Mono Puff
Encyclopedia
Mono Puff is a New York City
band and a side project of John Flansburgh
, one of the Johns from They Might Be Giants
.
The main band consisted of Flansburgh, the vocalist, guitarist
, keyboardist
, and songwriter
; bassist
Hal Cragin; and drummer
Steve Calhoon of Skeleton Key, Enon
and Pretendo
. Various guest musicians supplemented the trio, notably Mark Feldman
, Yuval Gabay (of Soul Coughing
), Ghost Krabb, Mary Birdsong
(as "Sugar Puff"), Elina Löwensohn
, his wife Robin Goldwasser
(referred to as Sister Puff), Kate Flannery
(as "Lady Puff"), Ammonia D, Trini Lopez
, Jay Sherman-Godfrey, Jim O'Connor, Phil Hernandez, Frank London
, Eric Schermerhorn
, and Mike Viola
.
As of 2004, Mono Puff appears to be finished or on hiatus, due to Cragin's moving away from the New York area.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
band and a side project of John Flansburgh
John Flansburgh
John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings and plays rhythm guitar...
, one of the Johns from They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
.
The main band consisted of Flansburgh, the vocalist, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
; bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Hal Cragin; and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Steve Calhoon of Skeleton Key, Enon
Enon
Enon was an indie rock band founded by John Schmersal, Rick Lee and Steve Calhoon. Currently, Enon is situated in Philadelphia, though the band is known for being part of the New York music scene.-Biography:...
and Pretendo
Pretendo
Pretendo is a New York City-based indie rock trio formed in 2004 of ex-/present members of Enon, Skeleton Key, Creedle, The Rugburns, Mono Puff, Morricone Youth, Little Jack Melody and The DaoSon For. Guitarist/vocalist Devon E. Levins and bassist/vocalist John Castro were childhood friends...
. Various guest musicians supplemented the trio, notably Mark Feldman
Mark Feldman
Mark Feldman is an American jazz violinist.Feldman worked in Chicago from 1973 to 1980, and in Nashville, Tennessee from 1980 to 1986. He worked in New York City and Western Europe from 1986. Feldman often works with John Zorn, Sylvie Courvoisier, John Abercrombie, The Masada String Trio, Dave...
, Yuval Gabay (of Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing was a popular New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 1990s. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unusual cult...
), Ghost Krabb, Mary Birdsong
Mary Birdsong
Mary Birdsong is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer.Birdsong was born on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, one of five sisters. She may be best-known for her role as Deputy Cherisha Kimball on the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. She is a former correspondent on The Daily Show and...
(as "Sugar Puff"), Elina Löwensohn
Elina Löwensohn
Elina Löwensohn is a Romanian-born American actress.-Biography:Löwensohn was born in Bucharest, Romania. After the death of her father, a survivor of Nazi concentration camps, her mother emigrated to the United States with her, where her mother went on a hunger strike in order to get a visa for...
, his wife Robin Goldwasser
Robin Goldwasser
Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser is an American singer and playwright. She is the co-writer of the musical People Are Wrong! with Julia Greenberg. She has a character in the play, as does the producer, her husband, John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants and Mono Puff...
(referred to as Sister Puff), Kate Flannery
Kate Flannery
Katherine Patricia "Kate" Flannery is an American actress best known for playing the role of Meredith Palmer on the NBC hit series The Office.-Personal life:...
(as "Lady Puff"), Ammonia D, Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Career:Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood. He began his entertainment career in Dallas playing at the Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby...
, Jay Sherman-Godfrey, Jim O'Connor, Phil Hernandez, Frank London
Frank London
Frank London is a New York City-based trumpeter, bandleader, and composer active in klezmer and world music. He also plays various other wind instruments and keyboards, and occasionally sings backup vocals. With The Klezmatics, he won a Grammy award in Contemporary World Music for "Wonder Wheel...
, Eric Schermerhorn
Eric Schermerhorn
Eric Schermerhorn, is an American guitarist and composer. Born in Massachusetts on April 11th 1960, he has since lived in NYC and Los Angeles. He played with Iggy Pop on the American Caeser and Naughty Little Doggie albums, and David Bowie on the Tin Machine It's My Life....
, and Mike Viola
Mike Viola
Michael "Mike" Viola is an American singer-songwriter best known as singer, songwriter and "musical architect" of a team he called the "Candy Butchers", a pop-rock band from New York City that recorded three critically acclaimed albums for Sony. A native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, Mike began his...
.
As of 2004, Mono Puff appears to be finished or on hiatus, due to Cragin's moving away from the New York area.
Discography
- John Flansburgh's Mono Puff EP (1995)
- Unsupervised (1996)
- The Devil Went Down To Newport EP (1996)
- The Hal Cragin Years EP (1996)
- The Steve Calhoon Years EP (1996)
- It's Fun to Steal (1998)