NOW! This! Interview
Drummer Haggai Fershtman of the Tel Aviv band Monotonix
NOW! This! Interview is an exclusive online Q&A column by Jennifer Lefkowitz. To hear the complete live in-studio interview with drummer Haggai Fershtman of Monotonix, tune in to myspace.com/nowthisinterview.
Monotonix—the sound is 60’s and 70’s magnetic
tape, fierce garage rock, with no boundaries. Where Were You When It Happened is the follow-up album to their
2008 release, Body Language, on Drag
City Records. Monotonix—a band to
make note of.
JS: Monotonix is from Tel Aviv, Israel and now they are here on a U.S. tour making stops cross-country. They are here in Memphis, TN. Welcome in—it’s great to have you here.
HF: Thank you very much, it’s very exciting to be in this place. We feel how music here is so rooted. David Berman from the Silver Jews was the first to bring us here. We feel like we’re coming to a place where we started.
JS: Words used to describe the music—chaos and
pandemonium. What is a better description?
HF: Hmm. I would suggest we just like to rock it, and to party. You could even say—we like to party hard.
JS: What is Monotonix?
HF: Monotonix is a name we think sounds good to tell you the truth. A monotonic thing is a sound that repeats itself, until it throws you.
JS: Where Where You When It Happened is the debut, full length album on Drag City Records. Tell us about the album.
HF: We worked on that album in New Orleans. We went there to experience the vibe, which is very unique in the city of music—jazz. We recorded the album in San Francisco in 10 days, and produced it with producer, Tim Green, of which also produced and recorded our previous EP. It was fun; eight tracks. We are thinking—they are nice.
JS: Well, that EP is called Body Lanugage, and it’s also the title of a song on the album. The song is obviously about—body language, but what more is it about?
HF: Love, passion
JS: And that is the way you would describe it?
HF: I think so, yeah.
JS: Once at a TN show a man set himself on fire.
HF: It was in Knoxville.
JS: Monotonix has been banned from half the live shows in Israel because of people’s inappropriate reactions. How do you feel about that?
HF: We’re not angry with anybody. We just really want to have fun, and some people or club owners find it inappropriate, so we just understand that it’s not a place to play. We’re not trying to be offensive in advance, you know. We’re really trying to bridge the boundaries and have fun with this—so, if it doesn’t suit, it doesn’t suit. This is why we are in the USA, which is a place for rock.
JS: The band is typically seen as dirty, grungy, and
really, really smelly by the press. How do you respond to this usual reaction?
HF: Adequate. Fluid, smell—it’s part of the whole thing, you know.
JS: Your presence is you play music into the crowd. Literally, you go out into the crowd and play music. You go out into the crowd with your base drum—this takes chutzpah. What are you thinking when you do this?
HF: I’m not thinking about anything. I’m just inside it and it happens, and only after it happens, I think, what; wow—what was that? It’s really a trance thing.
JS: Thank you for being our guest on NOW! This! Interview. We’ve had a great time.
HF: You’re welcome. Thank you for reviewing us. By direct quote, Where Were You When It Happened—it’s a nice one, we think.
Jennifer Lefkowitz is a native of Memphis and graduate of Academy of Art University, Motion Pictures and Television in San Francisco, CA. Jennifer is a nationally published media writer and member of the Writers Guild of America, West. Jennifer enjoys running, Conceptual Art, and outstanding coffee. “And a good thing,” she says.
