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Pinmonkey
A black-and-white promotional photo of the band Pinmonkey, showing all four members
Promotional image of Pinmonkey, c. 2002. L-R: Michael Jeffers, Chad Jeffers, Michael Reynolds, Rick Schell.
Background information
OriginNashville, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresCountry
Years active2002–2006
Labels
Past members
  • Chad Jeffers
  • Michael Jeffers
  • Michael Reynolds
  • Rick Schell
  • Mike Crouch

Pinmonkey was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band was formed in 2002 by Michael Reynolds (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), brothers Michael Jeffers (vocals, bass guitar) and Chad Jeffers (Dobro, lap steel guitar), and Rick Schell (drums, vocals). Their first album, Speak No Evil, was released independently in 2002. Later that same year, they signed to BNA Records and released their self-titled album. It produced two singles in "Barbed Wire and Roses" and a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night", both of which charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Schell and Chad Jeffers both left in 2005, with Mike Crouch briefly replacing the former. After these membership changes, Pinmonkey released their third album Big Shiny Cars on Back Porch Records in 2006 before disbanding. Afterward, the Jeffers brothers became backing musicians for other artists, Schell joined Pure Prairie League, and Reynolds released a solo album. Pinmonkey received general critical favor for Reynolds's singing voice, bluegrass and country rock influences, and the breadth of their cover song choices.

Biography

[edit]

Pinmonkey was founded by Michael Reynolds (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Rick Schell (drums, vocals), Michael Jeffers (bass guitar, vocals), and Chad Jeffers (Dobro, lap steel guitar), the latter two of whom are brothers.[1] The Jeffers brothers are natives of Kingsport, Tennessee, and had played in a band called the Habaneros, which was based out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in the 1990s. Chad attended Belmont University and after graduating in 1994, he worked in the mail room of Starstruck Studios, a recording studio owned by Reba McEntire, in addition to touring with the Wilkinsons. Rick Schell, a native of Homer, New York, moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1993. He been hired by Steve Earle as a backing musician, which led to him also playing for Joy Lynn White, Buddy Miller, and Elizabeth Cook.[2] Michael Reynolds grew up in Natural Bridge, Virginia.[2] His father's side of the family had several musicians who played bluegrass, and Reynolds himself sang in church as a child. He moved to Nashville after graduating high school, wanting to pursuue a country music career.[3] After working his first job at a McDonald's restaurant, he befriended Chad Jeffers in 1995.[2] Reynolds went on to work various jobs in Nashville. He worked at a Nashville record store called Cat's, in addition to managing a music attorney's office and working in the mail room of Capitol Records's Nashville branch.[2][3] Reynolds initially performed at various Nashville venues as a solo artist, as a means of promoting his songwriting, through the suggestion of another Cat's employee. However, he felt uncomfortable performing by himself and thus had Chad perform with him. As they both wanted a bass player, Chad's brother Michael joined the two. Rick Schell heard about Reynolds's music through connections the two had at the attorney's office, and offered to contribute on drums and sopranist harmony.[4][3]

Musical career

[edit]

Once all four musicians were in place, they began performing around Nashville. Schell had connections with several music industry executives and began promoting the band's music to various record labels. Record executive Joe Galante heard the band perform at 12th and Porter, a nightclub in Nashville, and offered them a contract on the condition that they come up with a band name.[2] They named themselves Pinmonkey after a slang term for a pinsetter, a person who resets pins in the game of bowling.[5] Reynolds came up with the name when hearing the word on an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons.[6] Galante signed them to BNA Records in 2002.[7] Galante also allowed the band to release an independent album called Speak No Evil, produced by Chad Jeffers and Schell, which they had completed just prior to signing.[6][4] Among the tracks on Speak No Evil was a cover of Gwilym Emyr Owen III's "Augusta".[2] According to Billboard, BNA allowed the release of the independent album so that the band could have a product to promote before they signed tour dates. Among said tour dates were eight stops on CMT's "Most Wanted Live" tour.[8] Speak No Evil received a positive review in Billboard, which compared the band favorably to Pure Prairie League and Poco, while also praising Reynolds's lead vocals and the musicianship.[9]

A waist-up picture of Dolly Parton.
Pinmonkey's self-titled album included covers of Dolly Parton (left) and Cyndi Lauper (right).

