Artist description Plow Monday is just good, original college alternative rock and roll. The hooks are big and the lyrics are direct. It sounds best turned up loud!

Music Style Rock/Pop

Musical Influences Tonic, Better than Ezra, Matchbox 20, Live, U2, Counting Crows, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix

Similar Artists Tonic, Matchbox 20, Live, Vertical Horizon

Artist History ORIGINS The group that is now Plow Monday began 12 years ago in a garage in the tiny Central Texas town of Marble Falls, when drummer David English and guitarist Clif Haley got together to jam after marching band rehearsal one day in the spring 1991, naming their project “Mente Captus”. A pre-teen Jonathan joined the group a few months later on vocals and guitar, and Ryan started showing up for after school practices about the same time. The four have been playing together in groups ever since, with bass player Bobbo joining the group in late 2001, after years of local success in different projects of his own. The years have been well spent, as the boys have grown from a group of ambitious high school students to one of the most exciting acts in the history of Austin music. Clif, Dave, and Jon all started touring the state in high school with their Christian band “Conversion Factor”, playing churches and festivals throughout Central Texas. The music - and the band's name- weren’t very good, but the experience was invaluable. When the older boys graduated high school, Jon stayed behind and Ryan, Dave, and Clif headed to Austin to attend college. They formed the power trio Societal Jive. College and the Austin music experience loosened the group’s religious affiliations. Jon rejoined the group in 1996, and the band started using the name "Plow Monday" that summer. Throughout this process, most of the members still saw playing music as a mere hobby. However, even then it was difficult to conceal – or ignore – their talent. Plow Monday’s intense live shows attracted local attention, and the band was dubbed “one of the best unsigned bands in Austin” by the Texas Musicians Network. Christopher Hess of the Austin Chronicle called them “impressive,” and awarded their first EP (entitled Societal Jive, after their old band name) a rating of three stars (out of four). The group spent three years playing some of Austin’s top clubs, including the Steamboat, The Backroom, Babe’s, and the Mercury. Despite such testaments to the band’s potential, they broke up in the spring of 1999, after eight years of making music togehter. Individual members sought time for other issues and pursuits. But the bonds that had formed were too strong. The music refused to die. PLOW MONDAY REBORN Over the holiday season of 1999, Jonathan rented a four-track and some microphones to lay down a few tracks as a Christmas present for his parents. He ended up recording 10 tracks in his bedroom on mini-disk, and the overwhelmingly positive response to the tunes led him to pick up the phone and ask the band to start playing again, using the new tracks as fuel. What was only supposed to be a Christmas present for their families ended up getting the band back together, and became their first LP, a 10-song masterpiece entitled Blank. The group took the tracks for re-mastering to producer Mark Dufour (Sevendust, Vertical Horizon, Riddlin Kids, Creed). The resulting LP was not released to stores, but sold like hotcakes at shows and made major waves on the Internet. INTERNET STARDOM Within a month of its posting to Farmclub.com. the song “Joke” was featured on the site’s Top Ten list for the Rock genre. In September 2000, the CD was added to MP3.com, the world’s largest collection of free music. The album’s title track, “Blank”, shot straight into the Alternative General Top 40 and stayed there for over a month, alongside the work of such national acts as Third Eye Blind, Offspring, Linkin Park, and Paul Simon . Their next single, “Miracles”, landed the #1 spot several months later. Since premiering on MP3.com, the band’s music has been downloaded over 45,000 times, and at SXSW in 2003, the Austin Chronicle recognized the band for being one of Austin’s top groups on the site. In April 2001, Plow Monday debuted on the prestigious music site AlternativeAddiction.com. "Blank" was given a shot in the ring in AlternativeAddiction’s online Battle of the Bands. Surprising everyone, “Blank” won the contest with an overwhelming 94% of all the votes cast, which sent the group soaring into the website’s Unknown