Music Is My Weapon

Emerging from the primordial soup of two mens's collective unconscious, and bursting upon the American musical scene with all the force of a tractor-trailer full of pork chops, the Mold Monkies are here. And they won't leave.

Begun as an experiment in power pop by shadowy Northumberlandese pop fixture Nick Appleby (Chopper, The Absolute Zeros) and other guy Russell Shaddox (Buzzbaby, Biff and the Squids), the Mold Monkies quickly evolved into a joyous exploration of Spinal Tap's aphorism that "there's a fine line between stupid and clever."

"It's noisy, it's goofy, it's hyperenergized," said Russell, as his TV-glazed eyes slowly gravitated back toward the siren song of a CSI marathon. "But most of the songs have a genuine melody, which is an increasing rarity in today's mainstream pop landscape. So we're proud of that, or something."

Nick agrees, nodding his head slowly. Traumatized by the creation of the new CD, for weeks he has been unable to articulate any words except "Pat the bunny."

"Our formative cultural environment was the late 70s and early 80s," said Russell, clearly enraptured by the sound of his own voice. "Growing up in England, Nick loved the 'punk' and 'new wave' scenes that were all the rage with the youngsters back then. Meanwhile, I was in San Antonio, listening to a melting pot of power pop, prog-rock, punk, new wave, Celt-rock and Philly soul. That's why I am confused now, and look to Nick for direction and moral guidance."

"Pat the bunny," Nick agrees.

Overcome your natural repulsion. Purchase this fine musical product. Find out what The Mold Monkies are all about, because if you don't, you won't know. What they're all about.

The talent behind the group. Biography: The Mold Monkies are:

Nick Appleby, pictured above, is lead and backing vocals, bass, guitars, drums, keys, percussion.
This self-effacing, multi-instrumental pop icon was born in Northumberland but now makes his home in southern Connecticut. Besides music, he enjoys hanging out with his family, repairing motorcycles, and laughing at funny things.

Russell Shaddox is lead, backing and free-form vocals, guitars, bass, keys, percussion
A communications professional and former spelling-bee standout, Russell was born in Dallas, Texas. His musical taste was influenced by residing in a variety of interesting places, including New Orleans, Providence, R.I., and Dublin, Ireland. He's fascinated by words in print, graphic arts, engineering, and hanging out with his family. And Nick's family.

Thad Brown is rhythm guitars, and cool hair
We don't really know that much about Thad at this point, although he seems nice. He tells us he was born to a vegan Mennonite commune, and came to Connecticut by mistake, thinking he was headed to Sausalito. His varied musical interests include Charlie Christian, Count Basie, Skatta, Lenky, King Tubby, The Replacements and Husker Du. So make of that what you will.

Paul Tascione is on Drums
Paul used to play drums with Nick in the Absolute Zeros. Now he plays drums with us. He wont tell us anything else about himself. He's kind of scary. And why does he always suck on that old possum tail, periodically saying, "doodle doodle doodle"?