In 2002, BNA released the band's debut single "Barbed Wire and Roses".[4] Co-written by Tia Sillers, Mark Selby, and Sean Locke, the song peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.[1] It served as the lead-off single to their self-titled album, released in late 2002.[4] The album included covers of Sugar Ray's "Fly", Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night",[6] the Staples Singers's "Stay with Us", Dolly Parton's "Falling Out of Love with Me", and a re-recording of the "Augusta" cover.[2][8] The Parton cover also featured her on backing vocals.[8][10] Reynolds wrote the tracks "Jar of Clay" and "The Longest Road".[2] Contributing musicians on the album included Ricky Skaggs, Al Perkins, and former Poco member Rusty Young, and Paul Worley produced.[11] Jack Leaver of The Grand Rapids Press rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of four, praising the cover songs in particular, as well as the use of Dobro and vocal harmony.[10] AllMusic writer Erik Hage praised the "tight musicianship" and Reynolds's lead vocals.[12] By year's end, Pinmonkey began to tour with Tim McGraw, Lee Ann Womack, and Brad Paisley.[13][14] Additionally, the band was nominated by the Academy of Country Music for Top New Vocal Duo or Group.[15] The only other single from the project was the cover of "I Drove All Night",[16] which the band took to number 36 on the country chart in early 2003.[1]

2004–06: Membership changes, Big Shiny Cars, and disbanding

[edit]

A third single for BNA, a cover of Robbie Fulks's "Let's Kill Saturday Night", peaked at number 44 on Hot Country Songs in 2004.[1] However, Schell quit for unknown reasons after the single's release, leading BNA to halt promotion of the single and drop the band.[17] Mike Crouch took over as drummer, while Chad Jeffers left to join Keith Urban's road band. The three remaining members — Crouch, Reynolds, and Michael Jeffers — were signed to a recording contract with Back Porch Records, with the album Big Shiny Cars being released in 2006.[4] This album produced one single in "That Train Don't Run".[18] Matraca Berg co-wrote the song, and previously reached the Hot Country Songs charts in 1997 with her rendition.[19][20] Both Reynolds and Chad Jeffers wrote songs on the album, as did Kieran Kane, Joy Lynn White, and Billy Montana. The track "Coldest Fire in Town" included Rusty Young and Elizabeth Cook on backing vocals.[21] Also included was a cover of Kelly Willis's "Wrapped" (written by Bruce Robison),[20] and another Parton cover in "Down".[20] A year after Pinmonkey's version, George Strait had a number two hit on the Hot Country Songs charts with his own version of "Wrapped".[22] Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time reviewed the album positively, praising the country rock sound and Reynolds' singing voice.[23] Giving the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine wrote, "the album is too stylistically scattershot to stand as a coherent statement of artistic identity, but the elements of greatness—the technical skill, the recognition of good material, the charisma—are all present to varying degrees, making Pinmonkey one of the few honest-to-God bands on Music Row worth following."[20]

Following the release of Big Shiny Cars, Pinmonkey quietly disbanded. Michael Jeffers became a touring musician for Joe Nichols, and Chad Jeffers joined Carrie Underwood's touring band.[24][25] Schell joined Pure Prairie League as a vocalist and drummer in 2007,[26] but exited the band by 2012.[27] In 2024, Michael Reynolds returned to music with a solo album titled Tarnished Nickel Sky.[28] Writing for the blog Country Universe, Keefe called it "an album of thoughtfully composed songs that are accessible without sounding beholden to country...trends."[29]

Musical style

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Pinmonkey's sound combines a number of influences. Erik Hage of AllMusic wrote that Pinmonkey "boasts a heady blend of country/Americana styles: traditional Southern gospel, Appalachian folk, Carter Family harmonizing, Muscle Shoals pop-soul, and even traces of '70s rock."[4] Remz called Reynolds's voice "a bit smooth...and heartfelt at the same time".[23] Leaver compared it favorably to that of Pure Prairie League vocalist Craig Fuller,[10] a comparison also made by Billboard in their review of Speak No Evil,[9] while Keefe found it similar to Jeff Hanna of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[20] Of his singing voice, Reynolds said, "everything I sing comes out bluegrass."[8] In a concert review, Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time considered the band unusual for having a Dobro player instead of a lead guitarist, while also considering Reynolds's voice as strong in concert as it was on the albums.[5] In a review of Big Shiny Cars for Country Weekly, Chris Neal described the band as having "crisp harmonies" and a "bracing country rock sound".[30] Writing for the Detroit Free Press, Greg Crawford thought the band's sound mixed bluegrass with 1970s country rock, also highlighting Reynolds's "soulful" voice and inclusion of Dobro in the arrangements. He thought the band's sound would appeal to fans of the then-Dixie Chicks's Home.[31] Keefe also spoke favorably of the inclusion of Dobro in the band's work.[20]

