Interviews
Vintage Guitar Magazine 2001
Michael Monarch Born to be a Player!!By Willie G. Moseley - Vintage Guitar Magazine Dec. '01 Issue
The biting snarl of Michael Monarch’s Fender Esquire was one of the trademark sounds of Steppenwolf’s earliest material in the late 1960s. Monarch was only 17 when he joined a latter-day incarnation of Sparrow, Steppenwolf’s precursor, and his no-frills riffing is heard on the anthems “Born To Be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride,” among other tunes. The guitarist was the second original member to leave the band, but he never gave up on his musical aspirations. Over the decades, Monarch played with other notable musicians, and since the mid 1990s, has been ensconced in an all-star aggregation named the World Classic Rockers, which includes another ex-Steppenwolf member, Nick St. Nicholas, as well as guitarists Denny Laine (VG, March ’97) and Spencer Davis (June ’96). In an recent one-on-one with Monarch, we elicited the perspective of a guitarist who was propelled into international stardom at an age when most guitarists his age were probably playing Harmonys, Kays, etc. in garage bands.
Vintage Guitar: You came to public notice at a very early age...
Michael Monarch: I was born in the downtown area of Los Angeles; my family moved West over time until we ended up near Calabasas in southern California. I took piano lessons from about age 7 to 13. I switched to drums for about a year and a half, then to guitar around age 15. I played in some local bands – I can’t remember the names – and started hanging out on Sunset Strip in the mid ’60s. It was pretty wild. There were a lot of clubs from Vine Street to Doheny; maybe 20. It was at a club called the Galaxy, next to the Whiskey a Go Go, that I first saw a band called Sparrow, three members of which I would later join to form Steppenwolf. Influences?I would say Jeff Beck and Hendrix, early on. I loved the Yardbirds. I added Danny Gatton and Albert Lee to my favorites later on, and Eric Johnson and Junior Brown as well. There are so many great guitarists, but I like the mixture of technique, gutsy attitude, and off-the-wall licks that all of the guys I mentioned have.
Was the Fender Esquire your first instrument?My first guitar was a semi-acoustic Guild; next was a Mosrite solidbody. I think I wanted the Mosrite because Danny Weiss, the original guitarist for Iron Butterfly, had one, and he was my favorite local guitarist. Next, I got a Fender Esquire. It was one of the earliest ones, maybe a ’52. I used that guitar on the first Steppenwolf album. I replaced it with a Fender Strat that had an Esquire neck, and I kept that guitar for a long time. I now have a custom Fender Strat, and I still use a Tele neck on it. I also have a custom Telecaster which I use on and off, mainly for recording; I really like that guitar. Billy Asher of Guitar Traditions, in Santa Monica, helped me set it up, and he made a custom neck for it.
How did you get involved with Sparrow?Sparrow had three Canadians and two German immigrants – John Kay and Nick St. Nicholas. I met Nick first, and he introduced me to the rest of the band. They were staying at the Tropicana, which was an infamous motel near the Strip. Sparrow started in Canada, signed with a Canadian label, and had one album. They moved to Los Angeles, and were playing there and in San Francisco. Actually, when I met them, they were in the process of breaking up. Nick was going to form his own band, and Dennis, the guitarist, wanted to write more commercial songs; he seemed to be going off in another direction from the rest of the band. That left John, Goldy, the keyboard player, and Jerry, the drummer, without a guitarist or bassist. I joined them, along with bassist Rushton Moreve, and we played for a short time as Sparrow.
The early days of the band were pretty bleak, including the gear you used...I think I had one stomp pedal – a gray box with a red button and “Distorto” written across the top. It just made distorted sounds, and was very uncontrollable. We used to rehearse in John’s garage in Hollywood. We’d stand around an oil trap with all the amps, drums, and Goldy’s Lowery organ all pointing in at us. This was in the middle of summer, so it was just a little warm in there! I guess it was worth it; John’s neighbor, Gabriel Mekler, heard the band rehearsing and happened to be a producer. He got us signed to Dunhill Records.
Did you use anything besides the Esquire on the first album? “Born To Be Wild” and “The Pusher” have some interesting tones.I used the Esquire on the whole album. On those songs, it went through a Fender Concert amp; volume way up. We recorded onto a Scully eight-track, through a custom board with A.P.I. EQ, along with other assorted vintage gear. It took about a week to record at American Studios in Studio City.
“The Pusher” was written by Hoyt Axton, and had the phrase “God damn the pusher man.” While that’s relatively tame by today’s standards, weren’t there some concerts that authorities shut down because of that tune?Yes, that song was actually an anti-drug song, but because it started off with “I smoke a lot of grass and pop a lot of pills,” then went on to say “God damn,” I guess it rubbed some people the wrong way.
Didn’t the band have an endorsement deal – or at least a special relationship with Rickenbacker?For a while we did use Rickenbacker amps, and John used one of their guitars. I went to their factory and picked out a strange-looking guitar I used in some publicity photos, and in a video. I also got a pedal steel, but never really learned to play it well.
