Monty Are I

Monty Are I ( mon'tee är ):
1. An explosion of organized musical chaos, structured pandemonium, and/or disciplined unruliness; think of a tornado if it were productive rather than destructive. 2. A hurricane that will lift your spirits and won’t wreck your house. 3. Bedlam in a songbook. 4. Electrifying, intelligent, witty, eccentric, introspective and without a doubt over the top. 5. Solos. Nasty Slash-esque solos. 6. Epic. If you can’t describe it as epic it probably isn't Monty Are I.
Since 2001, five dynamic, industrious guys known as Monty Are I have been creating urgent, epic, “action rock,” tailor made for face-melting and crowd-wowing on stages across America. With three Vans Warped Tour stints under their belt, a strategic nationwide victory (over 6,000 bands) at the Ernie Ball Battle Of the Bands, and a self-financed indie EP (The Red Shift) that won 4 stars on Absolutepunk.net – Providence, Rhode Island ‘action rock’ band Monty Are I is now the first act to be released on the Stolen Transmission label on August 1st. Monty Are I completed work on their debut album, Wall of People, with producer Matt Squire (known for his recent success with Panic! At The Disco and Receiving End of Sirens), recording at his Baltimore studio. Along with 5 new tracks, Wall of People will include 6 tracks (remixed by Squire) from The Red Shift.

Described by their hometown Providence Phoenix as “blazing, meticulously crafted, melodic punk with great songs, burning harmonies, and stunning arrangements,” Monty Are I has prided itself on staying on the straight and narrow, hardworking path, pursuing an aggressive grassroots touring over the past five years that has yielded an avalanche of positive results. Their music has won radio programmers across the country, from their home turf in Providence (New England's largest alternative radio station 95.5 WBRU is a staunch supporter, with Monty winning the 2003 Rock Hunt Finalist live performance competition, judged by record industry professionals) all the way to Seattle (where Monty was the most requested band on KGRG).

In 2003, Monty Are I won the onlinerockfest.com competition (Best Band and Best Song Composition). They were selected by a staff of industry professionals (Warped Tour Production Company) as winners of the Ernie Ball MusicMan Battle of the Bands 7, and went on to play 22 dates on the 2004 Vans Warped Tour, and 30 dates on the 2005 Vans Warped Tour. Back home, they are two-time winners of the Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll as “Break Through Act” of 2004, and best “No Longer Local” band of 2005 and 2006. They were a finalist in Buzzplay.com’s Best Unsigned Band in America contest.

In February 2005, Monty Are I was tapped by Alternative Press as "Unsigned Band of the Month" in the "Bands to Watch Out For" section. They were the overall winner (from more than 10,000 submissions) in Takeover Records’ “Sign My Band Contest,” as determined by online votes. Their independently booked tours over the past three years have found them on the road with My Chemical Romance, Story of the Year, Yellowcard, Jack’s Mannequinn , Less Than Jake, Taking Back Sunday, Black Eyed Peas, RX Bandits, and countless other bands.

Monty Are I have been friends since high school in Cranston, Rhode Island, when the first incarnations of the band were assembled. Similar to Lynyrd Skynyrd and others, the band’s name is homage to their high school music teacher. After entering the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition in ’02, they were still in college when they released their self-titled montysfanclub 4-song EP in early ’03 and played the local Warped Tour date in Boston that year. The EP sold about 4000 copies without any label or distribution, and set the scene for the release of The Red Shift in June 2005 which has independently sold 6,000+ copies. To date, Monty has generated 80,000+ downloads on purevolume.com.

With a dedicated Street Team of over 1,400 members spread around the globe from New England to Australia, 10,000+ friends they’ve made on myspace.com, and the visitors to their own website(montyarei.com), the band is ready to take their exhilarating ‘action rock’ to the top of the charts.