ION INDIE MAGAZINE February 2015, Volume 9 | Page 79

and in the studio. But it truly wasn’t until 2013, that an idea was born—and that spark evolved into the “Thinking
Man’s Band” (my description) that is Innocent Monday.
Innocent Monday was begun stemming from a series of conversations between Jaymi and Jon regarding the state of
the music business and the contributions they could make to see the integrity of real music find its way back into the
ears of the listeners. Part of the vision of the band, was to walk to the beat of their own drums (African or Chinese,
the drum of your choice—LOL!). Once paired, these two seasoned artists began to collaborate, and the musical
musings began to flow and in a very unusual way. What ensued was a crazy process of writing songs and trying to
sort through musical bits and pieces to see what worked and what sucked. The fun part of the process was realizing
that the lyrical side of the writing went a LOT faster than anyone thought. Within a two week period, there were ten
songs fleshed-out lyrically, and they made the cut. The musical bits took a little longer, as they had to go through
what seemed like an eternity of rewrites. Finally, (aka, a month later), the musical lines were coming together and
the different influences and genres were obvious. Innocent Monday imitates that old wine company when they say,
“we will release no song before its time”. This began a year-long process of recording and rerecording, amidst a
series of people who had come on board to help, but fell by the wayside due to their lack of vision for the project.
Needless to say, the band soldiered on and the album was released in December of 2014, “Stories from the
Garden”, to rave reviews. The result being that meaningful songs were created and the Innocent Monday sound was
born!
And how would one describe the Innocent Monday sound? Imagine a vibe that is dark and moody, yet grooves hard
and adds the spice of pop music—this is Innocent Monday. Add in some creative guitar by BRETT VANTRESSE--a
little Rickenbacker 12 string here and there, some Strat for the win and there you have it! MAGIC! So, what DO you
get when you mesh a dyed-in-the-wool Pop aficionado with a proghead silly bass player and a majestic, yet pensive
guitar slinger? The answer to THAT riddle lies in “Stories from the Garden”. This ten song project is a labor of love
from these three Nashville session/touring musicians who were looking for a creative way to express their musical
thoughts and tastes in a manner that would appeal to a broad range of music listeners.
Let’s meet the “boys in the band” (Oh, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve said that!). On the drums in the back (and
yet truly, in the front, as the vocalist) is Jon Bradford--a powerhouse of drumming styles from Pop to African tribal
hand drums and everything in between. Try to picture Phil Collins and Stewart Copeland at 6’3” singing lead vocals
from behind the drum set. The silly bald bass player is Jaymi Millard, generally teased because of his color choices
in basses…most are PINK! Geddy Lee wouldn’t play one, but Mark King sure would! That color choice also includes,
guitar straps, cables and personal clothing line made by Lathon Bass Wear (www.lathonbasswear.com). REAL MEN
PLAY PINK BASSES! (Can you hear the drummer laughing now?) Moving on...
The guitar detail is handled by Brett Vantreese-- amidst a flurry of exotic and somewhat ‘normal’ colored guitars
(imagine that?). Think what would happen if Eric Johnson and King’s X had a love child--pure guitar bliss! Since the
release of the CD, comparisons have been made. This is something that the band members get a kick out of. For
some, they will hear Peter Gabriel-- others will hear Sting. For this journalist, I would add Phil Collins to the mix. The
fun part about this is that no one is wrong and yet no one is right. Given the listener perspective, it is possible to h ear
a myriad of different artists shine or sneak through, based on the inspirations for a particular song. It is a very special
thing to hear that a band’s music reminds a listener of someone they grew up listening to or admire. Innocent
Monday takes this very seriously and welcomes all thoughts or comparisons…the best one heard thus far is Ozzy
Osbourne (although they are still trying to figure that one out!). Lyrically, the songs touch on various subjects--many
of them personal and of a sensitive nature--where many bands/songwriters will not go. Innocent Monday believes
that the songs tell stories, hence the title of the CD, “Stories from the Garden”. And without a message, there is no
real reason to write a song, now is there? And so I sat down with this fun, but thoughtful, trio and got the 411 on all
things Innocent Monday.