Nick St. Nicholas joined the band prior to your departure.After the second album, we were touring in the Midwest, when Rushton heard a prediction that California was going to slip into the ocean. We were going to play on the West Coast, but he decided not to come back, so we had to get a new bass player, and we asked Nick to join.
The guitars in the intro and instrumental break of “Magic Carpet Ride” also have a unique sound.The intro was just me beating up on my guitar with the amp turned up. I did it twice, and they used both tracks. It’s very explosive-sounding, but it’s just a guitar. The instrumental section was John and me, trading back and forth. He was playing slide, and I was doing single-note volume swells. His slide playing was pretty nice back then.
You participated in the making of VH-1’s “Behind the Music” episode. How do you think it turned out?I thought it turned out okay. It focused a lot on John’s point of view, but after all, he was the lead singer. I thought John went off the deep end about his feud with Nick; I didn’t think that was too cool. That band had a lot of success, but it all came from the first few albums; the original lineup. I don’t think John should get all the credit for our popularity.
What’s your perspective on why you left the band?I was the youngest in the band, and at first I was just happy to be playing. As time went on, I wanted to express myself more creatively, but it was difficult. There were a lot of egos, and when push came to shove, it was, “Either he goes or I go.” Let’s not forget that this was 1969 and ’70; everyone was going through changes.
Talk about your subsequent musical ventures.After Steppenwolf, I worked on building a studio in my house. I had a lot of musician friends coming over to play; some of the guys from Little Feat came by a few times. I was also thinking of starting a new band. I ended up selling the house and moving to England in ’73, and I started a band there backed by the Robert Stigwood Organization. The drummer was Herman Rarebell, who later went on to play in the Scorpions.
I met Roger Glover from Deep Purple, and worked with him on projects he was producing, the idea being that we would form a band. That got put on hold when he got sick, so I came to America, where I met Michael Des Barres. We put together a band called Detective, with Tony Kaye from Yes on keyboards, and got signed to Swan Song. We released two albums in the late ’70s. When that band broke up, I met Andy Fraser from Free, and started working with him. He’s a great songwriter and singer, and it was a good experience for me to see how he approached writing. Next came my own band, called Monarch; just local gigs.
Then something strange happened; I was messing around with country music, and went to a club to hang out. They were teaching a line dance class, and hardly anyone was around, so I got up and learned it. To make a long story short, I learned the partner dances, and started competing and winning. Country dancing led to swing and Latin dancing. In 1998, my partner and I won the Southern California Swing Dance Championship, came in second at the state championship, and seventh at the U.S. Open, which attracts competitors from all over the world. Who says musicians can’t dance?
Songs like “Born To Be Wild” appeared in movies, beginning with Easy Rider. But did you ever do any recording specifically for movies?A lot of songs I played on or wrote are in movies and TV – the Steppenwolf stuff, of course, and Detective had a couple of songs I wrote that were on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” I’ve also done some work for independent movies; things like The Girlfriend from Hell. Not a major release, but a cult favorite.
What about the rest of your current gear?For amps, I use Marshalls live. I usually have a delay pedal on for slap, and a graphic EQ for boost. Right now all of my guitars have EMG pickups, which are great for recording – no buzz or hum. Recording amps can be anything from a Marshall to a vintage blackface Fender Princeton to Line 6 Amp Farm. * (update - many of my guitars now have Dimarzio pickups)
How did the World Classic Rockers get going?The original lineup was Nick, Denny Laine, Randy Meisner, Bobby Kimball, and me. On drums, we’ve had Carmine Appice from the Vanilla Fudge, Bruce Gary of the Knack, and now, Ron Wisko, who played with Foreigner in the ’80s. Spencer Davis is part of the band, too.
There’s a big market for this band in the corporate world. We started it in ’96, and it’s still going strong; we play great venues all over the world. We played in Monte Carlo, the Bahamas, Bermuda, South Africa, Ireland, and all over the U.S. and Canada. We play Hawaii often. We also do the fair circuit, but corporate shows more.
We play the hits everyone in the band has been involved with. The Steppenwolf hits, one or two from Foreigner. Randy does “Take It To The Limit,” “Already Gone” and “Take It Easy” from his days in the Eagles, Fergie Fredriksen from Toto does “Rosanna,” “Hold The Line” and “Africa,” Spencer does “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m A Man” and Denny – who was the original lead singer of the Moody Blues, does “Go Now” and songs from his days in Wings. It’s a great show, with a lot of history behind the musicians. No N’Sync or Britney Spears, but you can’t have everything!
Your primary Tele-style guitar has a vibrato with a wide, flat arm...It has EMG humbuckers *(now they are Dimarzio) with a split-tap on the lead pickup, and that’s a Kahler tremolo bar. I customized the bar for a better feel by enlarging it with heat shrink tubing. I really like the Kahler; it has a very responsive touch – better than the Floyds or stock Fenders, especially for small inflections or nuances. The Floyds are really better for dive bomb effects.
What other instruments do you own?I have a G&L bass and a Guild acoustic. At one point, I had a large guitar collection, including a Gibson Flying V and Les Pauls, but over the years I’ve just kept the ones I really like to play.
