Here's something you might be interested in.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24918/
“Could you be the one I’m thinking of?
Could you be the girl I really love?
All the people tell me so,
But what do all the people know!”
-- The Monroes, “What Do All the People Know”
"I am going to do a 30 minute set at the Go Lounge in La Mesa," says one-time Monroes singer Tony Ortiz, in southern CA this week attending to family matters. "I go on at 8:30pm to 9pm, thanks to my dear friend Cathryn Beeks and the Homegrown showcase this Thursday [May 24]...please come on down and meet me or meet up with me again if we are old friends!"
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24916/
The Monroes were, for a time in the early '80s, San Diego's biggest new wave-pop band. Their mix of synthesizers and hard rock originally evolved at a recording studio, Accusound, on 42nd and El Cajon, owned by keyboardist and singer Eric Denton.
While recording other groups, he met several talented players and writers. He was particularly impressed with bassist Bob Monroe, who he says had “a strong personality. In essence, we were the start. You could argue whether it was ‘we started a band’ or ‘I joined with him.’ But it turned out to be a good combination.”
Would Bob Monroe say that he formed the band himself? “He might. As the band grew and grew and grew, so did the egos. When Bob was being interviewed through the years, it turned from us starting a band to Bob Monroe hand-picking his group. But, anyhow, at the time I didn’t care because I just wanted to be part of a great band.”
Next to join was Rusty Jones, who had several songs on KGB FM’s Homegrown albums that he’d recorded at the studio. Next hired was a player from Denton's previous band Peter Rabitt, drummer Jonnie Gilstrap. Then the quest was on for a lead singer.
They settled with Jesus Ortiz, aka Tony Monroe and recorded several original song demos at Accusound. “Bob and I took our tapes and went knocking on doors up in Los Angeles. Bob had already been signed to a publishing deal and he had connections. A guy from a publishing company [MAM] up there named Jon Deverian took us on and became our manager. He was our Brian Epstein.”
Deverian got them signed to Alfa Records, a small label mainly based in Japan. “They gave us a lot of personal attention. We’d call up and they’d have our music playing on hold.”
One of their newest songs was “What Do All the People Know,” written by Bob Monroe.
“And when I called you on the phone
you said that I could be the one.
But here I’m standing all alone,
and you’re out lyin’ in the sun.”
-- “What Do All the People Know”
January 1982: The band entered Chateau Studios with one-time Doors producer Bruce Botnick and Stones engineer Alex Vertikoff. The label ended up preferring the original demos.
“For ‘What Do All the People Know,’ we took the half-inch 8-track demo that we had done [at Accusound] and we transferred all those tracks onto a 24-track, re-did the vocals, put some guitar parts on it, put some hand claps on. What you hear on the radio is 80 percent the original demo that we did in a cheap little 8-track studio.”
The single came out late 1981 and garnered immediate, and constant, airplay. In San Diego, it was inescapable.
Within weeks, they were appearing on the Merv Griffin TV show as well as opening for Greg Kihn, the Motels, Rick Springfield, Toto, and others. They were invited to record a song for a Yoko Ono tribute album, got listed in Billboard as a “Top Album Pick” and, locally, landed a tune called “Stones against the Rain” on 91X’s Sand-Aid album (a benefit for African famine relief).
Everyone in the group was convinced that they were riding a rocket straight to superstardom and quit their regular jobs. Then the label ended up selling the Monroes’ contract to CBS.
“Tell me am I getting in too deep,
every night I’m talking in my sleep.
Lately I am so confused,
I really don’t know what to do.”
-- “What Do All the People Know”
CBS sat on their contract from 1982 to 1984 and did nothing. The group’s rep at the label had no incentive to push the Monroes since he hadn’t been the one to discover them. They recorded on their own, but they had to play with other bands to make money.
As more time went by with no new record, the band’s prospects looked bleak. They were even sued (unsuccessfully) over their name by another Monroes, temporarily forcing them to adopt the moniker “Man to Man.”
The group badly wanted out of their CBS deal so they could move to another label. According to Denton, “We signed an agreement with them that we wouldn’t have to pay back the $50,000 and we wouldn’t force them to put out any albums, which they weren’t doing anyway.” When Rick Springfield’s manager Joe Godfrey expressed an interest in them, they were pleased and decided that this would be very good for the band.
Their original manager, Jon Deverian, was not as pleased. Ultimately, the deal with Godfrey fell through and they found themselves with no manager at all.
Rusty Jones was the first member to officially quit. Then Denton got a note from singer Ortiz, reportedly saying "I’ve got to go find myself. I love you guys, but don’t ever try to find me or contact me again."
Gilstrap was next to exit, though various versions of the Monroes still played out. The band finally dissolved completely around 1988.
In 2007, singer Tony Ortiz turned up in North County, performing with old Monroes mate Rusty Jones. The Oceanside native (he grew up in Escondido) had been living in Minneapolis for around 20 years, working as a chef and then in industrial productiom. Facing his second divorce, he moved into his sister’s house in Ramona.
The duo spent some time performing around the area at places like Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe, as well as writing new songs, before Ortiz again moved away from the area.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24917/
In November 2010, Ortiz released a solo album, Someday. His YouTube channel includes this excellent-quality footage of the Monroes making their national TV debut in 1982 on the Merv Griffin Show, performing (what else?) "What Do All the People Know."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia0uL2vK4dY
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24918/
“Could you be the one I’m thinking of?
