Monkey House’s long-awaited follow up to 2016’s ‘Left’ arrives on July 26, 2019. Friday is the sixth original studio project from Monkey House, the brainchild of singer/songwriter Don Breithaupt. They also released a retrospective project in 2013. Breithaupt joined Preston Frazier for an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown to discuss ‘Friday,’ how Monkey House has evolved over the years, and his plans for a first-ever tour:
PRESTON FRAZIER: How does the new album differ from Monkey House’s Left?
DON BREITHAUPT: Friday is the first time I have started every single song on an album with a rhythmic concept. It’s a very “non-Elton” way of proceeding. You begin with rhythmic building blocks: a feel, a bass line, a groove, a variation on an older rhythmic bag. Then, and only then, do the melody, lyrics and harmony come pouring in.
PRESTON FRAZIER: We last chatted three years ago. How has the band changed since then?
DON BREITHAUPT: If anything, the core lineup – me, Mark Kelso, Pat Kilbride and Justin Abedin – has only become more entrenched. This project began in the ’90s as basically a one-man show augmented by session players. Now, it’s truly a band. Even from a production and engineering standpoint, we’re locked in. This is Monkey House, Version 2.0.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Friday has 12 songs. The two I’ve heard, Walter Becker’s classic “Book of Liars” and the original rave-up “Shotgun” have a different feel and vibe. Did the project come together quickly? When did you write the original songs?
DON BREITHAUPT: I started writing songs for Friday the day Left came out in 2016. At one point, I had 30 songs on a not very short list! By the time we were in pre-production, I knew what the core of the album was going to be. The only surprise was adding the Walter Becker cover. We did that by way of homage. Becker died when we were recording the basic tracks.
PRESTON FRAZIER: How did you incorporate the band in the writing and/or arranging of the music?
DON BREITHAUPT: Like most of my musical heroes, I go into sessions with a very specific idea of what I’d like to end up with. That means creating arrangements in advance that will play themselves, as the saying goes. However, when you’re working with musicians, singers and guest stars on the level of ours, with everyone bring their A-game, you need to be open to things that happen on the spot – because that’s where the magic is. To put it in construction terms: My framing is precise to the 10th of a millimeter, but the wall color is always up for grabs.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Do your lyrics follow the music?
DON BREITHAUPT: Well, it’s never that simple with me. I will say that I almost always start with a title, because it’s usually a fool’s errand to come up with a compelling title when you’re halfway through a song. I’ll give you an example. For “Nine O’Clock Friday,” the second track on the album, I had the title sitting around on a list for months before it started to become three-dimensional, before it started to want to become a song. I just liked the sound of it initially, but I didn’t know what the story would be, who that lost dude in the lyric would be. The minute I started to actually compose, everything was obvious: step, next step, next step. That’s how it feels when you’re in the zone. I always recommend starting with a title. It gives you a leg up before you’ve written note one.
PRESTON FRAZIER: How did you cast the special guests on Friday?
DON BREITHAUPT: Well, Drew Zingg and Michael Leonhart are back, and their contributions are almost predictably amazing at this point. They completely understand the bag I write in, and they’re both phenomenal improvisors. Mark Lettieri from Snarky Puppy joins the guitar corps this time, and he takes two blistering, gorgeous solos on the opening track, “10,000 Hours.” I guess the big coup this time was enlisting the Manhattan Transfer to sing the choruses on “The Jazz Life”: I’ve been into them for as long as I’ve been in music, and they sound amazing on the track. I co-wrote a song for their most recent album (2018’s The Junction) too.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Monkey House is set to embark on its first tour. Why did you decide to take the band on the road now?
DON BREITHAUPT: I think it’s high time, don’t you? Now that we have a stable quartet at the heart of it, it’s time to hit the road and do what bands do. The live band will consist of vocals, keys, guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, sax and background vocals.
PRESTON FRAZIER: What are your expectations for Friday?
DON BREITHAUPT: I just want the album to reach a wider audience than the one before. That’s always my goal. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the best album we’ve ever made, and I want it to have its day in the sun, for people to find and dig it.
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