Let’s talk about your new album, Guitar Bazaar. Why’d you opt for an instrumental release? Had you heard any of the IRS “Nospeak” albums in the late ’80s?I opted for an instrumental CD because my singing sucks! It really started as just some fun in my studio; a collection of eclectic instrumentals from balls-to-the-wall rock to modern funky R&B, with elements of jazz and Latin mixed in, and plenty of “ear candy.” It’s gotten some really good reviews. I don’t think I’ve heard any of the Nospeak series, but I remember reading about it.
How much of the album is “machinery?” Some songs sound like they have musicians; some sound like certain parts are processed.The CD was recorded in my studio. I played everything, including bass, keys, and drums. For bass, I used a Peavey and my G&L, along with synth or sampled basses from my main keyboard – a Kurzweil 2500 SX. The drums were all played on a drum pad set, triggering samples. There are very few loops on the CD – some percussion – but every drum, bass, horn, or keyboard part was played.
My favorite tracks are “Latin Manhattan” and “Bits & Pieces.” “Bahama Mama” is named after a drink served in – that’s right – the Bahamas! “Toastin’ Jam” is an instrumental I used to play in my own band, Monarch.
What about your other recent recording project, It Feels So Real?Yeah, well, it started out a songwriting project, mainly pop/R&B songs. I was working with the same singer on most of my recordings, and when I found that there was enough good-sounding stuff finished, I decided to call it an album. The music on that CD is quite different from what you might expect from me, it’s more keyboard-oriented, with a guitar here and there. I played and/or programmed all of the instruments with the exception of the horns, which were played by Rick Arbuckle. Julie Griffen is the singer.
How long do you envision World Classic Rockers continuing?Well, when it’s not fun anymore, or the gigs run out that’d be a good time to quit, but it’s actually good fun playing with this group of musicians. We span the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s; we’ve become good friends, and there’s a lot of talent left in those old bones!
Michael Monarch has been at the pinnacle of guitar stardom with his playing on Steppenwolf’s early rock anthems, and has continued to hone his craft. He’s still staying active as a member of the World Classic Rockers, and his own recent recordings show that he’s still sincere about continuing to improve his abilities as a professional musician.
Vintage Guitar: You came to public notice at a very early age...
Michael Monarch: I was born in the downtown area of Los Angeles; my family moved West over time until we ended up near Calabasas in southern California. I took piano lessons from about age 7 to 13. I switched to drums for about a year and a half, then to guitar around age 15. I played in some local bands – I can’t remember the names – and started hanging out on Sunset Strip in the mid ’60s. It was pretty wild. There were a lot of clubs from Vine Street to Doheny; maybe 20. It was at a club called the Galaxy, next to the Whiskey a Go Go, that I first saw a band called Sparrow, three members of which I would later join to form Steppenwolf. Influences?I would say Jeff Beck and Hendrix, early on. I loved the Yardbirds. I added Danny Gatton and Albert Lee to my favorites later on, and Eric Johnson and Junior Brown as well. There are so many great guitarists, but I like the mixture of technique, gutsy attitude, and off-the-wall licks that all of the guys I mentioned have.
Was the Fender Esquire your first instrument?My first guitar was a semi-acoustic Guild; next was a Mosrite solidbody. I think I wanted the Mosrite because Danny Weiss, the original guitarist for Iron Butterfly, had one, and he was my favorite local guitarist. Next, I got a Fender Esquire. It was one of the earliest ones, maybe a ’52. I used that guitar on the first Steppenwolf album. I replaced it with a Fender Strat that had an Esquire neck, and I kept that guitar for a long time. I now have a custom Fender Strat, and I still use a Tele neck on it. I also have a custom Telecaster which I use on and off, mainly for recording; I really like that guitar. Billy Asher of Guitar Traditions, in Santa Monica, helped me set it up, and he made a custom neck for it.
How did you get involved with Sparrow?Sparrow had three Canadians and two German immigrants – John Kay and Nick St. Nicholas. I met Nick first, and he introduced me to the rest of the band. They were staying at the Tropicana, which was an infamous motel near the Strip. Sparrow started in Canada, signed with a Canadian label, and had one album. They moved to Los Angeles, and were playing there and in San Francisco. Actually, when I met them, they were in the process of breaking up. Nick was going to form his own band, and Dennis, the guitarist, wanted to write more commercial songs; he seemed to be going off in another direction from the rest of the band. That left John, Goldy, the keyboard player, and Jerry, the drummer, without a guitarist or bassist. I joined them, along with bassist Rushton Moreve, and we played for a short time as Sparrow.
The early days of the band were pretty bleak, including the gear you used...I think I had one stomp pedal – a gray box with a red button and “Distorto” written across the top. It just made distorted sounds, and was very uncontrollable. We used to rehearse in John’s garage in Hollywood. We’d stand around an oil trap with all the amps, drums, and Goldy’s Lowery organ all pointing in at us. This was in the middle of summer, so it was just a little warm in there! I guess it was worth it; John’s neighbor, Gabriel Mekler, heard the band rehearsing and happened to be a producer. He got us signed to Dunhill Records.
