100 Monkeys Transcend 'Twilight,' Keep the Legacy of Spencer Bell Alive
The 'Hundredth Monkey Effect,' a phenomenon discovered by Japanese scientists in 1952, is the idea that a learned behavior can be transferred from one group of monkeys to another group until an entire population has learned the specific skill -- and this is precisely what Los Angeles band 100 Monkeys preach about. With incredibly positive attitudes and keen acting abilities, the band strives to put a smile on your face at every show, and keep that smile with you for days afterward.
In conjunction with the release of their newest album 'Liquid Zoo,' 100 Monkeys have teamed up with House of Blues Entertainment for a 40-plus city US tour, opening in Cincinnati June 28 and including dates in Dallas, Anaheim, Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco.
Ben Graupner, Jackson Rathbone, Jerad Anderson, Ben Johnson and Lawrence Abrams recently dropped by AOL Music's New York office to discuss their newest album 'Liquid Zoo,' the legacy of their late friend Spencer Bell and how anyone in the group could possibly be in the 'Twilight' movies.
In conjunction with the release of their newest album 'Liquid Zoo,' 100 Monkeys have teamed up with House of Blues Entertainment for a 40-plus city US tour, opening in Cincinnati June 28 and including dates in Dallas, Anaheim, Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco.
Ben Graupner, Jackson Rathbone, Jerad Anderson, Ben Johnson and Lawrence Abrams recently dropped by AOL Music's New York office to discuss their newest album 'Liquid Zoo,' the legacy of their late friend Spencer Bell and how anyone in the group could possibly be in the 'Twilight' movies.
Tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Ben Graupner: We're 100 Monkeys, funky rock 'n' roll band. Started in the Living Room in Hollywood just behind Cantor's Deli. We were making these crazy recordings in the Living Room, in there all day making an album a day or two albums a day and we made all our friends listen to it.
Jackson Rathbone: Yeah! Yeah did you like it? Did you like it?!
BG: And then we wrote this album called 'Monster de Lux' one day, and we thought there was something in there. So we moved forward on that and at the same time we met Lawrence [Abrams] and Jerad [Anderson] who lived down the block who'd been coming over and jamming all the time. And we had just finished a movie with Lawrence. The producers of that movie had bought a bar up the street.
We kept getting shut down by the police because of noise complaints. So then the people who owned the bar said "Hey you can come up and practice in the bar when it's not open, we're closed this Tuesday if you wanna come over and jam." And we started playing and some people wandered in off the street and the owner was there [and] he started pouring them free drinks. And that turned into a Tuesday residency. That's how the band got together. We just started playing and playing and playing. Now it's been almost four years. Toured North America extensively. Can't wait to get overseas. We're here promoting our second album 'Liquid Zoo.'
How do you guys stay sane on tour? What do you do with your downtime?
Band: What downtime [laughs]?!
JR: No, it's fun man. We started off as a jam band just kinda jamming and havin' fun so we always carry with us a couple of instruments that are easily portable like the mandolin. I got a 6-string ukulele that I de-tuned like a guitar so it's pretty easy to travel with. Always have a keyboard handy so we can always jam and make up new songs. It's surprising but we actually enjoy each other's company. So just getting to hang out with your friends is really nice.
Do a lot of your songs come out of jam sessions?
JR: You know, actually it's funny. One of our songs off of 'Grape,' we just switched the instrumentation, just in the last show we did in Vegas because it's kind of evolved that way. And you know, we all started off on different instruments and we've all played different instruments throughout our lives and so it's really fun for us to get up on stage and not be stuck behind one instrument, not be stuck behind one microphone. But really share the stage with one another and it's much more collaborative a process then I would assume most bands I've been with and played with. Most bands that I know as people. We all bring to the table a lyric here and a lyric there or a riff here and a riff there. And suddenly someone else is like "Yeah, what if we do this?!" and someone else is like "And I hear this!" and suddenly you have a brand new song. It's really fun.
We've written songs on the day of a performance and played them that night. We did that with 'Future Radio' and 'Keep Awake' and 'Better than This.'
That's cool, you keep it organic.
BG: We keep that in our live show too. We do an improved song every night. We ask the audience to come up with an idea for a song and we just kinda riff and then hopefully make up something that sounds like a song to a certain degree at least.
JR: The last two we did happened in Vegas.
BG: ... stays in Vegas [laughs]. A big part of what we do is what we don't do right. I think a lot of people for some reason find that really entertaining. They see some kind of humanity in it. We screw up often. I've been watching a lot of older taped concerts and stuff and the ones where they just nail it the whole time -- it's just boring. When's the train gonna crash? That's why people watch NASCAR.
Jerad Anderson: We're the NASCAR of bands [slow laughter].
JR: NASCAR of bands?! Yeah, I'm looking for an AOL patch to go here! [points to chest].
Band: What downtime [laughs]?!
