The Monolators - Strawberry Roan

[MP3] The Monolators - Strawberry Roan I first heard of Eli and Mary Chartkoff aka The Monolators through la-underground. He has been singing their praises for a while now. I listened to their music and always thought it was kitschy and a lot of fun, but somewhere between my brain and my fingers a post about them was lost. It wasn't until I met them in person and saw them live with my own eyes that I understood what makes The Monolators truly unique - Their heart. Its been nearly 3 months since they played our Rock Insider show with Peter and The Wolf at Pehrspace. I never got a chance to write a post about them. Partly because I couldn't think of the words to describe what amazing people they are. Eli and Mary were among the first to show up. Their car stalled in the alley behind the venue while they were loading in, yet they still came in to the venue with huge positive grins on their faces. Mary and Eli stayed through the entire show. Giving kudos to every band, chatting with almost everyone in the crowd, and all the while maintaining their trademark positivity. The Monolators didn't go on until after 1 am in the morning. Only a handful of people stuck around including the bands that played. Did that stop Mary and Eli from putting everything into their show? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The duo rocked the house down despite some technical difficulties. Mary's kick pedal broke during the first song. After a quick replacement they were back in action again. On their second song Eli jumped up on his wife's drum kit to perform a trademark rock pose. He started to lose his footing and went to step on a tom. The drum's tiny spindle leg buckled under the weight of Eli and his Rickenbacker sending the pair crashing the floor. Eli looked shaken but had a huge smile of his face. Mary and the rest audience was laughing hysterically. The crowd, small and devout, danced through the rest of the pairs set. At the end of night they apologized for their set. I asked them why? It was honestly one of the best shows I have ever seen. The Monolators live set oozes personality, passion, and tons of heart. Every show feels like their best show ever. Their latest full length, Our Tears Have Wings, is a collection of 60s pop and surf rock tunes worthy of any cd collection, but if you really want to know what makes them special YOU HAVE TO SEE THEM LIVE. Catch Eli and Mary in action at the July installment of Rock Insider's "Indie Schmindie" - July 12th at The Scene in Glendale with Wait Think Fast and The Transmissions. VIDEO: The Monolators - Strawberry Roan