Did you use anything besides the Esquire on the first album? “Born To Be Wild” and “The Pusher” have some interesting tones.I used the Esquire on the whole album. On those songs, it went through a Fender Concert amp; volume way up. We recorded onto a Scully eight-track, through a custom board with A.P.I. EQ, along with other assorted vintage gear. It took about a week to record at American Studios in Studio City.
“The Pusher” was written by Hoyt Axton, and had the phrase “God damn the pusher man.” While that’s relatively tame by today’s standards, weren’t there some concerts that authorities shut down because of that tune?Yes, that song was actually an anti-drug song, but because it started off with “I smoke a lot of grass and pop a lot of pills,” then went on to say “God damn,” I guess it rubbed some people the wrong way.
Didn’t the band have an endorsement deal – or at least a special relationship with Rickenbacker?For a while we did use Rickenbacker amps, and John used one of their guitars. I went to their factory and picked out a strange-looking guitar I used in some publicity photos, and in a video. I also got a pedal steel, but never really learned to play it well.
Nick St. Nicholas joined the band prior to your departure.After the second album, we were touring in the Midwest, when Rushton heard a prediction that California was going to slip into the ocean. We were going to play on the West Coast, but he decided not to come back, so we had to get a new bass player, and we asked Nick to join.
The guitars in the intro and instrumental break of “Magic Carpet Ride” also have a unique sound.The intro was just me beating up on my guitar with the amp turned up. I did it twice, and they used both tracks. It’s very explosive-sounding, but it’s just a guitar. The instrumental section was John and me, trading back and forth. He was playing slide, and I was doing single-note volume swells. His slide playing was pretty nice back then.
You participated in the making of VH-1’s “Behind the Music” episode. How do you think it turned out?I thought it turned out okay. It focused a lot on John’s point of view, but after all, he was the lead singer. I thought John went off the deep end about his feud with Nick; I didn’t think that was too cool. That band had a lot of success, but it all came from the first few albums; the original lineup. I don’t think John should get all the credit for our popularity.
What’s your perspective on why you left the band?I was the youngest in the band, and at first I was just happy to be playing. As time went on, I wanted to express myself more creatively, but it was difficult. There were a lot of egos, and when push came to shove, it was, “Either he goes or I go.” Let’s not forget that this was 1969 and ’70; everyone was going through changes.
Talk about your subsequent musical ventures.After Steppenwolf, I worked on building a studio in my house. I had a lot of musician friends coming over to play; some of the guys from Little Feat came by a few times. I was also thinking of starting a new band. I ended up selling the house and moving to England in ’73, and I started a band there backed by the Robert Stigwood Organization. The drummer was Herman Rarebell, who later went on to play in the Scorpions.
I met Roger Glover from Deep Purple, and worked with him on projects he was producing, the idea being that we would form a band. That got put on hold when he got sick, so I came to America, where I met Michael Des Barres. We put together a band called Detective, with Tony Kaye from Yes on keyboards, and got signed to Swan Song. We released two albums in the late ’70s. When that band broke up, I met Andy Fraser from Free, and started working with him. He’s a great songwriter and singer, and it was a good experience for me to see how he approached writing. Next came my own band, called Monarch; just local gigs.
Then something strange happened; I was messing around with country music, and went to a club to hang out. They were teaching a line dance class, and hardly anyone was around, so I got up and learned it. To make a long story short, I learned the partner dances, and started competing and winning. Country dancing led to swing and Latin dancing. In 1998, my partner and I won the Southern California Swing Dance Championship, came in second at the state championship, and seventh at the U.S. Open, which attracts competitors from all over the world. Who says musicians can’t dance?
Songs like “Born To Be Wild” appeared in movies, beginning with Easy Rider. But did you ever do any recording specifically for movies?A lot of songs I played on or wrote are in movies and TV – the Steppenwolf stuff, of course, and Detective had a couple of songs I wrote that were on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” I’ve also done some work for independent movies; things like The Girlfriend from Hell. Not a major release, but a cult favorite.
What about the rest of your current gear?For amps, I use Marshalls live. I usually have a delay pedal on for slap, and a graphic EQ for boost. Right now all of my guitars have EMG pickups, which are great for recording – no buzz or hum. Recording amps can be anything from a Marshall to a vintage blackface Fender Princeton to Line 6 Amp Farm. * (update - many of my guitars now have Dimarzio pickups)
How did the World Classic Rockers get going?The original lineup was Nick, Denny Laine, Randy Meisner, Bobby Kimball, and me. On drums, we’ve had Carmine Appice from the Vanilla Fudge, Bruce Gary of the Knack, and now, Ron Wisko, who played with Foreigner in the ’80s. Spencer Davis is part of the band, too.
There’s a big market for this band in the corporate world. We started it in ’96, and it’s still going strong; we play great venues all over the world. We played in Monte Carlo, the Bahamas, Bermuda, South Africa, Ireland, and all over the U.S. and Canada. We play Hawaii often. We also do the fair circuit, but corporate shows more.
