news

• 08-23-09 - Going Ape over the Naked Monkeys: Young and old enjoy sounds of area band
  
  People young and old are going ape over the Naked Monkeys. No, they are not naked and they aren’t monkeys. Band members Ken Glaser, Steve Perry, Greg Neal and Rick DeWitt are the reasons this local rock group has taken off. Their popularity can be seen at any venue they perform. And their popularity seems to have no age limit. Renee Neal, wife of Naked Monkeys’ drummer Greg Neal, related the following incident to her husband. Renee is an employee at an area bank. In her job, she helps people to open up CDs. As Neal retells the story, “This elderly couple came in to the bank asking for a CD. My wife said, ‘How much?’ As in how much money? They looked at her and said, ‘You don’t understand. We want a CD of Naked Monkeys.’” The band plays a mix of classic rock and incorporate their own tunes as well, with a Jimmy Buffett “island feel” to their songs. “We love the water. We love performing on the water. We love that atmosphere. We all grew up with the lake and we’re all very passionate about it. As far as our material that we do on stage, we bring in new songs and we shoot them out live to the people,” Glaser said. “Rick (DeWitt) and I started the band in 1999. Rick and I are lifelong friends. We’ve known each other for 37 years, and we’re both graduates of South Amherst schools,” said Glaser, 44, who runs his own insurance agency. DeWitt, 44, works as a music teacher at Ron Zehel Guitar Center. Neal, 45, is a Lorain firefighter and Perry, 39, is an elementary school teacher in Vermilion. The band recently performed at DeLuca’s Place in the Park in Lorain, and also performed at July’s Port Fest at the Black River Landing, Lorain. The question remains, where did the band get such an unusual name? “At the time, Rick was playing in another band and we were both on a skiing trip. I said something about ‘the naked monkeys ride again’ referring to the 3 percent difference in the DNA between apes and humans. In other words, don’t take yourself so seriously. Learn to have fun,” Glaser said. When the band formed, the moniker was chosen and Glaser said the name caught on like wildfire. Glaser said the band has been together for so long now and each member knows the song list so well they don’t really rehearse. If they do learn a new song, it’s live and on stage and no one in the audience is aware of it. “Everything is attitude. Ninety percent of life is how you deal with it,” Glaser said. The group recently issued their first CD, “When Our Ship Comes In.” “We actually did everything in the studio. We recorded at Windmill Records in Wellington with Chuck Seeley as engineer. He’s unbelievably gifted and talented. The guys in the band are all very gifted, too,” Glaser said. “We try to write songs that have meaning to people. We actually try to have nice, groovy songs. We’re very family oriented,” Glaser said. “It’s a nice mix of diverse material, from reggae to rock. There are three fantastic tribute songs written a week after 9/11. They were such overwhelmingly passionate songs, written with pure, raw emotion. There’s something there for everyone,” Glaser said. “Our commitment to the CD was tremendous,” he said. “Which goes to show, if you want something bad enough, you’ll do what you have to do to get it. We’re going in a real good direction now,” Glaser said. When it comes to playing cover songs, which are those tunes written and performed by other artists, Glaser said they think of them as individual tributes to those who wrote them. “We look at copy music this way. We’re doing a tribute to them, to the original singer or songwriter,” Glaser said. Along with their fun mix of songs, there is a family-style aura that seems to follow the band wherever they play. At various times, the band members’ children will appear on stage, strumming on plastic guitars doing air guitars. Band members, also known as these children’s parents, dress up in tie-dyed shirts and shades. The casual, relaxed atmosphere when the band performs reminds one of the Grateful Dead and at other times of Buffett’s “Parrothead” music, triggering memories of swaying palm trees and salty ocean breezes. “We’re always very personable to our audiences. They want to be a part of something positive. They want to see something positive and listen to good, quality music,” Glaser said. As for what keeps them interested and active in the band, Neal spoke for himself and the other band members. “It’s a little bit of everything. Mainly, the love of music. We’ve been playing 12 years now. I played in Blue Train, a country music band. Rick (DeWitt) knew of me. They asked me to join the band. We all have a love of entertaining and a solid commitment to the band,” Neal said. “I was singing since I was 6. I’m 39 now. And I still love to sing. When I met these guys in our drummer’s basement, I felt like I knew them forever. They’re great. And I look forward to playing music with them every weekend,” Perry said. Glaser said he sees the future of the band as being an impetus to help others in need. “To be honest, just to be able to do a lot of fundraising and performing at concerts with a couple thousand people, something along the lines of what Michael Stanley does,” Glaser said. Next year, Glaser said band plans include touring in Key West, Fla., and down the New Jersey coast. “It’s a mix of family and jobs, so we’ve got to be particular about setting it up. We might do a 10-day tour.” For further information on Naked Monkeys and their CD, “When Our Ship Comes In,” visit www.nakedmonkeys.com.
  
  Story By RON VIDIKA View Article

on sale now

• 
  When Our Ship Comes In
  (new album)
  

fan site

• 
  For the latest Naked Monkey news.