MUSIC

The essence of Polk rock

Austin's Monahans wrote a song inspired by 11th president of the United States

By Peter Mongillo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Not many musicians refer to James K. Polk as a point of departure for their music, but the 11th president played a part in the creation of Monahans second album. It all started last year when the band was invited to record a song written by indie musician Christian Kiefer for the 'Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies' project, which also includes a contribution by fellow Texan Bill Callahan (who sang about John Tyler).

'We took a little more liberty maybe than we were supposed to with his song,' says Monahans lead singer and guitarist Greg Vanderpool. The Austin band researched Polk and his involvement in the Mexican War and subsequently recorded two songs, 'The Other is Better/The Landscape to Transform,' which ended up on the presidents project, and 'Into the Expanse 1849,' a quiet, foreboding rocker about Western expansion that appears on Monahans' second and most recent album, 'Dim the Aurora.'

"I think I've always found inspiration in the Western frontier because there is something mysterious and spiritual about it,' Vanderpool says of his fascination with the west. This focus goes beyond the album. The band's name is taken from the West Texas sandhills, which has been inhabited for 12,000 years, functioning as both a railroad water stop in the late 19th century and an oil production site in the 1920s.

Vanderpool and drummer Roberto Sanchez cut their teeth performing in Dallas' Deep Ellum neighborhood, a place rich in Texas music history.

They moved to Austin in 2001, where they formed Milton Mapes (named after Vanderpool's grandfather) along with Britton Beisenherz and Jim Fredley. After three full-length albums, they decided to change their name to reflect the more collaborative direction the band had taken.

That is not to say that Milton Mapes is gone. Rather, it has become a sort of brand. Production credits on both Monahans albums go to Mapes. 'Our families all hang out. We still call it the Mapes family. That's our original identity and was who we were for so long. It still kind of stands for an approach and a sound,' Beisenherz says.

This dual identity carries over into the music. 'Aurora' is a sprawling collection of songs that range from the pop-rock opener 'It's Enough to Leave You ... ' to the 21-minute, freewheeling instrumental 'Terrene.' 'We like both kinds of music, so I guess there is a split personality in that regard; on this record we embrace that a little bit more,' Vanderpool says.

Though the band has enjoyed some success of late, including positive reviews of the new album and a recent tour with Texas rockers Centro-Matic (frontman Will Johnson also appears on 'Dim the Aurora'), Monahans take a different approach than many when it comes to touring. 'We've seen bands work so hard for so many years to build up a following that we knew it wasn't a reasonable path for us,' Fredley says. 'We decided we would try to play good shows and go on good tours (with other bands), rather than touring under our own name to people that have never seen us before.'

Monahans play Friday with Telegraph Canyon and One Wolf at Mohawk, 912 Red River St. 482-8404.