We play the hits everyone in the band has been involved with. The Steppenwolf hits, one or two from Foreigner. Randy does “Take It To The Limit,” “Already Gone” and “Take It Easy” from his days in the Eagles, Fergie Fredriksen from Toto does “Rosanna,” “Hold The Line” and “Africa,” Spencer does “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m A Man” and Denny – who was the original lead singer of the Moody Blues, does “Go Now” and songs from his days in Wings. It’s a great show, with a lot of history behind the musicians. No N’Sync or Britney Spears, but you can’t have everything!
Your primary Tele-style guitar has a vibrato with a wide, flat arm...It has EMG humbuckers *(now they are Dimarzio) with a split-tap on the lead pickup, and that’s a Kahler tremolo bar. I customized the bar for a better feel by enlarging it with heat shrink tubing. I really like the Kahler; it has a very responsive touch – better than the Floyds or stock Fenders, especially for small inflections or nuances. The Floyds are really better for dive bomb effects.
What other instruments do you own?I have a G&L bass and a Guild acoustic. At one point, I had a large guitar collection, including a Gibson Flying V and Les Pauls, but over the years I’ve just kept the ones I really like to play.
Let’s talk about your new album, Guitar Bazaar. Why’d you opt for an instrumental release? Had you heard any of the IRS “Nospeak” albums in the late ’80s?I opted for an instrumental CD because my singing sucks! It really started as just some fun in my studio; a collection of eclectic instrumentals from balls-to-the-wall rock to modern funky R&B, with elements of jazz and Latin mixed in, and plenty of “ear candy.” It’s gotten some really good reviews. I don’t think I’ve heard any of the Nospeak series, but I remember reading about it.
How much of the album is “machinery?” Some songs sound like they have musicians; some sound like certain parts are processed.The CD was recorded in my studio. I played everything, including bass, keys, and drums. For bass, I used a Peavey and my G&L, along with synth or sampled basses from my main keyboard – a Kurzweil 2500 SX. The drums were all played on a drum pad set, triggering samples. There are very few loops on the CD – some percussion – but every drum, bass, horn, or keyboard part was played.
My favorite tracks are “Latin Manhattan” and “Bits & Pieces.” “Bahama Mama” is named after a drink served in – that’s right – the Bahamas! “Toastin’ Jam” is an instrumental I used to play in my own band, Monarch.
What about your other recent recording project, It Feels So Real?Yeah, well, it started out a songwriting project, mainly pop/R&B songs. I was working with the same singer on most of my recordings, and when I found that there was enough good-sounding stuff finished, I decided to call it an album. The music on that CD is quite different from what you might expect from me, it’s more keyboard-oriented, with a guitar here and there. I played and/or programmed all of the instruments with the exception of the horns, which were played by Rick Arbuckle. Julie Griffen is the singer.
How long do you envision World Classic Rockers continuing?Well, when it’s not fun anymore, or the gigs run out that’d be a good time to quit, but it’s actually good fun playing with this group of musicians. We span the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s; we’ve become good friends, and there’s a lot of talent left in those old bones!
Michael Monarch has been at the pinnacle of guitar stardom with his playing on Steppenwolf’s early rock anthems, and has continued to hone his craft. He’s still staying active as a member of the World Classic Rockers, and his own recent recordings show that he’s still sincere about continuing to improve his abilities as a professional musician.
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Vintage Guitar Magazine 2007
MICHAEL MONARCH: “Corporate Rock” and Diverse Guitar Tones
Michael Monarch is firmly ensconced in a lifestyle that many other veteran guitarists would love to emulate. The original guitarist for Steppenwolf, heard on classic such as "Born to be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride", is still gigging on a regular basis with the World Classic Rockers, an all-star aggregation that is big in the corporate market and he's still crafting solo instrumental albums. Regarding the present incarnation of WCR, Monarch recently told VG "Our current lineup includes Aynsley Dunbar, who's played with Journey, Frank Zappa, Starship, and John Mayall's Bluebreakers, just to name a few. He's a fantastic drummer and great to work with. We have added Alex Ligertwood, Santana's lead vocalist for 17 years. He's one of the best vocalists I've ever heard! We have also added Randall Hall, who was hand-picked by Allen Collins to replace him in Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Fergie Fredericksen, Toto's lead singer from the Isolation era. Randy Meisner of the Eagles still plays with us on many shows."
As for the "upscale" audiences at many of their gigs, the guitarist recounted "The private shows are usually a lot of fun, and we are treated well. We stay at the best hotels at many of the finest resort destinations (in locations such as) Cancun, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Las Vegas. etc. We have traveled all over the U.S., Europe, South Africa, and even the Middle East—Dubai—doing private and public shows. Some audiences at corporate or private shows are a little stiff, but for the most part, they get just as wild as the fans at a public show.”
His rig at such performances is fairly simple and dependable. "For the live shows, I use a Marshall 100-watt amp and a 4 X 12 bottom," Monarch said. "I keep the effects to a minimum--delay, EQ/boost, and a tuner. The guitar is a Fender Strat with a humbucker bridge pickup. That's pretty much the setup I've been using for many years."
