Monkey Bunch rocks out with enviro-friendly message

The Juno-nominated Monkey Bunch are so goofy they’ll put a banana in their ear and pretend it’s a cellphone.

But underneath their slapstick silliness is a compelling enviro-friendly message that children have the power to change the world.

“We’re all about teaching kids to save the world. They may be short, but they have power, a lot of opinions and they can do a lot of good,” says singer Shoshana Sperling in a telephone interview from her Toronto home.

Sperling succinctly describes The Monkey Bunch as “comedy meets music” and predicts the foursome will bring a lot of romper room fun to the Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival from May 29 to June 2.

Filling the ranks of this rock ’n’ roll and Latin quartet are musician/songwriter Maury LaFoy, electric guitarist Graham Powell and drummer Lyle Molzan.

Sperling and her husband LaFoy started Monkey Bunch quite by accident in 2006. Short of Christmas money, the duo pondered what to give their nieces and nephews. Quickly they put together a three-song demo in the basement and it was a family hit.

But the nieces and nephews took the demo to school and soon other parents were asking for a copy.

“It turned into a snowball effect. Everyone wanted us to play and the CD was selling like crazy,” Sperling says.

Realizing there was a market for savvy kids’ entertainment, the duo set about seriously generating quality music. LaFoy, who worked with k-os, Jann Arden and Colin James, set about writing and arranging music.

Instead Sperling, who holds a bachelor of fine arts in drama and education from Montreal’s Concordia University, and does cartoon voices for Crash Canyon and Disney’s Ella the Elephant, set about writing scripts and working on sketches.

“Maury always wanted to play in a great band with fantastic musicians and I always wanted to be in a rock band,” she said.

Monkey Bunch, now a foursome with attitude, really took off after Jann Arden, a close friend, invited them to open for her on several occasions.

With two full-length CDs to their name – Sho, Mo and The Monkey Bunch (2006) and Power to the Little People – they are on their first festival circuit tour of the four western provinces.

While their first album was a contemporary take on campfire songs they listened to as kids, the Juno nominated Power to the Little People was largely influenced by the birth of their son Henry.

“We were writing for him and better understood how kids listen to music,” Sperling said.

Prepare for songs such as The Stroller Patrol and Poopie Diaper.

Their influences include Billie Holiday, The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, Prince and the Monkees.

“It’s the only CD parents tell me they can listen to without snapping it in half,” Sperling said.

“We want to teach children about the environment. We want to build an army of revolutionaries that can change the world.”