Could you be the girl I really love?
All the people tell me so,
But what do all the people know!”
-- The Monroes, “What Do All the People Know”
"I am going to do a 30 minute set at the Go Lounge in La Mesa," says one-time Monroes singer Tony Ortiz, in southern CA this week attending to family matters. "I go on at 8:30pm to 9pm, thanks to my dear friend Cathryn Beeks and the Homegrown showcase this Thursday [May 24]...please come on down and meet me or meet up with me again if we are old friends!"
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24916/
The Monroes were, for a time in the early '80s, San Diego's biggest new wave-pop band. Their mix of synthesizers and hard rock originally evolved at a recording studio, Accusound, on 42nd and El Cajon, owned by keyboardist and singer Eric Denton.
While recording other groups, he met several talented players and writers. He was particularly impressed with bassist Bob Monroe, who he says had “a strong personality. In essence, we were the start. You could argue whether it was ‘we started a band’ or ‘I joined with him.’ But it turned out to be a good combination.”
Would Bob Monroe say that he formed the band himself? “He might. As the band grew and grew and grew, so did the egos. When Bob was being interviewed through the years, it turned from us starting a band to Bob Monroe hand-picking his group. But, anyhow, at the time I didn’t care because I just wanted to be part of a great band.”
Next to join was Rusty Jones, who had several songs on KGB FM’s Homegrown albums that he’d recorded at the studio. Next hired was a player from Denton's previous band Peter Rabitt, drummer Jonnie Gilstrap. Then the quest was on for a lead singer.
They settled with Jesus Ortiz, aka Tony Monroe and recorded several original song demos at Accusound. “Bob and I took our tapes and went knocking on doors up in Los Angeles. Bob had already been signed to a publishing deal and he had connections. A guy from a publishing company [MAM] up there named Jon Deverian took us on and became our manager. He was our Brian Epstein.”
Deverian got them signed to Alfa Records, a small label mainly based in Japan. “They gave us a lot of personal attention. We’d call up and they’d have our music playing on hold.”
One of their newest songs was “What Do All the People Know,” written by Bob Monroe.
“And when I called you on the phone
you said that I could be the one.
But here I’m standing all alone,
and you’re out lyin’ in the sun.”
-- “What Do All the People Know”
January 1982: The band entered Chateau Studios with one-time Doors producer Bruce Botnick and Stones engineer Alex Vertikoff. The label ended up preferring the original demos.
“For ‘What Do All the People Know,’ we took the half-inch 8-track demo that we had done [at Accusound] and we transferred all those tracks onto a 24-track, re-did the vocals, put some guitar parts on it, put some hand claps on. What you hear on the radio is 80 percent the original demo that we did in a cheap little 8-track studio.”
The single came out late 1981 and garnered immediate, and constant, airplay. In San Diego, it was inescapable.
Within weeks, they were appearing on the Merv Griffin TV show as well as opening for Greg Kihn, the Motels, Rick Springfield, Toto, and others. They were invited to record a song for a Yoko Ono tribute album, got listed in Billboard as a “Top Album Pick” and, locally, landed a tune called “Stones against the Rain” on 91X’s Sand-Aid album (a benefit for African famine relief).
Everyone in the group was convinced that they were riding a rocket straight to superstardom and quit their regular jobs. Then the label ended up selling the Monroes’ contract to CBS.
“Tell me am I getting in too deep,
every night I’m talking in my sleep.
Lately I am so confused,
I really don’t know what to do.”
-- “What Do All the People Know”
CBS sat on their contract from 1982 to 1984 and did nothing. The group’s rep at the label had no incentive to push the Monroes since he hadn’t been the one to discover them. They recorded on their own, but they had to play with other bands to make money.
As more time went by with no new record, the band’s prospects looked bleak. They were even sued (unsuccessfully) over their name by another Monroes, temporarily forcing them to adopt the moniker “Man to Man.”
The group badly wanted out of their CBS deal so they could move to another label. According to Denton, “We signed an agreement with them that we wouldn’t have to pay back the $50,000 and we wouldn’t force them to put out any albums, which they weren’t doing anyway.” When Rick Springfield’s manager Joe Godfrey expressed an interest in them, they were pleased and decided that this would be very good for the band.
Their original manager, Jon Deverian, was not as pleased. Ultimately, the deal with Godfrey fell through and they found themselves with no manager at all.
Rusty Jones was the first member to officially quit. Then Denton got a note from singer Ortiz, reportedly saying "I’ve got to go find myself. I love you guys, but don’t ever try to find me or contact me again."
Gilstrap was next to exit, though various versions of the Monroes still played out. The band finally dissolved completely around 1988.
In 2007, singer Tony Ortiz turned up in North County, performing with old Monroes mate Rusty Jones. The Oceanside native (he grew up in Escondido) had been living in Minneapolis for around 20 years, working as a chef and then in industrial productiom. Facing his second divorce, he moved into his sister’s house in Ramona.
The duo spent some time performing around the area at places like Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe, as well as writing new songs, before Ortiz again moved away from the area.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24917/
In November 2010, Ortiz released a solo album, Someday. His YouTube channel includes this excellent-quality footage of the Monroes making their national TV debut in 1982 on the Merv Griffin Show, performing (what else?) "What Do All the People Know."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia0uL2vK4dY