When Vintage Guitar interviewed Monarch in our December 2001 issue, he'd released his first instrumental album, Guitar Bazaar, which was chock full of guitar pyrotechnics. In this follow-up conversation, we observed that most listeners would probably have pronounced his second instrumental effort, The Other Side of the Tracks, to have been a continuation of the musical style of his debut album. "That's a fair statement," the guitarist responded, "and was pretty much what I had in mind. I wanted to improve the sound of the recordings, which I think I did. The drums sounds in particular are better."
However, Monarch's most recent release, MM3, is definitely more melodic, and has a number of different guitar tones when compared to the first two albums. "The new CD started with the last song, 'One Last Time'," he explained. "It was the first tune I had for the project, and I needed to come up with songs that would fit with it. I have pretty varied tastes in guitar music; I like blues, country, some jazz, hard rock, R & B. Anything too 'modern' or 'aggressive' didn't seem to fit with that song. I chose a more 'rootsy', Americana approach for this CD, and I definitely got some inspiration from the late, great Danny Gatton; I have all of his records, and I think he, along with Ry Cooder, were influences on this CD." MM3 's first track, "Pickin' A Boogie", kicks off with a piano, not a guitar, and while to some listeners it might be a "safe" twelve-bar tune, it still has a rollicking style, and the guitarist emphasized that it's more complex than one might think, describing it as “…a fun song, with good energy. This song is kind of a musical journey through a couple of styles. It starts with boogie-woogie piano blues—something I learned when I was nine or ten years old—with country guitar-type picking. Then the slide against the New Orleans funk beat takes over. Next, some rockin' distorted guitar and a left turn into some jazz scales, stolen from a Joe Pass tune. Maybe that's why it's first—a mini-tour-de-force of guitar styles." "For most of the electric guitar on the album, I used my Candy Apple Red Strat, which is also seen on the cover," Monarch continued. "It has Seymour Duncan Alnico pickups with a custom bridge humbucker. I used the bridge/middle pickup combination for some of the songs, like 'Pickin' On A Boogie', 'Hot Night in Dixie', and 'Knee Slapper'. That's my Gibson Les Paul Goldtop on 'Everytime I Think of You'.
Some of the "slide" riffs heard on the album are so high-pitched it sounds like Monarch's playing a lap steel, but such isn't the case. "That would be the red Strat," he clarified. "I have a little trick I sometimes do with a screwdriver; I slide it under the strings at, say, the second fret. It raises the strings sort of like a dobro. You can't really fret notes, but it is cool for some slide stuff." This time around, Monarch opted for milder, nylon string sounds on melodic and/or Latin-tinged songs such as "Softly She Came", "Cubano", and "Amor Or Less". "I used a Yamaha SLG 100N nylon/electric and a Gibson Chet Atkins nylon/electric," he detailed. "The Yamaha is a strange guitar with with no body--just an outline of the guitar shape made of some kind of a composite material. I guess it was designed for travel. The nylon string guitars just lend themselves to Latin styles. Also, since I have been working with Alex, playing Santana songs, maybe that had something to do with it. "Knee-Slapper" is a great yee-haw ****-kicker that is not only impressive, it's also a lot of fun. "I love country pickers!" Monarch enthused. "Albert Lee, Vince Gill, and lately, Brad Paisley, just to name a few. Brent Mason blows me away. It's actually one of my favorite tracks on the CD." Overall, the veteran guitarist is satisfied with the way MM3 turned out, compared to his first two instrumental efforts, and he noted "I tried recording some things that I have never tried before—like the country stuff—and the simplicity of the instrumentation made it easier to mix and listen to". When asked about any future projects Michael responded, "Truthfully, right now I'm more concerned with customizing motorcycles than thinking about another CD. I am sure that will change, but right now, that's what I'm doing."
Michael Monarch is firmly ensconced in a lifestyle that many other veteran guitarists would love to emulate. The original guitarist for Steppenwolf, heard on classic such as "Born to be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride", is still gigging on a regular basis with the World Classic Rockers, an all-star aggregation that is big in the corporate market and he's still crafting solo instrumental albums. Regarding the present incarnation of WCR, Monarch recently told VG "Our current lineup includes Aynsley Dunbar, who's played with Journey, Frank Zappa, Starship, and John Mayall's Bluebreakers, just to name a few. He's a fantastic drummer and great to work with. We have added Alex Ligertwood, Santana's lead vocalist for 17 years. He's one of the best vocalists I've ever heard! We have also added Randall Hall, who was hand-picked by Allen Collins to replace him in Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Fergie Fredericksen, Toto's lead singer from the Isolation era. Randy Meisner of the Eagles still plays with us on many shows."
As for the "upscale" audiences at many of their gigs, the guitarist recounted "The private shows are usually a lot of fun, and we are treated well. We stay at the best hotels at many of the finest resort destinations (in locations such as) Cancun, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Las Vegas. etc. We have traveled all over the U.S., Europe, South Africa, and even the Middle East—Dubai—doing private and public shows. Some audiences at corporate or private shows are a little stiff, but for the most part, they get just as wild as the fans at a public show.”
