Monday Morning is an Christian

Contemporary Christian music

Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...

 alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, U.S

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In 2005 they released their major label debut through Selectric Records

Selectric Records

Selectric Records was an independent record label based in Franklin, TN. Their roster was made up of a number of rock bands, including Monday Morning, Cross Culture , Dalton, Pivitplex, Homeless J., and High Flight Society...

, Fool's Paradise

Fool's Paradise (Monday Morning album)

Fool's Paradise is the first major studio album released by Christian alternative rock band Monday Morning. It was released on August 30, 2005 through Selectric Records...

, and are known for their number 1 hit song "Wonder of It All (Next Year)".

History

In high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, lead vocalist Derek Stipe met Kent Rector, who played drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s. Soon Rector, Stipe and his brother Kevin began jamming together. After playing with a few other people, the group eventually narrowed down to four members: the Stipe brothers, Rector, and Justin Blythe who they knew from their church. Lead singer Stipe said, "We thought we kinda had something special, so we started playing out, getting better, and it just exploded from there."

They decided on a band name, "Monday Morning", because it was "a dose of reality." Stipe noted, "When you confront the world, yourself, and everything around you. No more games, masks, or half truths. That is the boldness we want our music to have." In 2001 they released the three-track Monday Morning EP, followed by Blind in 2002.

According to facebook group The Band has changed their name to Anzio Annie.

Fool's Paradise

The band's first major studio album, Fool's Paradise

Fool's Paradise (Monday Morning album)

Fool's Paradise is the first major studio album released by Christian alternative rock band Monday Morning. It was released on August 30, 2005 through Selectric Records...

, was released on August 30, 2005. "Wonder of It All (Next Year)" was released as a single, and reached #1 on R&R

R&R (magazine)

R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...

's Christian CHR

Contemporary hit radio

Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...

 chart. It was the #9 most played song of 2006 on that format.

Musical style

The band cites their biggest influences as U2

U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

, Silverchair

Silverchair

Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...

, Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, Butch Walker

Butch Walker

Butch Walker is an American recording artist, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the metal band SouthGang from the late 80s to early 90s as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for rock band Marvelous 3 from 1997 until 2001.-Career:Walker grew up in Cartersville,...

 and Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band additionally consists of Jeremy Taggart on percussion, Duncan Coutts on bass, and Steve Mazur as lead guitarist...

. Their song "Wonder of It All (Next Year)" has been compared to U2.

Band members

• Derek Stipe – lead vocalist
  Lead vocalist
  The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
  
  
• Justin Blythe – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Kevin Stipe – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Kent Rector – drums
  Drummer
  A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
  
  

Discography

• 2001: Monday Morning EP (Team Player Records)
• 2002: Blind (independently released)
• 2003: Clouds over Hollywood (independent music)
• 2005: Fool's Paradise
  Fool's Paradise (Monday Morning album)
  Fool's Paradise is the first major studio album released by Christian alternative rock band Monday Morning. It was released on August 30, 2005 through Selectric Records...
  
  (Selectric
  Selectric Records
  Selectric Records was an independent record label based in Franklin, TN. Their roster was made up of a number of rock bands, including Monday Morning, Cross Culture , Dalton, Pivitplex, Homeless J., and High Flight Society...
  
  )

Singles

• "Sunshine"
• "Wonder of It All (Next Year)" – #9 most-played song on Christian CHR
  Contemporary hit radio
  Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
  
  in 2006