The hundredth monkey effect generally describes the instant, paranormal spreading of an idea or ability to the remainder of a population once a certain portion of that population has heard of the new idea or learned the new ability… hmm.
From of the City of Angels comes 100 Monkeys, a band described by SPIN.com as “funk rock” and by RollingStone.com as “tribal sounds with vocals recalling Jim Morrison’s baritone croon.” Beyond Race Magazine says they are “sing-along-worthy, sometimes bluesy” and MTV.com describes them as a mix of “Iggy Pop with the Raconteurs.”
100 Monkeys, however, jest that their music is purely “onomatopoetic, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll call it funky rock-n-roll.”
This quintet of multi-instrumentalists comprises of multi-faceted artists, actors and producers such as: Jackson Rathbone (who appears in such movies as “The Last Airbender,” and the “Twilight” saga), Ben Graupner (Trapped in the 5150, Devolved), Jerad Anderson (Wayne/Lauren Film Company), Lawrence Abrams (of the great Willie Bobo, Bob Hope U.S.O. tour, and The Artist Consortium), and Ben Johnson (of the Stevedores and music producer of Spencer Bell’s “Brain”).
100 Monkeys are known to switch instruments and vocalists nearly every other song during their raucous, theatrical live-sets, an idea patented as the “Monkey Switcheroo”. Swinging about the stage with an enthusiasm that seems to have been lost since the advent of digital recordings, the 100 Monkeys bring back that analog rock-n-roll of the 60’s, with the humor and cynicism of modern times.
When asked to describe their lyrics, the band attributes “drinking, the devil, death, and women who cheat and steal.” To further the eclectic eccentricity, the band consistently improvises a song per live-set, whereupon they ask an idea or “song title” from the audience and proceed to jam out a tune replete with verses and lyrics…another original idea from an original rock band.
100 Monkeys’ completely independent discography includes: “Monster de Lux” (all improvised recordings),”Singles” (Ugly Girl, Smoke, Wasteland Too), “The Creative Control: Live Sessions,” “Grape,” and “Live and Kickin’.”
Their first studio album, “Grape”, which was released in 2009, and their sophomore album, "Liquid Zoo" is set to be released in spring of 2011. Their first single off their new album, "Wandering Mind" has just been released for radio play and their newest music video for the song, "The Fair" also on their new album will be debuting on MTV very soon. Catch behind the scenes of our latest tour on MTV’s, “The Seven” in January of 2011.
Stay tuned at 100monkeysmusic.com for further album, touring updates and other news from the band.
Band Members
Benjamin Graupner
C: Feb. 7, 1986 - Dallax, TX
Keys, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, trumpet, vocals
Benjamin Johnson
C: May 4, 1984 - Mt. Carroll, Ill
Drums, bass, guitar, keys, vocals
M. Jackson Rathbone
C: Dec. 14, 1984 - Singapore City, Singapore
Guitar, vocals, bass, drums, keys, trumpet, mandolin, harmonica
Jerad Anderson
C: June 4, 1981 - San Diego, CA
Guitar, bass, drums, keys, back-up vocals
M. Lawrence Abrams
C: July 5, 1953 - Chicago, Ill.
Percussion, flute, bass, keys, saxophone, vocals
