Black Monk Time, Too: The Resurrection
by Thomas Edward (Eddie) Shaw
For thirty years, Eddie, the author, never talked about his experience as the bass player in the Monks. He thought the Monks were dead. At the urging of his mentor, Gilbert Ralston, he wrote a book titled, “Black Monk Time.” To his surprise, he discovered that The Monks’ music was alive! Somehow they had slipped through the cracks of pop-music mediocrity and found themselves, once again, testing the limits of a strange history. Hiding nothing, Eddie explains their resurrection, where they went, and what they did. This story is written as a thank you to the Monks fans for their support.
“American soldiers stationed in Germany who became ‘anti-Beatles’ (see MOJO 75); a banjo with a microphone in it to make it electric, a fuzz bass in ’66, and an amazing singer, not to mention the drummer and organist, both out of the galaxy with what they were doing. ‘I Hate You’ is probably their masterpiece – “I hate you with a passion baby . . . but call me.’ True grit. Their melodies were pop destructive and must be played to your younger brother.” – Jack White