I caught up with the members of Munky Punch a little while back and witnessed an outstanding performance at the Paddo.

What do you get when you fuse Rock, Hip Hop, Streets Hip Hop, Hendrix and Funk? The answer is simple, you get Munky Punch. They will blow you away with their sweat engaged stage performances and unique rhythmic sounds.

A collective of different races and styles make up Munky Punch and is another fabulous Perth band doing something different. You can't put any specific genre to Munky Punch and that's the way they like it. Such a mix of diverse sounds, tunes and lyrics can be heard when watching Munky Punch perform live on stage.

Munky Punch are a solid unit, pumping out some great unique sounds, mixing it with the audience and letting you witness what each member has to offer by way of short solos. You will be amazed with what you see from this up and coming stylish band.

If it's something different you want to hear then Munky Punch is the band for you to see, catch up with Munky Punch soon, you won't be disappointed!!

(Darryl Westrup)

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Tell us about Munky Punch.

We are an influx of different musos, different styles, different races, its different everything! We're trying to bring it all together into one. You should give us a grant just for the races we have here, it's good for Australia I think. For us basically at the end of the day we're just trying to create some music and raise some hairs and do something different.

It might not be your style of music, but at the same time you can enjoy it and that's what we are about. We don't want to be average band that's playing pop crap. So, if you can hang around a show and say that it's good, but at the same stage enjoy it.

It's about originality; originality is basically about doing things differently. We don't think about it too much, we just do it! We may offend some people, it's not a conscious thing, we're not conscious about trying to be different it's just our influence and it's just the way it is.

This is a pop country, as Australia its straight pop, you guys haven't had anything rockin' out here since ACDC, and everything else has just been pop! We are a mixture of styles, like we are too rock for the some of the hip hoppers and too hip hop for some of the rockers. We like to mix it up and find our own thing, and in the last 18 months we have been really starting to find our feet well, it's a big fusion of rock, funk and hip hop really, and it's a good mixed bag.

Kid Dynamite your last EP, when can we expect to see something else?

Yeah, we are recording right now, most of the songs heard tonight are going to be on the new album and it's a fusion of getting straighter, rockier, and a poppier. The funk element is really always going to be with us. We've got a new one coming out in a couple or three months, it is where we are at.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Each individual is different! Everyone's pulling from their own sources, straight from hip hop, mixing hip hop with rap and rock, streets hip hop, Hendrix, fusion funk, and god knows what. I don't try and listen to too much music at all really, just try it and write it out.

We are putting all these inspirations into one stirring pot and see what comes out. It's actually quite hard work to write the music we do, because we want to be different. Lately with all these blends we've been starting to come together and finding a sound that's the Munky Punch sound.

This band has been going together for 5 years and only now in the past 12 - 18 month it's actually fused itself in a basic level to actually become an original sort of sound. Most original bands have to go through that stage of actually playing their butts off and trying different things, getting to a stage where they can actually be individual and that's where we're at now.

You guys are on a lot of SLAM line ups, what has SLAM done for you?

SLAM has been fantastic for us, if it wasn't for SLAM there would be original bands slogging their guts out the way they always do, trying to get a gig. This is just an easy way the music industry bands can actually create a little circuit and I think that's fantastic.

I think at the same stage it's put more pressure on bands to actually make themselves look better, because it's a competitive system out there. They all want to be good as, and at the end of the night what it's done has actually given a night of entertainment, not just a night of bands, of individual bands.

What's in store for Munky Punch for the rest of 2004?

Basically get a new EP out, touring. We had airplay on Triple J with Kid Dynamite and after they played it a bit they said "yeah it's great, give us your next stuff". So, get a new EP out and get some more radio play.

Visit Munky Punch online @
www.munkypunch.com.au

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© WA Gig Guide April 2004