Monovox
Encyclopedia
Monovox was an American rock band. 
Beginning in 1992, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin high school classmates Matthew Schaeffer, Matthew Kramer, Cliff Hammer, and Tony Krug (a.k.a. Anthony Shaw) began writing and performing songs together. Under the moniker J.J. War, the band wrote and performed original songs featuring strong guitar work and Krug's striking voice. In 1994 after graduating high school, Schaeffer moved to Madison, Wisconsin to study Piano Performance and Composition at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, under Professor Carrol Chilton. Kramer, the drummer, moved to Milwaukee to study film while Hammer and Krug remained in Fond du Lac. The band members all moved to Madison the following year, living together and writing songs.
In 1997, they traveled to Chicago to perform in the city's annual Beatlefest http://www.monovox.com/grammywriteup/writeup.html. The resulting publicity brought the band to the attention of Chicago record producer Joey "The Don" Donatello http://www.discogs.com/artist/Joey+%22The+Don%22+Donatello who developed the band and was responsible for their first full length record, "Burlap and Broadcast", released in 1997.http://www.musicrecyclery.com/search.php?SKU=1080525 The band then relocated to Chicago to gain wider exposure in the local club scene.
The Big Break
In 2000, Monovox earned a $250,000 recording contract through the Internet record label Garageband.com
, founded by Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads. (Wired News 08/01/2000) The highest rated song of the thousands of songs on the Garageband.com website, "First Time", was penned by Schaeffer and recorded by Monovox that year along with twelve additional tracks which would become the band's first and only full length album as Monovox. Garageband Records dissolved with the dot-com bust in 2001 and the self-titled album was not released until later, under the band's own "Ask A Chimp" label. * http://www.onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/monovox.html
Schaeffer continued writing, touring, and recording songs with Monovox until March 2004. In that month, Schaeffer and fellow Monovox guitarist Paul Heenan left the band and moved to Manhattan
to pursue music careers there. Kramer remained in Madison, working at DNA Studios as a producer. http://www.dnastudios.us/staff.html Hammer performs with several Madison-area bands and Shaw has performed solo at various venues in Madison.
In 1997, they traveled to Chicago to perform in the city's annual Beatlefest http://www.monovox.com/grammywriteup/writeup.html. The resulting publicity brought the band to the attention of Chicago record producer Joey "The Don" Donatello http://www.discogs.com/artist/Joey+%22The+Don%22+Donatello who developed the band and was responsible for their first full length record, "Burlap and Broadcast", released in 1997.http://www.musicrecyclery.com/search.php?SKU=1080525 The band then relocated to Chicago to gain wider exposure in the local club scene.
The Big Break
In 2000, Monovox earned a $250,000 recording contract through the Internet record label Garageband.com
GarageBand.com
GarageBand.com was a large online community of independent musicians and music fans. Founded in 1999, the site was used by musicians who were seeking greater exposure and critical insight provided by an audience of their peers. The site was also used by music fans to discover new independent...
, founded by Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads. (Wired News 08/01/2000) The highest rated song of the thousands of songs on the Garageband.com website, "First Time", was penned by Schaeffer and recorded by Monovox that year along with twelve additional tracks which would become the band's first and only full length album as Monovox. Garageband Records dissolved with the dot-com bust in 2001 and the self-titled album was not released until later, under the band's own "Ask A Chimp" label. * http://www.onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/monovox.html
Schaeffer continued writing, touring, and recording songs with Monovox until March 2004. In that month, Schaeffer and fellow Monovox guitarist Paul Heenan left the band and moved to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to pursue music careers there. Kramer remained in Madison, working at DNA Studios as a producer. http://www.dnastudios.us/staff.html Hammer performs with several Madison-area bands and Shaw has performed solo at various venues in Madison.
Discography
- Burlap and Broadcast (1997) http://www.musicrecyclery.com/search.php?SKU=1080525
- Monovox (EP) (2002) http://cdbaby.com/found?allsearch=monovox&allsearchsubmit=Search
- Sausalito (2003) http://cdbaby.com/found?allsearch=monovox&allsearchsubmit=Search