Top Ten list at #8. After just one month, the track had risen to #1 on the Unknown Top 10, topping music by Five For Fighting, Carey Pierce, the Clarks, Blue October, and the Jay Quinn Band . It held its supremacy for three straight months. In October 2001, the band released a new track, entitled “Lies”, to AlternativeAddiction. It took only two months for the song to hit #1, where it stayed for another full month. At year’s end, the website awarded Plow Monday the title of 2001’s “Unknown Band of the Year”. Plow Monday was also added to the roster at Starpolish.com, where they have received a glowing review for “Blank” from staff member Chris Mugno. In the fall of 2002, the band finished second out of nearly two thousand bands in the Starpolish.com Music for Youth Foundation Pop Scholarship contest in July of 2002. Out of a reported 1,700 bands who entered the contest, Plow Monday was one of only 20 groups to make the semi-finals, one of only 5 to make the finals, and ultimately finished second. The contest showcased the band's ability to generate large amounts of votes on-line, as well as their ability to impress a panel of judges with their special talents! The band is currently handling upwards of 20,000 hits a month on their website, and have established fans all across America, as well as numerous countries in Asia, Europe, South and Central America, and Australia. HITTING THE ROAD The band’s success hasn’t been limited to cyberspace. When work was completed on Blank, the group started their comeback in the Austin live-music scene. In the summer of 2000, more than a year since they broke up, the group played their reunion gig at the legendary Black Cat Lounge on 6th street. They were immediately offered a residency at the club, and played there every week for 9 months before expanding their shows to other local venues. Since that reunion show almost three years ago, the group has reestablished itself as one of the top live acts in Austin. In the fall of 2002, Plow Monday found a home at Stubb’s BBQ, one of Austin’s most exclusive live music venues. They have been selling out the venue for several months now. They have expanded their markets to include regular shows in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, San Angelo, San Marcos, San Antonio, and College Station . The group has also experienced rock-and-roll life on the road, playing shows in Los Angeles, New York City, Hoboken, New Orleans, and Nashville. Along the way, the band has shared the stage with some distinguished faces in music, including Michael Ward of “The Wallflowers” fame, 30 Seconds to Mars, Blue Oyster Cult, Zac Malloy of the Nixons, and newest sensations, Frou Frou . NO LONGER "JUST A HOBBY" The band released their new CD, Second Glance Appeal, in February of 2003. The LP is the first disc featuring the current line-up of the band, and they again tapped their old friend Mark Dufour to produce and engineer the album for them in Austin. The result is Plow Monday’s best sound ever, and the largest response from the community they’ve ever received. Anticipating a large crowd for Second Glance Appeal's release, they moved the show from their home stage at Stubb’s to the Hard Rock Cafe in Austin. By the end of the night, 600 people had crowded into the club to hear the latest from the band, and hundreds of CDs were sold in one night. The group has since gone through three shipments of discs at Waterloo records in downtown Austin, where the album has been flying off the shelves. The Austin Music Network, a local television station which broadcasts local and national videos, has premiered four of the band's videos. All of them have been top 10 hits for the station. Local radio has also embraced them. They were one of the ten bands selected from hundreds of applicants by radio station KLBJ FM for their annual SchmoozeFest (two years running)! Label representatives were given the opportunity to hear and vote on selected tracks from the groups. “Lies” made the reps sit up and take notice in 2002, and swept the first runner-up position for Plow Monday, and “Room 8" accomplished the same feat in 2003. Another song from the disc, “Lonely”, has found its way to Alternative Addiction’s Unknown top 10, setting the band up for another run at an indie-music dynasty. Aggressive, melodic, intense and catchy, Plow Monday’s music is fast becoming a favorite in Austin and throughout the worldwide online community. For booking info, contact Axis Booking at booking@plowmonday.com.

