New single release interview with Ken Kelley; drummer for The Monoxides. "Radio Sunshine" is out now.
What inspired the creation of this single?
“Radio Sunshine” has been kicking around in various forms since 1998 or so. We didn’t feel it really fit in with the material on the full-length album we released in 2000 (The Free Release of Energy) and so the song just kind of languished in the background for years and years. We’d haul it out on occasion for live shows, and had always intended to release it but we didn’t have a definitive recorded version until we reworked it last year recorded this in the fall of 2024.
What story or message does the song convey?
It’s a pretty optimistic song that looks at how finding someone that complements your life can sometimes really bring out the best in everyone.
Can you tell us about the creative process?
The creative process has always been collaborative between all members of the band. Typically, someone will bring a riff or melody to the rest of us and then we build the song from there. Sometimes everything falls into place right away and other times, it takes a while before we land on something we’re all happy with.
How does this song differ from your previous releases?
We’ve never necessarily been shy about wearing our influences on our sleeves but with this song, we are leaning more upon bands like Cheap Trick and The Raspberries as opposed to some of the heavier influences that can be heard in other songs.
What challenges did you face while writing or recording?
Where “Radio Sunshine” had been kicking around for so long before we recorded and released it, I feel as though we got a bit numb to exploring what other possibilities the song held. It was actually our guitarist Marco, who wasn’t in the band when we originally wrote it, that brought some wonderful arrangement ideas that got us (and the song) finally over the finish line.
Did you experiment with any new instruments, techniques, or styles?
The great thing about our recording setup these days is that it’s all done in our practice space. That gives us the time and opportunity to try different ideas as inspiration strikes us, like the keys Marco added into the outro of the song and the pick slide that Derek expertly pulled off coming out of the solo. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for these ideas to float to the surface.
Have you performed it live yet, and what was the audience’s reaction?
We have performed it live and it’s gone over tremendously well. It’s been interesting to see people’s reaction to the song because it seems to have been embraced by both old and new fans alike. Not long after “Radio Sunshine” was released, one person sent us a video of their son’s hockey practice and he had picked it as the team’s “warm up” song that day. It’s especially cool when you create something that reaches across multiple generations like that. It’s rather humbling in the very best of ways.
Is this single part of a larger project, like an album or EP?
We would love to make a full-length record but finding the time necessary to dedicate to getting together to write an album kind of eludes us right now. We all have jobs and families and there are, sadly, only so many hours in the day. I’m not ruling it out entirely but it’s just not feasible for where we are at this particular point in our lives. A 7-inch single or EP is probably a more realistic option at this point but that’s one good thing about where we are at - we’re entirely free to do whatever we feel inspired to do.
Anything Else You'd Like Your Fans to Know.
We’ve been playing together since 1991 and consider ourselves fortunate to still have people caring about what we do. At this point in the band’s timeline, we don’t take anything for granted.
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