With Town Troubles and Robotic Humans @ Schmidy’s Tavern, Palm Desert. Saturday, August 16 @ 9 PM
By Lisa Morgan
Like the name suggests, The Monopoly owned it for a while. Having gone through a few transitions and growing pains, by the time this band had it all dialed in 2010, they were playing up and down the California coast including a couple stints on the Ernie Ball stage with Warped Tour. But like many bands, boys turn into men, and men have families and jobs that offer securities that only a select few find in the music industry. The amps, drums and Marshall stacks get tucked away in the garage. Talks of the “old days” over beers and barbecues are interrupted by someone calling them daddy and tugging at their shirt. It was for the most part, a welcome transition for these guys. Not a one of them sounded unhappy. Still, those of us bitten by the small but ferocious gig bug – know that while the craving to play may slumber- it never, EVER dies. So, with the consistent pleading from fans and family, begging for another show, The Monopoly is back. The “post hardcore, indie, blues style rock” original band has pulled it all together for one more big show. Joining them in the farewell, face melting, how-do-you-like-me-now, are Robotic Humans and Town Troubles (neither of which have any intentions of retiring soon).
Fronting The Monopoly is Matt Clayborn, an extremely diverse and penetrating vocalist. Clayborn is no typical balladeer or screamer. He has the ability to project clean, emotional, melodic lyrics over the hair-moving four supporting him, and shift, full throttle, into death metal screams. Clayborn, as he would be with any band he fronted, is a force of nature and the heart of the sound of The Monopoly. Alex Maestas, drummer, ring leader and thunder maker, backs him with some seriously tasty arrangements that morph from hard rock, to funk, then slip into a momentary jazz break rounding back to pulse altering rock seamlessly. You can hear this for yourself especially in their song, “Smooth Talker” found on Soundcloud (http://m.soundcloud.com/themonopoly) along with the rest of the songs on their EP, “Hook, Line and Sinker”. Joining him for this show, on bass, will be Derek Timmons of Town Troubles, an easy fit as Town Troubles share a common thread with The Monopoly – they are as eclectic as hell. Two guitars will fill the melodic front line that includes Chris Bravo and Matthew Sanchez who support the unique sound of this band like their vocalist, with a skill and passion.
“We haven’t played a show in a long time, since around 2011,” shared drummer Alex Maestas. “We are going to play all our fan favorites. We want to give a more proper farewell to this band than we did when we just stopped cold turkey back then. And we want people in this town to see that we can still rock, and that this old band can get together any time and still rock impressively.”
Town Troubles will be opening the show at 9:30 pm, showing off their evolution to a more simpler, roots version of themselves. What once was a full stage with horns and a huge rhythm section, will perform a power set as a three piece, one that should sufficiently warm up, if not melt all in attendance. Joey Zendejas of Robotic Humans shared his excitement for the upcoming show: “This is a special night for all of us. We’ve been in bands together, had side projects, all that good stuff. Every member from each band has a great relationship with one another. The Monopoly hasn’t played a show in 3-4 years. Town Troubles as well as Robotic Humans don’t play too often. One thing Robotic Humans is good at is putting on a show for everyone. We love making people feel accepted and bringing some sort of peace to their hearts. We connect through our music. We’ll be covering War Pigs by Black Sabbath that night! It’s gonna be a blast!”
Schmidy’s Tavern is located on the corner of Fred Waring Drive and Highway 111 next to Men’s Wearhouse in Palm Desert.
Follow these links for more information:
www.schmidystavern.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Schmidys-Tavern
The Monopoly (Post Hardcore/Indie)
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Monopoly/173646746009787
soundcloud.com/themonopoly
Robotic Humans (Rock/Metal)
reverbnation.com/artist/robotichumans
Town Troubles (Rock)
thetowntroubles.bandcamp.com
