Songs in the chimpanzee of life
Temporarily quitting their LA abode for a rare homeward trip Saucy Monky reveal that the Viper Room isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and explain how they’ve conquered US television.
Colm O Hare, 25 Jul 2006
The last time we caught up with Saucy Monky, they were busy flying between their LA base and Ireland for a slew of tour dates and festival appearances, including slots at Oxegen and O2 in the Park.
That was back in the heady summer of 2004 when the Irish/American indie guitar pop outfit were riding high on the success of their second album, Turbulence and the Irish radio hit, the effervescent ‘Disco Ball – Boulevard Remix’. Since then, Saucy Monky, fronted by Dubliner Annemarie Cullen and American Cynthia Catania, have been concentrating on things Stateside with growing success. But with a new rhythm section in tow and a new album on the way, they’re due to hit our shores again for a handful of dates including a slot at Castlepalooza.
“We were asked to do it and thought why not?,” says Annmarie on the blower from LA. “Festivals have always been great for us - you get exposed to so so many people who may not be aware of your band. I know that Oxegen worked for us in a big way. Even the rain helped - we were in the big tent and everyone piled in to see us during a shower. A few months later we played O2 In The Park with Westlife which was kind of strange for us. But we seem to be the kind of band that can squeeze ourselves into any situation between rock and pop.”
Meanwhile, their star continues to rise in the US albeit in a gradual rather than spectacular way as Annmarie explains.
“We play about once a month in Hollywood just to keep the band tight. We’re lucky that we’ve found a scene that is very receptive to us. We’ve played places like the Viper Room which is kinda cool but a little bit too Hollywood for my liking. But last year we travelled to tons of places all around the States. And we’ve recently got a college agent so we’re going to be doing tons of college gigs in the near future. We do well on college radio so that should be good.”
In another strange twist, Saucy Monky have found their songs in demand for high profile US TV shows including the teen-soap Zoey 101 (featuring Britney Spears’ sister Jamie Lynn) and other popular series such as Drake & Josh and Veronica Mars.
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