4TheRcrd Mag.

One evening a few months ago i was heading home on Commercial Drive when out of the blue i was stopped dead, struck dumb and shaken out of my reverie by the driving sounds of a piano, drums and guitar based wank-fest that was literally spilling out on to the pavement in front of The Libra Room. But this wasn’t just any ol’ jam, this was the sound of life! This was the sound of new landscapes being explored and musicians finding that special place where birth happens. It was if time had quit, just in that little square of space in front of the venue. As i stood there letting the cool wave of music wash over me i heard a voice lifting above that wall of sound, a familiar voice that grabbed me by the shirt collar and brought me closer to the window. And who should i see weaving her magic with a crack-tight band but East Van’s very own, Monica Lee, a local song-bird who has a decade of performance in the city to her credit, a couple of CD’s and a trail of good friends following in her wake. She’ll tickle your inner hippie while greasing up your blues cat. She’s Monica Lee.

Musically, how long have you been at it and what started you on this righteous path of singing your little heart out?

Well my mother says I came out singing. I used to sit on the back of her bike in the baby seat vocalizing for the whole trip. Both my parents love to sing so it was really encouraged around the house and as a child I was always sung to while falling asleep. Maybe that’s why I write so many songs from my dreaming state? I moved to Vancouver in 1998 with my first disk in hand and started to meet and perform with other musicians, but I found that i was having a hard time expressing myself musically to other players, so from 2000-2003 I attended VCC and it really helped develop my voice, my playing and my composition style. Since then I’ve been gigging and building a band and sharing my voice when ever I can.

Monica Lee has a hella tight band! Please fill in the missing pieces, telling me of the members and what makes them so awesome!

I started playing with Jesse Waldman about 5 years ago. He is hands down the best guitar player I know, with the ability to be rhythmic and melodic at the same time and his solos are mesmerizing. After Jesse and I had been performing together for a few years we decided to host a night called Random Acts of Kindness, a showcase night at Café deux Soleil. I was also hosting the Song Slam as well. One of those nights Marc L’Expérance(drums) came down and offered his services as an engineer/producer to the winner of our Song Slam competition. That was the first meeting. He asked if he could come and sit in with us on a Thursday at the Libra Room where we had just started playing on a regular basis. I was weary of the drums, scarred they would overpower the songs, so I insisted he only bring his snare, which he did and it was great. We invited him back but this time he begged to bring his kick drum, and high hat. I relented and from there he developed a small kit adding one more overhead symbol to the mix. It’s a really good set up giving the songs just what they needed. Marc is also a phenomenal harmonizer. He quickly learned the songs and has added so much depth to them with his his voice. Also a multi- instrumentalist like myself he occasionally gets up and plays my viola too! As a band we perform week after week on the same stage, the best rehearsal space we could ask for as our songs grow in front of the audience. And since we all love to improvise, we have written a half a dozen songs right there on stage, four of which are on the new album. The audience and the environment being the inspiration…we just go for it.

As a lover of music, the live show is SO important in my overall comfort with a performer or band, so I’m pleased to have a taste of that with your latest offering of live material. What compelled you to forego a studio album in favor of the Libra Room sessions?
Because we play every week at the Libra, and they treat us so well, it just felt natural. And like I said, several of the songs were actually written on stage there. I really wanted to document the experience and try and capture some of that creative magic. Plus people really responded to our live sets, so I was pretty sure they would be interested in taking a bit of the show home with them.

Any interesting road stories/brushes with the crazy, extra-ordinary, and/or famous that you’d like to share?

A few years back I was a part of a project called “Song Bird Oratorio” which performed here and then toured to Arizona. The experience was amazing especially getting to perform with two of Canada’s best vocalists, Christine Duncan and D.B. Boyko in this a capella mini opera. Part of the bonus to the trip was getting to drive to the Grand Canyon. We were so bold we went and swung our feet off the edge scaring the folks standing safely behind the barrier, it was so exhilarating! And we all bought foot tall cowgirl hats and were a sight to see wandering through towns and airports all the way back to Vancouver!

What’s in store for ‘08 and beyond?

I am working on booking the band to do a few tours, first to the islands and then around BC and Alberta. I am also thinking of an Ontario/Quebec tour in the fall. My good friend Katie Ormiston of Pawnshop Diamond and I are co-conspiring to tour Europe together in October as well. I have applied to New Music West and North-by-North East so we shall see if they are interested in having us and I will be applying for 2009 summer festivals as well, as it has always been a dream of mine to do a festival tour sharing my songs and introducing my band to the rest of Canada, the States, Europe and beyond… A girl’s got to dream!The Monica Lee band plays @ Lime on Saturday March 8. For tunes and more gig info visit her myspace, website, and E-press kit.

IMAGE CREDIT: here.