Pinmonkey is also noted for their unconventional choice of cover songs. Reynolds recalled in an interview with Country Standard Time how the band came to cover a number of songs in various genres. Chad Jeffers suggested the "I Drove All Night" cover because his girlfriend at the time was a fan of Cyndi Lauper, and the band chose to listen to an acoustic recording made by Jeffers so that they could come up with a version not influenced by the original. According to Reynolds, the band chose to cover Dolly Parton's "Falling Out of Love with Me" because he liked Parton's songwriting and wanted to cover one of her songs. Although he liked the song, he did not consider it suitable for Pinmonkey until Chad started singing it during a conversation.[3] However, the band had not considered including it on the album until artists and repertoire representatives at BNA Records asked them to include a ballad.[3] While the band's repertoire included relatively few original songs, Remz highlighted Reynolds's composition "Jar of Clay", noting that its lyrics about death showcased Pinmonkey's bluegrass influences.[3] Keefe thought Pinmonkey's choices of cover songs were strong, particularly highlighting those of Robison and Berg, and that the original compositions "Shady Grove" and "Mountain Song" showed a newgrass influence, although he thought the range of cover song choices impacted the sequencing of Big Shiny Cars.[20]

Discography

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Studio albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US[32] US Country[33] US Heat[34]
Speak No Evil
  • Release date: February 26, 2002
  • Label: Drifter's Church
 — — —
Pinmonkey
  • Release date: October 8, 2002
  • Label: BNA
 126 17 3
Big Shiny Cars — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak positions[1] Album
US Country
2002 "Barbed Wire and Roses" 25 Pinmonkey
2003 "I Drove All Night" 36
2004 "Let's Kill Saturday Night" 44 —
2006 "That Train Don't Run" — Big Shiny Cars
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

[edit]
Year Video
2002 "Barbed Wire and Roses"[35]
2006 "That Train Don't Run"[36]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Organization[15] Award Nominee/Work Result
2003 Academy of Country Music Awards Top New Vocal Group or Duet Pinmonkey Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Whitburn 2017, p. 282.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig Shelburne (October 23, 2002). "Pinmonkey Step Boldly Toward Bluegrass". CMT. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Jeffrey B. Remz. "Pinmonkey drives on". Country Standard Time. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Hage, Erik. "Pinmonkey biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  5. ^ a b Jeffrey B. Remz. "Pinmonkey goes well beyond its name". Country Standard Time. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Fred Phillips (November 8, 2002). "Pinmonkey bowls 'em over". The News-Star. p. 1. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Peter Cooper (December 11, 2002). "Americana or not, Nashville's Pinmonkey shoots for the big time". The Tennessean. pp. 1D, 2D. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d "Pinmonkey Makes Rock-Meets-Bluegrass 'Ear Candy'". Billboard. October 10, 2002. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. March 2, 2002. p. 25.
  10. ^ a b c Jack Leaver (October 9, 2002). "Maturing Urban paves 'Golden Road'; India.Arie cuts voyage short". The Grand Rapids Press. pp. B7. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Pinmonkey (CD booklet). Pinmonkey. BNA Records. 2002. 07863.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Erik Hage. "Pinmonkey review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "Pinmonkey Plans Road Push". Billboard. October 4, 2002. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  14. ^ Mike Trias (October 25, 2002). "Father and Daughter" (PDF). Radio & Records: 27.
  15. ^ a b "Search results for Pinmonkey". Academy of Country Music. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  16. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. November 16, 2002. p. 26.
  17. ^ Phyllis Stark (July 17, 2004). "So Long, Boones Mill; Hello, Nashville" (PDF). Billboard. p. 29.
  18. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records: 21. March 24, 2006.
  19. ^ Whitburn 2017, p. 42.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Jonathan Keefe (March 4, 2006). "Review: Pinmonkey, Big Shiny Cars". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  21. ^ "Big Shiny Cars". AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Whitburn 2017, pp. 348–350.
  23. ^ a b "Big Shiny Cars review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  24. ^ "Jeffers: one of the good guys". The Roanoke Times. November 8, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  25. ^ Chuck Yarborough (May 19, 2016). "Carrie Underwood turns 'Storyteller' at Quicken Loans Arena". Cleveland.com. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  26. ^ "Schell returns home for Lucky's show". Syracuse.com. December 12, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  27. ^ William Ruhlmann. "Pure Prairie League biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  28. ^ "Michael Reynolds Returns After Ten Years with the 'Tarnished Nickel Sky'".
  29. ^ Jonathan Keefe (August 18, 2024). "Bluesky Bullet Points: August 18, 2024". Country Universe. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  30. ^ Chris Neal (April 10, 2006). "Reviews". Country Weekly: 56.
  31. ^ Greg Crawford (October 27, 2002). "Reviews". Detroit Free Press. pp. 5J. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  32. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  33. ^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  34. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  35. ^ "'Barbed Wire and Roses'". MVDbase. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  36. ^ "'That Train Don't Run'". MVDbase. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
Works cited


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