There are promoters who book shows, and then there are musicians who know exactly what it means to haul gear, build a bill and hope the room fills with more than the band’s paramours before the first chord is played. Brody Bass—aka Da DrunkMonk—is coming at promotion from the latter camp.
The Bay Area musician, best known for his work with Modern Monsters, is launching DrunkMonkPresents… (the ellipses = branding) with a loud inaugural bill featuring Uncle Sea Monster, Kehoe’s Dümsürf and Ga$ Money at Mac’s at 19 Broadway in Fairfax. The show lands at 8:30pm, Saturday, July 18, with doors opening at 7:30pm, and promises a night of hard rock, punk, surf rock and heavy original music.
For Bass, DrunkMonkPresents… is less a side hustle than an extension of his years inside the Bay Area music scene.
“DrunkMonkPresents… really came out of my love for original, mostly heavy, music in the Bay Area,” Bass says. “Over the years, Modern Monsters have played all over the greater West Coast, and I have met so many amazing original bands. My goal from the start was to connect some of these great bands and help expand their reach.”
Having spent the last decade on the performing side of the biz, Bass has learned that a strong promoter does more than slap a poster online and hope for the best. He sees the role as part advocate, part wrangler, part host and part scene-builder.
That dual identity—musician and promoter—also informs the tone of DrunkMonkPresents… It is meant to be a brand audiences can trust, not because every act sounds the same, but because every act delivers.
“A great promoter builds a brand, so when you see that name, you know you’re in for some dope music and an all together crazy night,” Bass notes.
The first lineup came together through the kind of informal network that keeps local scenes alive. Bass first caught Uncle Sea Monster at HopMonk Tavern in Sebastopol and later reached out about headlining. From there came a recommendation for Bryan Kehoe’s Dümsürf, a natural fit since Kehoe is already a friend of Modern Monsters and one of Bass’ favorite Bay Area guitarists. Then came Ga$ Money.
“After that, I was like, ‘Hot damn, what an insane first DrunkMonkPresents… show this is gonna be,’” he recalls.
For the uninitiated, “heavy music” can look like a wall of amps, flailing hair, a vague sense that it’s somehow hastening the apocalypse. Bass insists the reality is much more inviting.
“Heavy music often gets a reputation for being aggressive, but for me, I have found that it can be one of the most genuine and supportive communities around,” he says. “The music can be wild, but the fans and musicians couldn’t be more welcoming and supportive.”
At a time when tribute and nostalgia acts fill plenty of local calendars, Bass is making a case for original music as the raw material of future nostalgia.
“There is nothing wrong with the tribute and cover bands happening in and around the bay,” he acknowledges, “but without original music NOW, the future won’t have anything to work with in regards to cover bands.”
The logic tracks.
Bass adds, “Let’s let original music thrive and get people familiar with these bands’ hits, which to me are just as good, if not better, than hearing ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ for the 900th time.”
Uncle Sea Monster, Kehoe’s Dümsürf and Ga$ Money play DrunkMonkPresents… at 8:30pm, Saturday, July 18, at Mac’s at 19 Broadway, Fairfax. Doors open at 7:30pm. More information at instagram.com/drunkmonkpresents.
