Sure we’ve heard about you before, but we think it’s time for Tone Deaf to get to know you a little better. Slip in to something comfortable while we put on some music, pour us a couple of drinks and turn the lights down low. So, tell us about yourselves…Who are you – who who? We really wanna know….
Who are you and what do you do in your act?
My name is Mark Alfred Monnone and I play guitar and “sing” in Monnone Alone.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
I had purloined my mum’s copy of Francis Lai’s ‘A Man & A Woman’ soundtrack for quite a long time until I discovered it had extreme sentimental value and in losing the record, Mum had completely lost her mojo. So I returned the record but in doing so, grabbed her copy of Lou Reed’s ‘Metal Machine Music’ which seemed strangely out of place amongst her collection of Dr Hook and Doobie Brothers albums.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
Burzum, Striborg, Xasthur, Satyricon and The Cat’s Miaow.
‘Home taping is killing the music business was the catch-cry of the record industry in the 1970s, but it managed to survive until now. What do you think is the difference between mates taping copies of friend’s records back in the 80s and 90s and file sharing now?
Making a cover for the tape was always a good time.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What was the first gig you went to.?Where was it and what was the venue?
When I was twelve I went and saw Dire Straits at Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. It was also the first time I experienced a contact high.
What’s your favourite site to download music from and do you ever pay for it? Can we find any of your releases there?
I haven’t really learned how to do that yet.
What artist made you want to pick up an instrument and/or sing?
Gene Simmons. As kids, we used to dress up as Kiss — my sister was Paul Stanley and I got to be Gene. We made replica guitars out of cardboard boxes and wooden sticks and my sister was pretty handy with the make-up kit. I finally got to see Kiss in 2009 at the Kiss Alive/35 show in Oakland, California with my friend Drew (thanks Drew!) and Gene was just as bleedy as I’d hoped.
Have you ever been arrested?
I got locked up once, when I was 18, for being Drunk & Disorderly. In actual fact, I was quite sober and, not to mention, relatively orderly. When I asked the police officers for a breath test all I got was a few slaps in the face and a good ol’ knee-ing to the groin/thigh region.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
I tend to visit the toilet for about two hours.
What’s been your most outrageous rider request?
Healthy vegan snacks.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
Marty Donald from The Lucksmiths because he has a pool table in his rehearsal room as well as a nice outdoor courtyard BBQ set-up.
Right, let’s get really intimate. Tell us what releases you have that we can listen to with the lights down low, or even better, where we can see you play in person next.
We’ve just released our first 7” single ‘Pink Earrings’ and we’re launching it at the Workers Club on Thursday, July 28. The Harpoons are joining us on the bill as well as Brashs, an exciting new POP band playing their first gig. It’s probably going to be the best show in Melbourne this year, if not this decade.
