Forming out of school, Monks Of Mellonwah have undergone the obligatory series of lineup changes but for them, it has been a case of too many choices rather than a lack of focus. You know you’re dealing with some driven lads when they’re choosing between law degrees and economics degrees (at NYU for the latter) or pursuing a promising music a career. “We had the lineup coming out of school and when we got to the point of recording our EP our singer bailed out because he wanted to focus on his studies and get into law,” bassist John de la Hoyde explains. “So Vikram [Kaushik] stepped up and found out he could sing. After about six or eight months, Vikram decided he was gonna take off too. He got an offer at NYU so he went to the States and our old singer came back. He jumped at the chance to come back but we didn’t really have a big chance to practice and get into writing with him. He left again and Vikram’s back now. Since he’s been back we’ve been writing prolifically. We’ve had a lot of good things move forward for the band so it’s gonna be the four of us now. We’re set on the lineup.”
Both Kaushik and de la Hoyde admit that deciding to gamble on their art over the stable choice of a white collar career was simultaneously nerve-wracking and a no brainer. “It is hard but I decided I wanted to give this 100% because I didn’t want to look back in ten years and regret not giving it everything, it would seem like a waste,” de la Hoyde says and Kaushik chimes in on the band’s work ethic. “We have a background in classical music; I grew up playing violin and playing in orchestras so we’ve all had experience playing in ensembles. I think it even affects the way we rehearse as well as the way we write as well as make decisions.”
Those decisions have seemed global in nature from the very beginning of Monks Of Mellonwah’s journey. “We just figure anywhere that wants to hear us and anywhere that we want to go to is possible – we just go for it,” Kaushik says. “Our manager has put the pedal to the metal for us and sent things out in every direction. The reality is there might be places in the world that appreciate our music more than other places and even more than Australia.”
Their manager is uniquely close to band; Chris de la Hoyde is bassist John and guitarist Joe’s dad. “He is the brains behind our music getting out there,” de la Hoyde says. “He’s not got a background in the industry as such, but he’s got a business-y background and we have him to thank for a lot of things. We all come up with bits and pieces and do various things for the business side but he’s been pivotal for the international work. Still, the success that we’ve had in places like the US has been in increments. It’s such a huge market and to say you’ve played a few shows over there is nothing in comparison to getting close to actually getting there.”
Releasing the album as three volumes – or three EP’s really – seems like another one of those manager-made choices. “We just want to get the most out of it,” de la Hoyde begins. “The idea is we’ve got a whole album there but the issue we had was that we’re still a growing band and we didn’t want to release an entire album to…”
“…well to no one,” Kaushik laughs. “It’s a strategy for a young band –release three songs, do a video, get it out there as much as we can and not have some songs on the album to get lost in the bunch. We wrote the music and finished the music and in essence that was the end for us, that side of things are important but the way it gets released is important but was someone else’s decision.”
The lads know the release plan and resign themselves to the fact their life has become a cycle of recording, releasing and touring. For them, the album has been finished for a long time and they’ve even been in the studio working on their next instalment. “By the end of the year you’ll be getting the whole album basically. Between now and Christmas it will be a stream of music and videos and some more touring later,” Kaushik finishes.
BY KRISSI WEISS
