The not too serious band, Jango Monkey, with Atlanta, Georgia based roots, having an indie rock feel, claims to be a “Five Piece Rock Orchestra”. Sounding similar to Pink Floyd, Wilco, and Jack Johnson, made me feel as if I was living under a rock for not discovering them sooner.
“We want people to be excited to share Jango Monkey with their friends – to be that new great band they’ve just discovered.” -Jango Monkey”
Their self titled album, Jango Monkey, released back in 2007, with tracks such as “The Escape”, “Great Expectations” and “Losing it”, creates the perfect ambiance for a road trip with friends to take on an adventure.
Jango Monkey composed of Rob Platner (guitar/vocals), Eric Martin (guitar/vocals), Timothy Watts (bass/synth), Blair Price (keyboards), and Tk Thornton (drums/vocals), are the right mixture of maturity with a sense of ‘spunk’. Creating music for all the right reasons, to grow themselves, to help others grows, to find a sense of peace and have a little bit of fun all at the same time. 
This quirky combination of individuality has led to the current day definition of Jango Monkey. A band not seeking notoriety, however receiving recognition for their work. Their first studio release put them on the Jam Bands Radio chart on 2008 with a numer six hit. In addition named “Up and Coming Band” in ‘Hitting the Note’ publications. Not to mention a part of the Leeway’s Home Grown Music network. For as laid back as they seem, this down to earth band is right on track with introducing the right audiences to their music.
With their second studio album released in February of 2011, “Magic Whoosh” and their performance at this years Floyd Fest X, their first music festival, marks a milestone in the band journeys. Making “2011 the year of the Monkey” as they claim, is certainly their year. A not too serious L3GACI is composed of all the right ingredients to create some relaxing sounds, to give listeners an up beat, funky and truly unique soundtrack to life.
Nothing better can describe the sounds of Jango Monkey but the band themselves, here are a few words with them to describe their quirky selves…
L3: Jango Monkey, quite the uncommon name for a band, what would be the groups inspiration for this name?
A few years ago someone gave me a toy wind-up monkey – with cymbals in hand, and little fez hat. This little monkey was of course a musician who didn’t take himself too seriously. We wanted the band’s name to reflect a certain amount of fun and silliness. Jango seemed like a good name for the monkey.
L3: I’ve also seen the band has been around for ten years, this is a quite a feat in the music industry, what would the band accredit that to?
We are more mature than some and got into music because it is part of our core being, not because of a need to be “rock stars”. I think a lot of young bands start out with delusions of stardom that usually don’t pan out – so they break up and go get real jobs. Everyone in Jango Monkey has reasonable expectations. This is a very tough business – but we love to make music whether or not we make lots of money at it, or play for 1000’s or for dozens. Fortunately those people who have heard us do seem to really like what we do… so we get some nice feedback which provides a bit of validation.
“Our hope right now is that we can continue to expand our audience and give them a great show everytime.” -Jango Monkey
L3 In the years together, what journey has the music taken you on?
There are a couple of ways to answer that question I suppose. Ultimately we hope the music takes everyone who hears it on their own journey…where one is taken away from the mundane worries and hassles of the day (for at least a little while). There are those great times when we hit that zone where the music plays the band rather than the other way around. Of course, the more literal answer is that the music has taken us through the whole spectrum from dive bars to universities to breweries and music festivals.
L3 What personal growths have the band discovered individually?
I’d say we are all better listeners than we used to be. We know the value of not over-playing which was not always the case. We know that as musicians we are there to serve the song, and not to massage our egos.
L3: What do you hope to accomplish with your music?
Like most bands, we get the biggest thrill from playing music for people and feeling people connect. We’d love to feel that connection with lots and lots of people. Our hope right now is that we can continue to expand our audience and give them a great show everytime. We want to blow people away (in a good way). We want people to be excited to share Jango Monkey with their friends – to be that new great band they’ve just discovered.
“We are not trying to preach to anyone, sway opinions, or deliver public service announcements” -Jango Monkey
L3: I see that the band has an event full summer of shows, what is the band looking forward to the most?
This summer we will be playing our first major music festival – Floydfest in Floyd Virginia. 14,000 people attended this last year and the line up is really incredible. To share a bill with artists like Taj Mahal, Railroad Earth, David Grisman, and Robert Randolph is a huge thrill for us. Everyone who has ever been to this festival (now in its 10th year) raves about it.
L3: If there is one thing you want your listeners to learn, experience, gain from your music, what would that be?
We want folks to have a good time with us. This is supposed to be fun, quirky, different, and intriguing. We are not trying to preach to anyone, sway opinions, or deliver public service announcements
L3: Lastly here at L3GACI we ask, how does the music Jango Monkey performs, Create, Inspire, Evolve society?
I think if I attempted to answer that question, I would be violating our first rule – which is to never take yourself too seriously.
Never taking themselves too seriously, follow them on their journey on Face Book and Twitter Check out their site at Jangomonkey.com to stay up to date on all their happenings. Even better, check out their tunes for a free music sample. In addition to sampling the album you can “Name your own price” with purchasing this album, a twist on the fixed $9.99 option from I tunes for Magic Whoosh.
JangoMonkey, well on their mission to deliver care free good times with music, is making their L3GACI, are you?
l3gaci.com 