His rig at such performances is fairly simple and dependable. "For the live shows, I use a Marshall 100-watt amp and a 4 X 12 bottom," Monarch said. "I keep the effects to a minimum--delay, EQ/boost, and a tuner. The guitar is a Fender Strat with a humbucker bridge pickup. That's pretty much the setup I've been using for many years."
When Vintage Guitar interviewed Monarch in our December 2001 issue, he'd released his first instrumental album, Guitar Bazaar, which was chock full of guitar pyrotechnics. In this follow-up conversation, we observed that most listeners would probably have pronounced his second instrumental effort, The Other Side of the Tracks, to have been a continuation of the musical style of his debut album. "That's a fair statement," the guitarist responded, "and was pretty much what I had in mind. I wanted to improve the sound of the recordings, which I think I did. The drums sounds in particular are better."
However, Monarch's most recent release, MM3, is definitely more melodic, and has a number of different guitar tones when compared to the first two albums. "The new CD started with the last song, 'One Last Time'," he explained. "It was the first tune I had for the project, and I needed to come up with songs that would fit with it. I have pretty varied tastes in guitar music; I like blues, country, some jazz, hard rock, R & B. Anything too 'modern' or 'aggressive' didn't seem to fit with that song. I chose a more 'rootsy', Americana approach for this CD, and I definitely got some inspiration from the late, great Danny Gatton; I have all of his records, and I think he, along with Ry Cooder, were influences on this CD." MM3 's first track, "Pickin' A Boogie", kicks off with a piano, not a guitar, and while to some listeners it might be a "safe" twelve-bar tune, it still has a rollicking style, and the guitarist emphasized that it's more complex than one might think, describing it as “…a fun song, with good energy. This song is kind of a musical journey through a couple of styles. It starts with boogie-woogie piano blues—something I learned when I was nine or ten years old—with country guitar-type picking. Then the slide against the New Orleans funk beat takes over. Next, some rockin' distorted guitar and a left turn into some jazz scales, stolen from a Joe Pass tune. Maybe that's why it's first—a mini-tour-de-force of guitar styles." "For most of the electric guitar on the album, I used my Candy Apple Red Strat, which is also seen on the cover," Monarch continued. "It has Seymour Duncan Alnico pickups with a custom bridge humbucker. I used the bridge/middle pickup combination for some of the songs, like 'Pickin' On A Boogie', 'Hot Night in Dixie', and 'Knee Slapper'. That's my Gibson Les Paul Goldtop on 'Everytime I Think of You'.
Some of the "slide" riffs heard on the album are so high-pitched it sounds like Monarch's playing a lap steel, but such isn't the case. "That would be the red Strat," he clarified. "I have a little trick I sometimes do with a screwdriver; I slide it under the strings at, say, the second fret. It raises the strings sort of like a dobro. You can't really fret notes, but it is cool for some slide stuff." This time around, Monarch opted for milder, nylon string sounds on melodic and/or Latin-tinged songs such as "Softly She Came", "Cubano", and "Amor Or Less". "I used a Yamaha SLG 100N nylon/electric and a Gibson Chet Atkins nylon/electric," he detailed. "The Yamaha is a strange guitar with with no body--just an outline of the guitar shape made of some kind of a composite material. I guess it was designed for travel. The nylon string guitars just lend themselves to Latin styles. Also, since I have been working with Alex, playing Santana songs, maybe that had something to do with it. "Knee-Slapper" is a great yee-haw ****-kicker that is not only impressive, it's also a lot of fun. "I love country pickers!" Monarch enthused. "Albert Lee, Vince Gill, and lately, Brad Paisley, just to name a few. Brent Mason blows me away. It's actually one of my favorite tracks on the CD." Overall, the veteran guitarist is satisfied with the way MM3 turned out, compared to his first two instrumental efforts, and he noted "I tried recording some things that I have never tried before—like the country stuff—and the simplicity of the instrumentation made it easier to mix and listen to". When asked about any future projects Michael responded, "Truthfully, right now I'm more concerned with customizing motorcycles than thinking about another CD. I am sure that will change, but right now, that's what I'm doing."
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Guitar Buyers Magazine Interview 2009
GUITARBUYER Magazine - October 2009ON THE RECORD
Steppenwolf - Born To Be WildIn 1968, Steppenwolf took the charts by storm with a guitar anthem that helped define an era. Matt Frost talks to guitarist Michael Monarch.
When cult road movie Easy Rider hit the cinema screens in 1969, it helped change the face of Hollywood, showing the powers that be that low-budget, avant garde films with counter-cultural themes could rake the cash in like the best of them.Directed and produced by its two main anti-stars, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, Easy Rider would gross nearly 20 million dollars in 1969 alone, launch Jack Nicholson's illustrious career and - last but by no means least - provide one of the most scintillating soundtracks of the era, featuring The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Roger McGuinn, The Band and, of course, Steppenwolf.The Band's song 'The Pusher" is used during a notorious drug deal scene, while 'Born To Be Wild' kicks proceedings off during the opening credits, when Hopper and Fonda are captured riding their choppers across the rugged and beautiful landscape of the American West in what is one of the most memorable opening montages in cinematic history.
