Interview – Moneen

When it comes to concerts, “free” usually means a venue is going to be packed to the brim. With the case being rightly so at The Horseshoe Tavern for the band’s CD release party, vocalist/guitarist Kenny Bridges decided it would be best to take the interview to the sidewalks of downtown Toronto

Photos Cred: Jeff Parsons

So why a free CD release concert?

We just wanted to do something really fun, like play with all our friends’ bands in a venue we all really like and are familiar with. We don’t really want to put on a show for money. We want to have a party where everyone can hang out and have fun so, free show!

Why did you choose Anthony Green to make a special appearance at the show?

Those Circa Survive guys have been such great friends of ours for like three years, touring North America with them, and they are in the city recording right now. We would have loved to have the whole band play tonight, but they are right in the middle of the record. Anthony was really still stoked to jam out some acoustic tunes. It means so much to be able spend this show with those guys.

What exactly is the cover of your new release, “The World I Want To Leave Behind”?

I did a lot of writing for the record in London, England last summer, and wherever I was, I would take a picture of something as I was writing if I felt it was inspiring to me. That particular image on the front of our new album was taken out of a still frame of one the films I was filming while I was over there. But the picture wasn’t high quality enough, so a friend of mine named Andy went back for me and took some high quality photos of that exact lamp post. Every picture other than that in the album artwork, was taken by one us and means something to each of us. I love the album’s cover though, I feel it’s very timeless and classic.

What does the title “The World I Want To Leave Behind” mean to you?

It sums up the lyrical content of the record. When you leave this world, how do we want to be remembered? What do you want to be remembered for? How do you want to leave the world? What will be your legacy?

It’s been three years since you released your last full length, “The Red Tree”. Since then you’ve put out two EPs. What else has Moneen been up to?

We haven’t toured much in this past year; we took our time on this record, especially with drummer Steve Nunnaro being new to the band. We really took the time to allow the band to grow together. We did a couple European tours, and Australian tours. We wrote about 20 songs for the record, but cut it down to 12. It’s hard to decide which songs you want to leave together on an album.

With the departure of drummer Peter Krpan, how has that effected the band?

We were just all in different places. Peter was going one direction, and we were going another. There were no harsh feelings. After we sat down to talk about, we all went out to eat after. Peter came out to see Steve play his first show. It sucks having to sit down and have that talk, but it had to happen. They are both great drummers in their own right.

In October and November, you are headed out to the U.S.. What would be your favourite venue to play there?

I would say one of my favourite venues to play would be Chain Reaction in Anaheim. The vibe is really cool and you just know the shows are always going to be good. Denver is always great to play. We have toured the States a lot.

Would you say you’ve toured the U.S. more or Canada?

I’d say it’s pretty close to being equal. Eh, it’s hard to say, although we have toured Canada a lot as well. We’ve done a lot more headlining in Canada. It’s going to be fun to headline some shows in the States soon so we can build our fan base over there as well.