Proudest Monkey
Encyclopedia
"Proudest Monkey" is a song by the Dave Matthews Band
, featured on the 1996 album Crash
.
done before the audience at a gig at Williams College
on December 11, 1993. The band arrived two hours late for the gig due to a terrible snowstorm forcing them to take an alternate route (which they ended up getting lost along). As a result, the band jammed the music that would later become "Proudest Monkey" to test their equipment, with Matthews making up lyrics on the spot. This performance was ultimately labeled "Route 2" by tapers (since Route 2 was the way the band got to the gig).
Matthews later kept that experience in mind when reworking the lyrics to the song, establishing the image of the monkey as a metaphor for the entrapment he and the band were feeling at the time (both the literal, in being trapped on a bus in the snowy mountains; and the symbolic, in being trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of repetitive performing, and thus feeling limited in their music). The monkey metaphor would eventually see later use in songs like "Big Eyed Fish" and the unreleased "Monkey Man".
in Charlotte, North Carolina
, albeit with unfinished lyrics. The song would make appearances at shows throughout 1995, gradually evolving into the extended jam form that it would take when it was recorded for Crash.
While the song was a staple of Matthews's tours with Tim Reynolds
until 1999, the song remained one of the rarer tracks to appear in concert with the full band after 1995, though it did see some play during the main tours by the band until 1999 as well. After that, it was played very sparingly, except for appearances at some shows in the summer of 2002. However, the addition of Rashawn Ross
as a regular guest artist to the band's tours in 2006 resulted in the return to the touring rotation of a number of songs of which brass instruments were a key component; one of which was "Proudest Monkey", and the song enjoyed its most exposure in a full band setting since 1995.
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
, featured on the 1996 album Crash
Crash (Dave Matthews Band album)
Crash is the second studio album by Dave Matthews Band, released on April 30, 1996. It includes the band's most successful single, "Crash into Me".The album has been certified 7× platinum.-Track listing:All songs by David J...
.
Origins
"Proudest Monkey" has its roots in a live soundcheckSoundcheck
A soundcheck is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance, when the performer and the sound crew run through a small portion of the upcoming show on the venue's sound system to make sure that the sound in the venue's "Front Of House" and stage monitor sound...
done before the audience at a gig at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
on December 11, 1993. The band arrived two hours late for the gig due to a terrible snowstorm forcing them to take an alternate route (which they ended up getting lost along). As a result, the band jammed the music that would later become "Proudest Monkey" to test their equipment, with Matthews making up lyrics on the spot. This performance was ultimately labeled "Route 2" by tapers (since Route 2 was the way the band got to the gig).
Matthews later kept that experience in mind when reworking the lyrics to the song, establishing the image of the monkey as a metaphor for the entrapment he and the band were feeling at the time (both the literal, in being trapped on a bus in the snowy mountains; and the symbolic, in being trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of repetitive performing, and thus feeling limited in their music). The monkey metaphor would eventually see later use in songs like "Big Eyed Fish" and the unreleased "Monkey Man".
Live performances
After a number of teases and partial performances, "Proudest Monkey" debuted proper on December 29, 1994 during a show at the Grady Cole CenterGrady Cole Center
Grady Cole Center is a small civic center located near Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.The 3,000 seat center is located near the city's center, and can host several types of events. It was built in 1954 to replace the Charlotte Armory Arena, which had been destroyed...
in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, albeit with unfinished lyrics. The song would make appearances at shows throughout 1995, gradually evolving into the extended jam form that it would take when it was recorded for Crash.
While the song was a staple of Matthews's tours with Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...
until 1999, the song remained one of the rarer tracks to appear in concert with the full band after 1995, though it did see some play during the main tours by the band until 1999 as well. After that, it was played very sparingly, except for appearances at some shows in the summer of 2002. However, the addition of Rashawn Ross
Rashawn Ross
Rashawn Ross is an American trumpeter and arranger from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Ross is arguably best known for his contributions in the Dave Matthews Band. After his graduation from the Berklee College of Music , Ross has worked with artists in many different genres of music ranging from...
as a regular guest artist to the band's tours in 2006 resulted in the return to the touring rotation of a number of songs of which brass instruments were a key component; one of which was "Proudest Monkey", and the song enjoyed its most exposure in a full band setting since 1995.
Official live releases
- Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 is an album by the Dave Matthews Band, released on October 28, 1997. It was recorded live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on August 15, 1995. The album is known on the Internet by the abbreviation L@RR...
- Summer 1995 concert
- features guest Tim Reynolds
- Live Trax Vol. 5Live Trax Vol. 5Live Trax Vol. 5 is the fifth release of the Dave Matthews Band's Live Trax series. This concert was recorded on August 23, 1995 at the Meadow Brook Music Festival at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The show is notable for a twelve minute version of "Exodus", a rarity among the...
- Summer 1995 concert (8.23.95)
- features guest David Ryan Harris
- Live Trax Vol. 4Live Trax Vol. 4Live Trax Vol. 4 is the fourth release of the Dave Matthews Band's Live Trax series. It is a two-disc set released on September 2, 2005 featuring the band's concert in Richmond, Virginia on April 30, 1996. This show was the release party for the Dave Matthews Band album Crash which was released...
- CrashCrash (Dave Matthews Band album)Crash is the second studio album by Dave Matthews Band, released on April 30, 1996. It includes the band's most successful single, "Crash into Me".The album has been certified 7× platinum.-Track listing:All songs by David J...
release show on April 30, 1996
- Crash
- Live Trax Vol. 6Live Trax Vol. 6Live Trax Vol. 6, unofficially known as Live at Fenway Park, is the sixth installment in the Dave Matthews Band Live Trax series. It features a four disc set of the band's two night performance at Fenway Park in Boston from July 7 and 8, 2006...
- 2-night Summer 2006 stand at BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's Fenway ParkFenway ParkFenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"... - features guests Butch TaylorButch TaylorButch Taylor is a composer, writer, keyboardist and long time guest musician with Dave Matthews Band....
and Rashawn Ross
- 2-night Summer 2006 stand at Boston
- Live Trax 2008Live Trax 2008Live Trax 2008 is a live album by Dave Matthews Band featuring eight live tracks recorded during the band's summer 2008 tour. The album is available only as a digital download from the iTunes Store....
- Live at Mile High Music FestivalLive at Mile High Music FestivalLive at Mile High Music Festival is a live album by the Dave Matthews Band from the 2008 Mile High Music Festival outside Denver, Colorado. In its first week of sales, the album debuted at #97 on the US charts...
- features Tim Reynolds and Rashawn Ross on flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
.
- features Tim Reynolds and Rashawn Ross on flugelhorn