Monika Fikerle
Encyclopedia
Monika Fikerle is an Australian musician and multi-instrumentalist, most noted for her "energetic, quirky" drumming style.
Fikerle began her music career in Hobart in 1995, becoming Sea Scouts'
drummer after having taken up the drums 'about a week' earlier. She later played in Surgery and 1001101 before rejoining Sea Scouts in what would become the classic line-up. Fikerle's drumming style during her early years in Hobart featured a lot of tom work
, and used cymbals only to accent the end of the bar, creating a thunderous wall of tribal pounding. Fikerle's later work re-introduced more traditional rock kit
elements such as snare and cymbals.
Since relocating to Melbourne
, Fikerle has continued to work in more than one band concurrently, including her current projects Love of Diagrams
, Baseball
and Miniature Submarines, and her previous projects The Bites, The Grimm, and Jihad Against America. Although Fikerle is best known for her drumming, she has contributed to bands on bass, melodica and piano accordion, and has also featured as a vocalist. Love of Diagrams
signed to Matador Records
for the release of Mosaic, becoming the first Australian act to appear on the Matador label.
Fikerle began her music career in Hobart in 1995, becoming Sea Scouts'
Sea Scouts (band)
Sea Scouts were a noise rock band, based in Hobart, Tasmania.-First formation:Following the split of his former band Mouth in 1994, Tim Evans began jamming with U.F.O. frontman Zach von Bamburger...
drummer after having taken up the drums 'about a week' earlier. She later played in Surgery and 1001101 before rejoining Sea Scouts in what would become the classic line-up. Fikerle's drumming style during her early years in Hobart featured a lot of tom work
Tom-tom drum
A tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...
, and used cymbals only to accent the end of the bar, creating a thunderous wall of tribal pounding. Fikerle's later work re-introduced more traditional rock kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
elements such as snare and cymbals.
Since relocating to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Fikerle has continued to work in more than one band concurrently, including her current projects Love of Diagrams
Love Of Diagrams
Love of Diagrams is an indie rock band from Melbourne, Australia, formed in 2001. Their sound is characterized by a mix of energetic drumming, angular guitar and bass riffs, and call-and-response vocals.- History :...
, Baseball
Baseball (band)
Baseball is a self-managed and independent band from Melbourne, Australia.Baseball played at the Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Taipei in 2005, where lead singer Cameron Potts smashed his violin at the end of the set....
and Miniature Submarines, and her previous projects The Bites, The Grimm, and Jihad Against America. Although Fikerle is best known for her drumming, she has contributed to bands on bass, melodica and piano accordion, and has also featured as a vocalist. Love of Diagrams
Love Of Diagrams
Love of Diagrams is an indie rock band from Melbourne, Australia, formed in 2001. Their sound is characterized by a mix of energetic drumming, angular guitar and bass riffs, and call-and-response vocals.- History :...
signed to Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
for the release of Mosaic, becoming the first Australian act to appear on the Matador label.
Tours
Fikerle has also toured internationally with several of the bands that she has contributed to, including Sea Scouts, Baseball, and Love of Diagrams. The tours have encompassed several locations that are not widely visited by Australian bands, such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East.Discography
| Sea Scouts | Beacon of Hope | 1998 |
| Sea Scouts | Pattern Recognition | 1998 |
| Sea Scouts | Word as a Weapon/Destroy Your Local McDonalds 7" | 1999 |
| The Bites | Fired e.p. | 2003 |
| The Bites | My Heart, Your Heart e.p. | 2003 |
| Jihad Against America | Self titled 7" | 2003 |
| The Bites | White Lines and Runways | 2003 |
| Love of Diagrams | The Target is You | 2003 |
| Baseball | Gods and Stars, Priests and Kings | 2003 |
| Love of Diagrams | We Got Communication | 2004 |
| Love of Diagrams | No Way Out 7" | 2005 |
| Baseball | Taiwan-Japan Tour e.p. | 2005 |
| Jihad Against America | Live After Deth | 2006 |
| Ninetynine | 180 Degrees | 2006 |
| Love of Diagrams | Mosaic | 2007 |
| Love of Diagrams | Self titled | 2007 |
| Baseball | Animal Kingdom | 2008 |
| Love of Diagrams | A Part of You 7" / split with Songs - Its Dry (sic) | 2008 |
| Love of Diagrams | Forever/With Your Instinct 7" | 2009 |
| Love of Diagrams | Nowhere Forever | 2009 |
| Love of Diagrams | In My Dream/Too Long 7" | 2011 |
On compilations
- Puppet Show, 1998: Sea Scouts - Inbuilt Obsolescence
- Make Mix Tapes Not War!, 2003: Love Of Diagrams - La Violencia; The Bites - Eno; Baseball - Gods & Stars, Priests & Kings; Jihad Against America - Terrorism Is The New Black
- Melbourne Water 2, 2006: Accidents With Magnets - Twig
Videography
- Sticky CarpetSticky CarpetSticky Carpet: Melbourne's Underground Rockumentary is a 2006 documentary film by Mark Butcher, Glenn Waterworth and Pip Stafford.Bio : The long overdue cultural recognition to Melbourne’s much-loved independent music scene...
(2006): with Love of Diagrams (live footage); with Baseball (live footage and interview) - Live at Bar Open (2006): with Baseball (live footage)
- The Super8 Diaries Project (2008): with Love of Diagrams (live footage); with Baseball (live footage and interview)