DUMB QUESTIONS/SMART ANSWERS: THE MONOCLES

NEARLY ONE IN THREE THURSDAYS we fire off a set of hum drum questions to an unsuspecting regent of the rock, demanding the questions WE MUST KNOW THE RESPONSES TO, some of which you make likewise care about. THIS DAY you are in for a dash of the gentlemanly one-eyed direct to you from Jeff, drummer of The Monocles. LET THE REGAL RETORTS RESONATE:

What are some of your favorite records lately?
Jonny actually just recently got me into King Khan and BBQ. They're really great. And I have a cd of a live American Sharks set that I've been jamming the shit out of. The latest Bronx record, the Marked Men's "Fix My Brain." And then there's the tried & true classics: the Drive Like Jehu records and Rocket from the Crypt stuff I can never get sick of.

Are there any Houston bands who you've been digging lately?
The American Sharks are straight-up my favorite band in town right now. But there are SO many. I get really, really tired of people talking shit on the Houston scene. There are so many good bands here and I cannot figure out why so many people are down on this place! BTEOT, the Dimes, Paper Moons, Hollywood Black, Something Fierce, Dizzy Pilot, Jonbenet, Bring Back the Guns, Sharks & Sailors, Goldenaxe, the Guilloteens......I could go on for days.

What's your secret Houston place?
I'm not very good at being in secret places. No one ever tells me where they are. The Spaghetti Western in the Heights is a delicious Italian restaurant that is rarely crowded, so maybe that place is a secret that I just didn't know was a secret. I know of a couple nice caves. A couple hovels.

What is the first sentence of the page you are on in a book you are reading right now?
"Unrhythmic script does not flow; it is unsteady, stagnant, and has singular and uneven spots that catch and jar the eye."

What's the best thing you have spent money on in the last year?
I bought a stuffed jaguar head out of the back of this dude's truck on Washington Ave, like, 2 months ago. He wouldn't tell me where he got it from. Its mounted really badly, too. All the teeth are kinda broken off and mangled, and the fur is all matted and fucked up. But the guy only wanted 15 bucks for it, so now its sitting in my living room and I don't know what to do with it.

What is the best thing you got for free in the last year?
I'm assuming that physical acts of affection don't count, right? In which case, I'd have to say the entire Mexican Cheerleader discography from my friend Justin from Underground Communique in Chicago. Or Dancing Outlaw 1 & 2 with outtakes on DVD.

What is your ringtone?
My phone is a hand-me-down from a friend of mine, so all the ringtones originated from him. He had some hip-hop song loaded in that goes "Roll around the corner, what do I see? Po-po's followin' me." I don't know who its by. I probably should.

What should we ask the band next week?
"What is the strangest, naturally-occurring physical oddity that you have ever seen firsthand? And did it make you nauseous?"

What doe The Monocles have going on right now?
We're doing a little 3 day thing around Texas (Sept 13 here in town at Rudz, the 14th in San Antonio at Jigger's, and the 15th in College Station at the Roasted Bean cafe) with Something Fierce. We have shows on Sept 23rd at Rudz, Oct 12th at Jet Lounge, and we're on the GarageFest at Rudz on December 14th. As far as releases go, we have a 7" coming out next month (October) on Loose Recs and we have a live in-studio radio set that Loose helped us put out that we've been kinda hawking around. We have about 10 songs done right now, so we're gonna probably write a couple more and then we'll be recording the full-length at Pigeon Eater Studios before too long that should be done and out sometime around the 1st of the year. And, of course, we're gonna be playing around town a lot in between all that other stuff. Busy busy.

BUSY INDEED, O SIDEKICK TO THE TOP-HAT! Catch the Monocles tonight at Rudyard's with The Soda Pop Kids and Urgencies.

UPDATE: Pansies that they are, The Soda Pop Kids and Urgencies were afraid of wind damage from THE TERROR OF HUMBERTO and canceled. Today. Ok, we have no idea, but canceling day-of is weaksauce. Fortunately, the show is still on and Something Fierce and iAlarma! are filling in. Hawt.

Stream: The Monocles - Out of Your Mind