Group Members Jonathan English - Lead vocals,guitars Ryan Holley - Guitar, lead vocals Clif Haley - Guitar Michael "Bobbo" Swanson - bass David English - Drums

Instruments guitar, bass, drums

Albums Blank, Second Glance Appeal

Press Reviews INsitemagazine - May 2003 PLOW MONDAY'S "SECOND GLANCE APPEAL": My attraction to the local rockers' latest album was more love at first listen than a case of second glance appeal. The album is familiar and new, retro and fresh. Though an obvious nod to '80s rock and mainstream alternative music, the band's style is unique and addictive. Alterna-anthem "Room 8" opens the album and stays true to a standard arena rock formula with an emphasis on catchy pop tendencies. Songs like "Thought It'd Be You" and "Stars" remind me of swooning to Bon Jovi ballads in my rock-band-postered bedroom in days of yore. Lead vocalist Jonathan English has a magnetic, beautiful style complemented flawlessly by an amazing band and backing vocals. Plow Monday is uniquely Austin with major mass appeal. - Jennifer Polasky StarPolish.com PLOW MONDAY'S BLANK: Plow Monday is a four-piece rock/alternative band hailing from Austin, TX who draws on influences such as Better Than Ezra, Matchbox 20, Live and Tonic. We're talking straight ahead rock of the alternative flavor. Out of the three songs they offer up on their StarPolish page, I'll take “Blank” for a test drive. This song is VERY catchy and musically very diverse. “Blank” has a complimentary combination of acoustic and electric guitars, while the bass, drums and vocals texturize around the guitar work. Plow Monday is quite creative and talented as from a songwriting standpoint. I noticed a lot of fresh changes and stops within the song’s framework; always an added plus when working with tried and true formulas. Singer John English has a wide vocal range that allows him to play around with the words and the timing of the music, adding emotion. The backup vocals produce some strong harmonies. Speaking of backup, the rest of the band are as solid as a cement floor, and as tight as a new pair of texas boots. It's easy to tell from what comes out on record that the band members work very well with each other, each one compliments the other, giving them the leeway to use their creativity to the fullest. I compare them to the band Live in this aspect, where you have brothers who have been playing with one another since birth. There's just a chemistry that really drives the music, and it's evident here. As an overall assessment of Plow Monday: they are hard-working and obviously put in the time necessary to make their music sound as solid as it does. This band is a sure keeper in any rock fan's collection. Look for more by Plow Monday on a major label in the near future. -Chris Mugno AlternativeAddiction.com 2001 Unknown Band of the Year: With their incredibly unique sound, and extremely addictive lyrics, its amazing that this band remains as unknown as they are! If you check out one band on this website, make it this one! They debuted in March of 2001 in the Battle of the Bands with a song called "Blank". After winning by a landslide, they went on to climb to number one on the Unknown Top Ten, and stay there for three straight months. Their music is so incredibly addictive, but at the same time they bring a sound that is so unlike anything else, that everyone stops to take a listen. The emotion that is poured out into every song they sing, and the incredible lyrics... draw the listener in deeper every time. The fans of Alternative Addiction have selected them, and we couldn't agree more, Plow Monday is the best new band of 2001. Congratulations to the band (and) all their fans, this is only the beginning! Austin Chronicle (Ooooooold Review... we don't play metal anymore): PLOW MONDAY Societal Jive (Jasmine) Locals Plow Monday play good metal, and I don't use that word as a profanity. The guitars are tight and the bass is clean (usually playing the same lines), backed by highly cymbal-ic crashing drums. They have the major time changes, the strumming lulls, and the explosive breaks. So it is metal, but they're also just a trio with a full sound -- a full sound and some good songs. "Pangea" is a big tune with two of the more interesting breaks on the album; it only lacks a guest vocal from Bruce Dickinson or Chris Cornell. The lyrics, especially in "Questions," reveal a slightly na�ve contemplation of society and its ills without coming off as self-important or, at the other end, ignorant. In the guitar parts, Plow Monday often resemble many metal bands of the post-glam, punk-influenced variety, but they don't overextend themselves or their sound. Obvious comparisons to Pearl Jam or Soundgarden are not inaccurate, but they are incomplete (this is no mere Seven Mary Three). In keeping it simple, they allow the strengths of their playing and of the lyrics to be the prominent features. Sometimes it gets away from them, like "Seeing Double" or the strangely mixed background vocals in "Throwdown," but for the most part it's an impressive first effort. 3.0 stars - Christopher Hess

Location Austin, Texas - USA

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