El Monstero
| El Monstero (also, 'El Monstero Y Los Masked Avengers') | |
|---|---|
| Origin | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Genres | Progressive rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, art rock |
| Years active | 1999-present |
| Associated acts | Pink Floyd |
| Website |
elmonstero |
El Monstero is an American, St. Louis based, Pink Floyd tribute band. Consisting of musicians from several bands, they have been recreating the music of Pink Floyd in the Midwest since 1999.
Created by members of the band Stir (Kevin Gagnepain, Brad Booker, Andy Schmidt) and singer Mark Quinn, El Monstero has become recognized as a holiday tradition with many St. Louisans,[1] with 5 to 7 shows at The Pageant Theater selling out every Christmas season. The first El Monstero Pink Floyd tribute show was held November 27, 1999 at Mississippi Nights. Recently, the band has added shows in Kansas City and Springfield, MO in January and a summer show in St. Louis in various large venues, including Jefferson Barracks Military Post in 2011, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (later Hollywood Casino Amphitheater) in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and Art Hill in Forest Park in 2014.[2][3]
The band also finds time to give back to the community. In 2014, they donated all proceeds from their Sunday evening show at the Pageant to local non-profit Crisis Aid International.[4]
One aspect of an El Monstero production is its size, sometimes utilizing upwards of 75 people to help complete the bands' vision of an authentic Pink Floyd concert. The setlist always contains selections from albums such as The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and Animals, but also can include tracks such as "Free Four", "Fearless" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
St. Louis-based filmmaker Mark Halski has dedicated his time and energy to bring forth El Monstero: The Movie.[5] Inspired by his first El Mon concert experience, Halski began production in 2013[6] and was in post production as of August 2015.
The 2016 band lineup is as follows:[7]
- Mark Thomas Quinn - vocals, guitar, lap steel
- Jimmy Griffin - vocals, guitar
- Kevin Gagnepain - bass, background vocals
- John Pessoni - drums, background vocals
- Bryan Greene - guitar
- Bill Reiter - keyboards, background vocals
- Jake Elking - keyboards
- And featuring Ermine Cannon, Tandra Williams and Mindy Mierek on background vocals, and Dave Farver on saxophone.
References
- ↑ Lee Enterprises. "El Monstero's annual bash gets bigger still". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
- ↑ "El Monstero Plays Pink Floyd on Art Hill". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
- ↑ "El Monstero to take over Art Hill". FOX2now.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
- ↑ "El Monstero raises over $30,000 with Crisis Aid holiday concert". KSDK.com. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
- ↑ "El Monstero the Movie - Halski Studio". halskistudio.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
- ↑ "Superfans Rejoice: There's an El Monstero Documentary in the Works". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
- ↑ "Personnel - El Monstero". elmonstero.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.