JR: No, it's fun man. We started off as a jam band just kinda jamming and havin' fun so we always carry with us a couple of instruments that are easily portable like the mandolin. I got a 6-string ukulele that I de-tuned like a guitar so it's pretty easy to travel with. Always have a keyboard handy so we can always jam and make up new songs. It's surprising but we actually enjoy each other's company. So just getting to hang out with your friends is really nice.
Do a lot of your songs come out of jam sessions?
JR: You know, actually it's funny. One of our songs off of 'Grape,' we just switched the instrumentation, just in the last show we did in Vegas because it's kind of evolved that way. And you know, we all started off on different instruments and we've all played different instruments throughout our lives and so it's really fun for us to get up on stage and not be stuck behind one instrument, not be stuck behind one microphone. But really share the stage with one another and it's much more collaborative a process then I would assume most bands I've been with and played with. Most bands that I know as people. We all bring to the table a lyric here and a lyric there or a riff here and a riff there. And suddenly someone else is like "Yeah, what if we do this?!" and someone else is like "And I hear this!" and suddenly you have a brand new song. It's really fun.
We've written songs on the day of a performance and played them that night. We did that with 'Future Radio' and 'Keep Awake' and 'Better than This.'
That's cool, you keep it organic.
BG: We keep that in our live show too. We do an improved song every night. We ask the audience to come up with an idea for a song and we just kinda riff and then hopefully make up something that sounds like a song to a certain degree at least.
JR: The last two we did happened in Vegas.
BG: ... stays in Vegas [laughs]. A big part of what we do is what we don't do right. I think a lot of people for some reason find that really entertaining. They see some kind of humanity in it. We screw up often. I've been watching a lot of older taped concerts and stuff and the ones where they just nail it the whole time -- it's just boring. When's the train gonna crash? That's why people watch NASCAR.
Jerad Anderson: We're the NASCAR of bands [slow laughter].
JR: NASCAR of bands?! Yeah, I'm looking for an AOL patch to go here! [points to chest].
You guys are all a part of the acting community. Do you incorporate that into your band?
JR: We've always kind of dreamed of the idea of [a] 100 Monkeys film or 100 Monkeys television show or something fun you know? We love to integrate the arts. Our live show, it is very theatrical because a lot of us grew up in the theater or are just born performers [points to Lawrence]. And I think that there's something interesting about someone that's really comfortable on stage and not necessarily playing to the audience but playing with the audience. Like having fun with the people who paid money to come see you or at least like drove a couple hours to see a free show, or are standing there in a smokey crowded casino to come hang out. I think there's something magical about that and I think we're really blessed to have the fan base we do because they're so incredibly supportive and they really promote us how we want to be promoted which is organically, mouth to mouth just being like "this is a really fun show, come on out, have a little fun you know." It's like the 100 Monkey effect, that system of collective consciousness, you all get together. You're all on the same wave length. Hopefully everybody leaves the theater with a smile and they carry that smile forth to the following days, week, months, or however long we can hopefully leave that smile on their face.
Have you had any crazy fan experiences?
JR: Well define crazy, you're taking to a bunch of crazy individuals. I think one of the weirdest moments for us -- when we all got back on the tour bus and we were like "we that was really strange -- was when this woman came through the entire line and asked us all to sign her wrist. And we did and then she was like, "Great I'm gonna go write to my tattoo artist!" And then all of us were like "Wait, we can do it better! Sorry!"
JA: Actually, you [addresses Ben Johnson] wrote something on one girl's wrist like a quote and you misspelled a word and she got it tattooed.
Ben Johnson: The quote was 'be careful what you wish for.'
JR: I thought careful was spelled with two L's, like full of care.
Does the 'Twilight' association bother you or do you embrace it?
JR: I think you just kind of run on with whatever's given to you. At the end of the day I'm not really concerned with why people walk into the theater or the club or the bar. Man, we've played bowling alleys and house parties. We're not really concerned why they walk in, it's the attitude they walk out with, you know? We're just having fun playing. We have fun playing when it's just the five of us, so when you integrate a crowd the energy level just spikes and the adrenaline starts going.
BG: It's an interesting phenomena though because sometimes people show up and they'll be like 'who's the 'Twilight' guy? Who's the 'Twilight' guy?' And any one of us will be like "It's me [laughs]!" We do it all the time! And other people will be like "oh man, can I get my picture with you?" and we're like "OK!"
JR: We've always kind of dreamed of the idea of [a] 100 Monkeys film or 100 Monkeys television show or something fun you know? We love to integrate the arts. Our live show, it is very theatrical because a lot of us grew up in the theater or are just born performers [points to Lawrence]. And I think that there's something interesting about someone that's really comfortable on stage and not necessarily playing to the audience but playing with the audience. Like having fun with the people who paid money to come see you or at least like drove a couple hours to see a free show, or are standing there in a smokey crowded casino to come hang out. I think there's something magical about that and I think we're really blessed to have the fan base we do because they're so incredibly supportive and they really promote us how we want to be promoted which is organically, mouth to mouth just being like "this is a really fun show, come on out, have a little fun you know." It's like the 100 Monkey effect, that system of collective consciousness, you all get together. You're all on the same wave length. Hopefully everybody leaves the theater with a smile and they carry that smile forth to the following days, week, months, or however long we can hopefully leave that smile on their face.
