Brian Moniz-Local Musician Profile
June 18, 2007
Brian Moniz has Owen Sound in his blood. His musical vision has grown out from the area, but the Sound can unquestionably be heard in his sound. Even when singing strident protest songs about American foreign and domestic policy his voice embraces the life of good friends and good times that is so important to him. He is fiercely loyal to his hometown and the friends and family who populate it. Brian sings gut-wrenching songs peopled with underdogs, innocent criminals and Machiavellian authority figures. He is genuinely moved to write songs by a belief in the sanctity of human life and the rights and freedoms of the individual. This theme in his music is so strong that it lead him to name his soon-to-be-released CD “Outlaws & Underdogs”.
Brian describes the first moment he knew he wanted to play guitar and sing taking place on the old Clarenville ship and restaurant that used to float in the Owen Sound inner harbour. As Brian and his family ate dinner Larry Jensen filled the air with sweet sound. Brian got his start writing songs with Billy Moore, Mike Morris and Troy Mills in the mid-1980’s. By the late ’80’s he was in his first band, a project called “Life Sentence”. He played around Owen Sound for years. It was he and Pam who instigated the amazing open stage at Jazzmyn’s which has become a long-standing tradition in town and is still going strong on a Wednesday night.
His first recordings explored the counter-culture of the Yorkville scene circa the late 1960’s, inspired by the discovery that his biological mother had been deeply involved in this movement. These songs built his reputation as a songwriter with a poetic sensibility. This exploration of a moment in musical history led to his playing at benefits and festivals with the likes of Teenage Head, Sylvia Tyson and Kenzington Market. He has also been honoured to play with local blues band, “Darafuzz”, and to open for the likes of April Wine, Bobnoxious and Gord Bamford.
His latest recording project, “Outlaws & Underdogs” is to be released on July 1st 2007, with a CD release party scheduled for Friday July 13th at Jazzmyn’s. There will be special appearances by many of the musicians who appear on the album, including Pete Devlin, Joel Morelli, Tommy Gilham, Paul Farrow and also appearances by Neil Towers, Adam Reese and more.
Pete Devlin and Neil Towers will also be accompanying Brian when he travels down to Covington Kentucky on August 26th to play the “Concert for Freedom”, a festival of musicians posted on Neil Young’s “Living With War” internet site. Brian’s video, “Ghosts of 9-11″ peaked at number three and was in the top ten on that site from February to June. Currently this video sits at number 13, above Kris Kristofferson, Roger Waters, Pink and Pearl Jam. His single, “Godspeed”, is currently sitting at number 103 in a list of 1897 songs. We are proud to be able to present to you two tracks from Brian Moniz’s new album, including “Ghosts of 9-11″. Catch this singer/songwriter at a cozy local venue while you still can. We’ve listed his upcoming gigs below, and you can also find them on our live music listings.
To conclude we’ll leave you with some of Brian’s own words: “I’m proud to hail from the mighty Owen Sound. We have some of the finest musicians and songwriters around, from Larry Jensen to Joel Morelli. We got it all right here,right now”.
Listen to Brian’s Tunes
Track 1: Ghosts of 9-11
Track 2: Once in a While
Watch Brian’s Video
Brian’s Collaborators
Paul Farrow (Producer),Pete Devlin, Tommy Gilham, Joel Morelli, Paul Farrow, Neil Towers.
Brian’s Influences
Van Halen, Neil Young, Hank JR, Bob Seger, Tesla
Brian’s Links
Thanks out to Brian for sharing his music and video, and a word to the wise that it’s easy to find more local musicians or create profiles at theOwen.com!!
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July 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
[…] time. To listen to this great band just follow the link provided. This show will be opened by the Brian Moniz Band, another personal favorite of ours here at theOwen.com. In the following week look forward to a […]
July 11th, 2007 at 8:40 am
[…] Friday July the 13th Brian Moniz will transcend all superstitions & bad luck by unleashing his latest studio effort entitled, […]
July 17th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
[…] Brian Moniz truly did overcome all bad luck on Friday the 13th of July with a massively successful release party for his new CD, “Outlaws & Underdogs”. Jazzmyn’s was packed shoulder to shoulder. The bar had to be restocked on several occasions and at times drinks were refused to people because all the glassware was being used! Brian sold 70 copies of “Outlaws & Underdogs”, and raffled off his last T-shirt for $65! […]
July 20th, 2007 at 11:44 am
[…] you heard right, we are now stocking Brian Moniz’s thunderously successful locally produced CD, “Outlaws & Underdogs”, at our […]
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
[…] Brian Moniz came by theOwen.com headquarters this afternoon to scoop up the last of his CDs in order to take them down south. He and his bandmates are heading to Covington Kentucky this weekend for the biggest gig of their lives. The Free Concert For Peace is a concert organized by Neil Young and his camp, featuring artists who have had songs up on Neil’s Living With War Today website. Brian’s video for his song, “Ghosts of 9-11″ spent many months in the top ten on that site. This has led to Brian and his band receiving the headlining spot at a concert that is expected to draw ten thousand or more. The concert in Kentucky is being promoted on CLASS-X 88.9, an American radio station that covers three states. Here’s the audio from the radio plug. […]