The Monolators
Active from 2002-2012, 2018-present
We (Mary and Eli) formed The Monolators as a garage punk trio with our friend Mike Dennis in 2002. This was the first band I was ever in that played more than 3 shows, breaking the “three show curse” that doomed all my previous bands.
Over the years we went through seven different lineups, toured, recorded 3 albums plus multiple singles & EPs, wrote & performed a musical radio play called Mechanookie, and opened up for Shonen Knife. Monolators dissolved in 2012 but we got back together in 2018 to play a few shows in Los Angeles before the pandemic wrecked everything, and now (as of 2025) we’re recording our fourth album.
Featured Release
Fire & Lightning, 2025 The first song released from our upcoming 4th album. It’s a protest song against ICE family separations. With Tom Bogdon, Ray Gurrola, & Eli on guitar, Andy Bollas on bass, Jillinda Palmer on piano & vocals, Mary on drums, and Ashley Jex & Josie Chartkoff on vocals. Recorded by Ethan Walter & Joe Napolitano.
Listen to & buy “Fire & Lightning” on Bandcamp
Discography
Hi-Fi Sound, 2002 Handmade CDR. Four-song EP of our early repertoire, with Mary on drums, Eli on bass, and Mike on guitar. Recorded in our garage before we understood home recording; we recorded the band live to one computer, then plugged the computer’s headphone jack into a mixer with another mic, and overdubbed onto a second computer. Amazingly “Spandex Hitman” was played by Anne Litt on KCRW, that was the first time I ever heard one of our songs on the radio.
Listen to & buy “Hi-Fi Sound” on Bandcamp
Santa Claus Versus Dave Matthews, 2003 7″ red vinyl holiday single. With Arlene Siorda on guest harmony vocals and Hugo Armstrong on the spoken-word B-side. Recorded in our garage on a Teac 8-track recorder and mixed by Tom Bogdon before he joined the band. This caused consternation by Dave Matthews fans.
Listen to & buy “Santa Claus Versus Dave Matthews” on Bandcamp
Rejection Set Me Free, 2004 Compact disc. First full-length album, recorded in our garage on the Teac 8-track, with Mary on drums, Eli on bass, and Mike on guitar. It was mixed by an engineer who asked that we NOT credit them by name. The cover photo is of the back of my dad’s head, circa 1960.
Listen to & buy “Rejection Set Me Free” on Bandcamp
Let’s Be Best Friends In Space, 2004 7″ grey swirl vinyl single. Mike’s last recording on guitar with The Monolators was on the b-side; Tom Bogdon plays on the a-side. We started recording this in our garage on our Teac, but it died halfway through the session so we finished it up at Red Rocket’s Glare studios with Raymond Richards. Our original idea for this record was to have black vinyl with white dots in it to look like stars, but it came out as grey swirl. It still looks pretty cool.
Listen to & buy “Let’s Be Best Friends in Space” on Bandcamp
Our Tears Have Wings, 2006 Compact disc. Second full-length album, with Tom Bogdon on guitar, Mary on drums, Eli on bass. Recorded at Red Rocket’s Glare by Raymond Richards. Raymond also played pedal steel, organ, and tamboura.
Listen to & buy “Our Tears Have Wings” on Bandcamp
You Look Good On The Train, 2007 4-song EP on 10″ vinyl. With Andy Bollas on bass, Tom on guitar, Mary on drums and tenor sax, Eli on guitar. Wendy Wang played baritone sax and keyboards and Raymond Richards played keyboards and stylophone.
Listen to & buy “You Look Good On The Train” on Bandcamp
Don’t Dance, 2008 12″ vinyl LP in hand-screened cover. Third full-length album, recorded by Raymond Richards at Red Rockets Glare. With Ashley Jex on bass, Tom on guitar & sitar, Mary on drums and tenor sax, and Eli on bass and guitar. Lots of other people played and sang on this (Raymond, Wendy, Nate Cole, Ben & Heather Heywood, Angie Correa).
Listen to & buy “Don’t Dance” on Bandcamp
Silver Cities/Ruby, I’m Changing My Number, 2009-2010 12″ vinyl EP with hand-screened covers. With Ray Gurrola on guitar, Jillinda Palmer on keyboards, Ashley Jex on bass, Mary on drums, and Eli on guitar. After Don’t Dance we recorded a pair of EPs and put them out on a single 12″ record. The “Ruby” side was recorded by Joe Napolitano in our garage and the “Silver Cities” side was recorded by Luke Ehret in an actual studio.
Listen to & buy “Silver Cities” on Bandcamp
Listen to & buy “Ruby, I’m Changing My Number” on Bandcamp
Ten Years of Tears, 2012 Cassette. Released on the Vanity Projects label, this was a compilation covering the various incarnations of the band from 2002-2012, plus two previously unreleased songs. One side was curated by Mary and the other by Eli.
Listen to & buy “Ten Years Of Tears” on Bandcamp
Mechanookie Musical radio play. This was a 6-episode science fiction radio play/musical with script and songs written by Eli. We play on the songs but the lead vocals are sung by the play’s actors. Includes favorites “5001” and “Love Don’t Love Me.”
Listen to & buy “Mechanookie” on Bandcamp
Want U Back (Cher Lloyd cover), 2012. We were lucky to participate in one of DJ Kyle Mabson‘s semi-monthly covers compilations, this one featuring 27 renditions of Want U Back by various LA/non-LA DIY mavens. We recorded ours live to 4-track in our garage (technically mostly live…drums, guitar and lead vocals were recorded live and then backup vocals & bass were overdubbed later). With Ray Gurrola on guitar, Mary on drums, Eli on bass. This was the last song recorded by the band in its original 2002-2012 run.
