No matter how great a band may be musically if their stage presence is forgettable then so are they. At least that’s what seemed to be the case with Monotonix, the Tel-Aviv born garage rock trio.
No matter how great a band may be musically if their stage presence is forgettable then so are they. At least that’s what seemed to be the case with Monotonix, the Tel-Aviv born garage rock trio. Well known for their wild performances, as you can see below, the band made quite a name for themselves.
Now their former guitarist, Yonatan Gat, is touring the states with his own act, which he himself has described as “Homeless between the Middle East and New York.”
He’ll be playing at Strange Matter this Friday, the 23rd, but before he performs, he was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.
To say your sound is unique is an understatement, but how would you personally describe your music and its evolution?
Thank you. The music is built on live improvisation so I try to let it develop organically instead of forcing my fantasies on it. Big change takes time to happen, but then when it does happen – it takes a second. The whole thing is very confusing.
Monotonix was well known for their performances. How does your current act compare or draw from your Monotonix experience?
Monotonix is where I come from, it’s like the country or city I’m from in a way, so everything I will ever do will have similarities with Monotonix. The obvious thing about this show is that we set up on the floor, connect to the audience intimately in the eye-level, and there is a theatrical element to the show. Musically, it’s a bit different and more challenging.
What would you cite as being among your most prominent musical inspirations?
I wouldn’t know where to begin and it’s too much stuff, so I’ll just talk about what we’ve been listening to lately. If you wanted namedropping than here goes: when we made our last album (comes out in March) we were listening a lot to Orchestra Baobab from Senegal and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou from Benin. In jazz, stuff like Coltrane, Sonny Sharock, Miles’ Bitches Brew, Mignus’ Black Saint [and the Sinner Lady], which is a pretty mesmerizing and unpredictable record. In terms of rock bands some records that I always see as some holy grail are: the first Velvet Underground, the first Os Mutantes, Royal Trux’s Accelerator.
Did you draw any inspiration from non-musical sources?
Definitely. Especially from movies. We’ve been experimenting with bizarre editing techniques where we glue two musical recordings that have absolutely nothing to do with each other, and editing them together so they play at the same time. It’s like in cinema – the eye fills in what the camera hides. In music – the ear creates the harmony out of chaos. It fills in. The listener connects the two recordings in his head into something new that works. I get a lot of ideas like that from old cinema; I go see movies often.
Do you have a favorite project so far, and if so, why is it your favorite?
As a rule – I think what I do right now is my favorite, I work hard to get it to that place, or otherwise I would have done something else. Biology maybe, try to work for Aubrey de Grey trying to stop or reverse human aging. Open a restaurant. Take pictures. I don’t know… If you don’t feel you’re doing your best you’re not going to really have fun anyway. As long as you’re not convincing yourself…
Assuming you’ve been to Richmond before, what keeps you coming back?
The audience is great. Monotonix had what we considered our first ‘real’ show in the US in Richmond. It was a house party in 2007. One of the bands were called Snack Truck, another was Shellshag. The audience went insane from the first chord we played, started lifting us in the air. It never happened before. It was a time.
How has where you’re from shaped your style of music? Or conversely, do you think region has an effect on a musician’s style?
Musicians that try to block their roots from influencing their music are like people who work really hard to lose their accent. The result is usually weird.
I embrace where I’m from. But I also embrace the fact I’ve been in rock ‘n’ roll bands half of my life—which is a very American style of music. I feel that what we are is a combination of where we came from and where we want to be.
I listened to Iberian Passage and was really impressed. How has the process of crafting and touring with this particular album differed from past experiences?
The new music is more unpredictable, has more influences outside of rock. It’s also based on improvisation, while Monotonix were working with more rules.
And it’s a radically different process, which leads to radically different results. The new excitement that exists in the EP comes from that process. When the musicians are excited about what they are playing, it’s easier for the listener to get excited. I feel like the new show is more risky, despite the fact in Monotonix there was always a big risk of getting smacked in the head by a disco ball or flying garbage can.
And lastly, what can audiences expect if they come and see you perform next week?
Hopefully something they feel like they’ve never seen before.
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Yonatan Gat comes to Smatter this Friday, 1/23. Pick up tickets now here