Have you had any crazy fan experiences?
JR: Well define crazy, you're taking to a bunch of crazy individuals. I think one of the weirdest moments for us -- when we all got back on the tour bus and we were like "we that was really strange -- was when this woman came through the entire line and asked us all to sign her wrist. And we did and then she was like, "Great I'm gonna go write to my tattoo artist!" And then all of us were like "Wait, we can do it better! Sorry!"
JA: Actually, you [addresses Ben Johnson] wrote something on one girl's wrist like a quote and you misspelled a word and she got it tattooed.
Ben Johnson: The quote was 'be careful what you wish for.'
JR: I thought careful was spelled with two L's, like full of care.
Does the 'Twilight' association bother you or do you embrace it?
JR: I think you just kind of run on with whatever's given to you. At the end of the day I'm not really concerned with why people walk into the theater or the club or the bar. Man, we've played bowling alleys and house parties. We're not really concerned why they walk in, it's the attitude they walk out with, you know? We're just having fun playing. We have fun playing when it's just the five of us, so when you integrate a crowd the energy level just spikes and the adrenaline starts going.
BG: It's an interesting phenomena though because sometimes people show up and they'll be like 'who's the 'Twilight' guy? Who's the 'Twilight' guy?' And any one of us will be like "It's me [laughs]!" We do it all the time! And other people will be like "oh man, can I get my picture with you?" and we're like "OK!"
What are some of your biggest influences?
Lawrence Abrams: Besides each other. I would say music. Period. Music has the spirit of itself where it constantly influences, it's constantly evolving, constantly just giving us something to do that we love to do. So I would say music.
JR: We all have got different backgrounds in music, but I think the album that changed my life was Tom Waits' 'Mule Variations'. It really just kind of grabbed me and showed me what real musicianship, and stepping out of the box and what being a little bit more playful was all about. And also the lyrics, it's something that's just deeper than talking about"'oh my girl left me." It's like "oh the sunshine left me, this world has left me." There's something more realistic about that that I like.
And then a good friend of ours, Spencer Bell, who's an incredible lyricist, poet and artist, passed away a few years back. And we only do cover songs by Spencer as of yet. He's an incredible musician. We talk about his legacy all the time. We play once or twice a year for the Spencer Bell legacy, a foundation which raises money for adrenal cancer and orphan cancer research – they have cancers that most people don't really talk about, that still take up a lot of lives. He was an amazing artist, so to promote that and to have people all over the world know Spencer Bell is a really cool thing for us.
Have you thought about doing a cover record of Spencer's Songs?
JR: Yeah, it's called the Friends of Spencer Bell Legacy, it's a bunch of bands that have been playing with the Legacy foundation for four years now. There's such amazing talents, such amazing heart and soul that goes into these performances. Everyone travels out on their own dime and plays and all the money goes to adrenal cancer research and Dr. Gary Hammer. And it's been amazing actually, I think it was last year. They finally have new medicine since 1965 for adrenal cancer research. Finally pushed it through, which really was a high point to say the least.
But yeah, we're definitely gonna be releasing a bunch of different bands performing different songs by Spencer in their own way. It's really really exciting.
Lawrence Abrams: Besides each other. I would say music. Period. Music has the spirit of itself where it constantly influences, it's constantly evolving, constantly just giving us something to do that we love to do. So I would say music.
JR: We all have got different backgrounds in music, but I think the album that changed my life was Tom Waits' 'Mule Variations'. It really just kind of grabbed me and showed me what real musicianship, and stepping out of the box and what being a little bit more playful was all about. And also the lyrics, it's something that's just deeper than talking about"'oh my girl left me." It's like "oh the sunshine left me, this world has left me." There's something more realistic about that that I like.
And then a good friend of ours, Spencer Bell, who's an incredible lyricist, poet and artist, passed away a few years back. And we only do cover songs by Spencer as of yet. He's an incredible musician. We talk about his legacy all the time. We play once or twice a year for the Spencer Bell legacy, a foundation which raises money for adrenal cancer and orphan cancer research – they have cancers that most people don't really talk about, that still take up a lot of lives. He was an amazing artist, so to promote that and to have people all over the world know Spencer Bell is a really cool thing for us.
Have you thought about doing a cover record of Spencer's Songs?
JR: Yeah, it's called the Friends of Spencer Bell Legacy, it's a bunch of bands that have been playing with the Legacy foundation for four years now. There's such amazing talents, such amazing heart and soul that goes into these performances. Everyone travels out on their own dime and plays and all the money goes to adrenal cancer research and Dr. Gary Hammer. And it's been amazing actually, I think it was last year. They finally have new medicine since 1965 for adrenal cancer research. Finally pushed it through, which really was a high point to say the least.
But yeah, we're definitely gonna be releasing a bunch of different bands performing different songs by Spencer in their own way. It's really really exciting.
Source => AOL Music / Via => JRathboneFB
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