FM
History
Moneen is a band from Brampton, ON, Canada. Formed in 1999 after the dissolution of another band named Perfectly Normal, the original members included Kenny Bridges (vocals and guitar), Chris "Hippy" Hughes (vocals, guitar), Peter Krpan (drums) and Mark Bowser (bass). In 2001, Bowser was replaced by the enigmatic "Nu Chris", who was subsequently replaced by Erik Hughes. Moneen put out their first releases on Smallman Records, 1999's Smaller Chairs for the Early 1900's EP and 2001's The Theory of Harmonial Value. In 2002, the band signed to Vagrant Records, maintaining Smallman Records as their Canadian distributor. The Trever Keith-produced Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? was released in July 2003, and was the band's introduction to most American listeners, chock-full of their trademarks: uncommon jazz extensions, frequent meter changes, absurdly long song titles, etc. The band's follow-up, The Red Tree, arrived in April 2006, and features more compact compositions than the band's previous releases. A companion DVD titled It All Started With A Red Stripe was released in May 2008 featuring video diaries from their US and Canadian tour, concert footage from their show at the Mod Club in Toronto, as well as a documentary that features the making of The Red Tree.
Moneen went on to release an EP titled Saying Something You Have Already Said Before which featured five songs recorded live at Toronto's Opera House, including a previously unreleased song "Prepare Yourself... The Worst Is Yet To Come." Moneen released The World I Want to Leave Behind in September 2009, an album which saw the departure of drummer Peter Krpan who was replaced by Steve Nunnaro. It included the single "Hold That Sound," as well as "Believe" which was used as part of CTV's television campaign during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