SPARROWS AND WOLVES
Although Easy Rider would go on to cement Steppenwolf's legacy, undoubtedly turning on new ears for generations to come, the LA heavy rockers had already broken through to the big time, when third single 'Born To Be Wild' shot up to number two in the US Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1968. The roots of Steppenwolf hark back to Toronto garage rock five-piece The Sparrows, who began life in 1964. For the next couple of years, the group was pretty fluid in terms of line-up, physical location and chosen moniker.
By '67, however, things had settled down somewhat, with an LA based line-up now simply titled 'Sparrow", consisting of singer and guitarist John Kay, keyboard player Goldy McJohn, drummer Jerry Edmonton, bassist Rushton Moreve and 17-year-old guitar whiz Michael Monarch."I'd seen them play a few times on the Sunset Strip and was taken by the musicianship of Goldy on organ and Jerry on Drums," Michael Monarch recalls. "They asked me to play with them as Dennis Edmonton had decided to leave at that point and we played clubs in California for a number of months. We were rehearsing in John's garage in Hollywood when Gabriel Mekler first heard us."This meeting with Gabriel Mekler, who lived only a few doors down from the sweaty garage that was serving the guys as a rehearsal space, would be a turning point, as Mekler happened to be a producer for local label Dunhill Records. After scoring them a record deal, Mekler also suggested a new name, prompted by the book he was reading: Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse.
FROM THE BONFIRE
In the early months of the newly named Steppenwolf, Michael Monarch remembers the band presiding over a gritty mix of rhythm and blues standards such as 'Messin' With The Kid' and 'Get Ready Cause Here I Come', much the same as had been the case with Sparrow. However, the new material that would form the bulk of the group's debut LP was also starting to take shape. One of these tracks was 'Born To Be Wild', originally presented to the band in demo form by ex-Sparrows axeman Dennis Edmonton, who was now trading under the moniker Mars Bonfire. It wasn't long before Steppenwolf had spiced up the arrangement.
"Everyone in the band liked 'Born To Be Wild' once we started playing it - I don't think we thought that it was necessarily a hit but it was a good up-tempo song," says Monarch. "I think we started playing it a short time before we started recording the first album. I don't really recall playing it live in the clubs much before the recording sessions, but we pretty much used the arrangement that was on the demo. The main difference was the guitar tone. "Dennis's demo had an ultra clean guitar part. I played it the way he wrote it but I guess I turned up the heat quite a bit from his version. Of course Goldy's organ was a big part of that song, as was John's unusual vocal style and Rushton's bass parts. As I recall, Rushton added that distinctive bass intro line. I think I could fairly say that, although Dennis wrote a great rock song, I don't think his version of it could have ever been a hit. I think that Steppenwolf did take that song to a different level."
AMERICAN EXPRESS
'Born To Be Wild" was just one of a glut of songs Steppenwolf took into LA's American Recording Co. Studios with Gabriel Mekler, engineer and studio owner Richie Podolor and his assistant, Bill Cooper. The aim - as was the norm in the '60s - was to record an album in as short a time as humanly possible. Michael Monarch remembers well both the studio and the impression if had on him at that time.
"It was my first time in a pro studio and I was fascinated with the equipment," he enthuses. "There was a small L-shaped tracking room and one isolation booth, a Scully eight-track tape recorder and a half-inch two-track. I think there was another two-track that was used for tape delay. They had a real echo chamber - a 12 foot long concrete room with a speaker at one end and a microphone at the other and all curved corners. You could open a small door and get inside of it to change the mic. All the pots were rotary pots taken from military equipment - there were no linear faders - and there was also some nice outboard equipment."
"The album went by pretty quick," Monarch continues. "I think we spent a week recording the whole thing and then a week to mix it.... very fast by today's standards. Gabriel was great - very creative and I think he and I got on well. He wanted to try unusual things in the studio and he had a very open mind when it came to music and recording. I also worked with him on a Janis Joplin record Kozmic Blues, and he wanted to use me on other projects. I missed him when he was no longer involved. He died later on in an auto accident."
HOWLING WOLF
Michael Monarch, who counted Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Cropper and Pete Townshend as his personal heroes, played a Fender Esquire across Steppenwolf's eponymous debut album.
"My first guitar was a Mosrite surf guitar but it didn't sound too good so I switched to a Fender Esquire," he remembers. "I don't remember where I got it but I remember seeing Jeff Beck with one and thought it looked cool. It was not modified and it was old when I got it. I used it on and off after the first album but I bought a Fender Strat before the second album and mainly used that from then on. I gave the Esquire to Ritchie Podolor years later - I wish I had kept it."
As far as 'Born To Be Wild' goes, Michael Monarch doesn't remember too much about the actual sessions in which he nailed the definitive version. "I think it went pretty fast - not too many takes," he says. "I remember being told that my amp was turned up too loud and that it was distorting. I was 17 years old and thought, 'Oh yeah? I'll turn it up even louder'. I was using a Fender Concert Amp for those sessions, which was like a Fender Super Reverb without the reverb. I don't really remember using any effects at all, just turning the amp up for sustain."
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