Interview: Catching Up With Moniker + Stream Private Prophet

With a fairly unique approach to a blend of indie rock and post punk, Richmond-based group Moniker recently released their latest EP, Private Prophet, on Good Eye Records. The five-song set finds the band’s Jordan Scott working through themes of grief and world weariness via driving rockers like “Tidal Wave” or the ornate gothic sway of “Kicking And Screaming.”

To celebrate the release of Private Prophet, we sent Moniker some interview questions to get to know them better. Check it all out below and be sure to follow the band here for more.

Hi Moniker! Congrats on your new EP. Can you tell us a little more on who you are and how you first got into making music?

Thank you! I’m a musician who lives in Richmond, VA. I write songs and play them with Ro-Derrick Branch and Christian Boughner, and sometimes other collaborators. As for how I got started….well one version is that when I was a kid I saw Paul McCartney playing bass and decided I wanted to do that. Probably not the most unique musician-origin story, but I have to be truthful and at least I didn’t say John. It took me a while to commit to it though, I studied some classical music in college, then decided I’d rather record albums, and now here I am a few years later.

What’s your songwriting process like?

It depends song to song, but a common way that I usually start with is by collecting: I have a ton of random voice memos of riffs/melodies/beats etc, and a bunch of notes of random lyric fragments/album ideas. Eventually, I start to match up things that fit, and then a song or sometimes a whole album starts to take shape, which is where it gets more interesting and I can start to string themes and ideas together.

What was your inspiration behind writing Private Prophet?

I was working on a longer album with a brighter sound a year or two ago, I was enjoying it but at the same time, it felt like there was a negativity in the air, and not just me. Personally adequate but internationally disastrous if you will. I had a bunch of lyric fragments reflecting that, and more iPhone recordings of darker sounding songs, usually with heavier guitars on them. Putting them together made sense and the EP took shape from, it emerged pretty naturally in response to my surroundings.

Who are some of your biggest influences/favorite artists?

It changes all the time! I tend to keep playlists while I’m working on an album to have a record of what I was listening to the most at the time. The one for Private Prophet had Neil Young, Nirvana, and Mitski, to name a few. Some current favorites are New Order, Julia Holter, Stevie Wonder, Minnie Ripperton, and the Eurythmics.

Any new artists/venues/purveyors of the arts in Richmond you could turn our
readers onto?

Definitely! We just had our release show with 2 amazing acts on the bill, missangelbird and Dazeases. One of my favorite acts in town is Shormey. I don’t know them personally but I caught them live by accident once and then another time on purpose—they’re my favorite live show in Richmond. My favorite venue here is the Camel, they’re always super nice, it’s a great place to play at and to catch a show.

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

We’re on most of the things (@monikerja) and have a website with everything else (www.monikermoniker.com).

Our next shows are:

Richmond VA on April 22

Richmond May VA 4th

Harrisonburg VA May 11th

Arlington VA May 12th

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

Listen to Good Eye Records!