that ish off. Ahhhh back to Owen and his delicate fingerwork on the guitar. Being a guitarist, I am always impressed by his work on the instrument and have found respect for his vocals as well. I felt a connection with his lyrics and it was obvious that his storytelling was comical as well. We come from the same generation.