Pushmonkey Bios

Check out the bios below for the band and each member.

Pushmonkey--Year Of The Monkey  •  info@pushmonkey.com

It was a balmy April day, the kind of day that feels like the damp air of a band rehearsal room. Pushmonkey needed to take a break from writing for their fourth full length release, so in true Pushmonkey fashion, the guys loaded up in their trusty red Ford F-250 van and headed to Suzi’s Chinese Kitchen.

“I remember eating at Suzi’s that day and talking about possible titles for the new CD,” drummer Darwin Keys explains. “I remember throwing out Misfortune Cookie as a possible title and getting a laugh from the waiter. As he was carrying our food to the table, he says in broken English, “maybe the year of the monkey will bring good luck to you.” And then he spills an entire plate of mu-shu pork on Will’s lap. I mean if that is not a sign from God, I don’t know what is. How money is hot pork in spicy, tangy brown sauce on Will’s lap with a side of ancient Chinese wisdom? We all felt it in our laps, err, our hearts that this truly would be the YEAR OF THE MONKEY. The CD title debate ended right then and there.”

Not all decisions in the band are made by tragic restaurant mishaps. CD titles aside, the biggest problem the band needed to resolve was who would produce the new CD and help stretch the band’s artistic limits? “I ran into Paul Leary one day and gave him a CD of some demo’s that we had recorded. I didn’t think I would hear back from him, and then he called. It’s not everyday that a band gets to work with a producer like Paul Leary,” says bassist Pat Fogarty.

For those not in the know, Paul Leary is the outer space guitar player in the legendary band Butthole Surfers and multi-platinum producer of bands including Sublime and U2. Howie goes on to say, “Paul is the perfect producer for us. When you have five strong-minded people in a band like ours, it is important to have a producer that we all trust and respect. Paul fit that role perfectly. This was the most fun I’ve ever had recording. We‘ve had some hard times these last few years. It was good to have fun again.”

With the 2001 release of El Bitche, Pushmonkey was poised to take advantage of the momentum produced by two years of hard touring with the likes of Godsmack, Kid Rock, Fuel and the Ozzfest. “Then 9-11 happened,” singer Tony Park laments. “A few days after our CD came out, the tragedy happened. That event put a lot of things into perspective for us and I’m sure for everyone else in the States. We all struggled in our own ways. Writing for this new CD has been therapeutic to say the least.”

Fast-forward three years and Pushmonkey is about to do what they do best, releasing a new CD and playing to their loyal fans. The Year of the Monkey is their most adventurous and emotionally charged release to date. Guitarist Will Hoffman sums it up, “We’ve been a band for a long time and we can be our own worst critics. Recording this CD got us in touch again with one another and I think it comes through in the songs. We couldn’t be happier, like a family with a new baby that has all his toes.”

On celebrating the CD release, Will explains, “It is tradition that we go out to a nice restaurant the day the CD comes out. We’ve decided on steak. It’s easier to scrape off my lap than Chinese food.”

EVOLUTION OF PUSHMONKEY

Pushmonkey came together in the early nineties at the University of Texas at Austin. Their first CD Maize was released independently in 1994. In 1996 they signed with Bill Ham and Lone Wolf Management (ZZ Top), and in 1998 they were signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis.

They released their self-titled debut on Arista later that year and then began a touring schedule that took them out with bands like Godsmack, Fuel, and even landed them on Ozzfest.

They have had several successful singles at alternative radio, including “Handslide”, “Caught My Mind” and “Lefty”. When Clive Davis was driven out of Arista in 2000, Pushmonkey left as well. In 2001, the band released El Bitché, which was well received at radio, in the press, and by their fans, now legion.

And then, as the planets and stars came together – it was the Year of the Monkey.