Hey Monday released their new EP, “Beneath It All” on August 17th.  I have been reading a lot on them lately and a lot of controversy and drama has appeared in discussions about the future of the band.  I’d like to state my opinion on some of the issues surrounding them.

In a recent interview with Mike Gentile, a Central Florida paper asked, “what’s going on with the [EP]?” and Mike replied;

“Well
we just figured that with the way that everything is right now in the
industry, you have to stay on top, you gotta keep putting things out.
We just felt like if we were to put out a full-length at the end of the
summer it just, it wouldn’t be as beneficial to our fans and the band
as if we were to just kind of split it up. We’ll put the EP out and
we’ll just keep writing and keep putting things out every couple of
months…If you want to stay relevant you have to do something that not
everybody is doing. Everybody’ll put out a full-length and then kids’ll
be over it two months from now. Like why do that? …We might put out a
full-length in March, but as of right now, we just felt the best
decision to do was to put out an EP.”

At first I thought that Hey Monday as a band had decided this and they were being smart about it, but then I found another interview that said the label had decided it would be a good idea.  Wow, major labels doing something right!  I completely agree with this and I think many other bands will continue to follow this business model.  Kids nowadays download singles or albums in a matter of seconds, they listen to it, put it on their ipod and then get over it and move on to the next big thing.  The band will go on tour and they might go to the show but then they (and I include myself on this) want more music.  For instance, when New Found Glory released “Not Without A Fight,” I listened to it constantly for a couple of weeks then “I WANT MORE!” popped into my head.  I feel like kids’ attention spans in this generation can only be measured in nano seconds.  It’s hard to keep their attention for more than a 26-minute episode or 30 second commercial.  The idea of continuously releasing EP’s would also be an attempt at collecting more revenue for artists.  I think we will see more artists doing this.

Secondly, I’ve read a lot about Jersey, bassist, leaving the band but I don’t know why people are surprised by this.  Upon reading the cd jacket of Hey Monday’s new EP, you will notice under additional musicians, it does not include any of the “band members” as recording any of their instruments.  It lists Chris DeStefano for Guitar, Bass & Synths for Tracks 1-3 and 5, Butch Walker for Guitar under Track 6, Stacy Jones for drums, etc.  I noticed under absolutepunk.net that someone stated the band members weren’t even allowed in the recording studio, well, I wouldn’t doubt it after reading this.

Now, I’m not trying to “hate” on Hey Monday, I just wanted to discuss this and come to my next point.  Cassadee needs to go back to being a solo artist. 

This band is as manufactured as any 90′s boyband was.  Their demos were played for Pete Wentz so he’d be into them and blow them up as much as he has.  It seems like Hey Monday quickly rised to popularity because, well, they did.  They were made to do just that.

Anyway, what I am saying is that I think Cassadee would be much more successful marketed as a solo artist.  I love the EP and it has sold 14,500 copies bringing it to #25 on the Billboard charts.  This EP is catchy as hell.  However, it’s hard for Top 40 radio stations to play bands like this.  Perhaps there is a negative mindset towards pop rock bands that they are not worth listening to and belong to a different scene that doesn’t include mainstream.

Cassadee has the voice and the songwriting to be the next pop star alongside Taylor Swift.  Once I heard “Hangover” off the EP, I was hooked.  It’s so catchy and it’s pleasant to my ears, it just works.  It’s one of those songs that everyone would say they hate but secretly love.  “Mr. Pushover” is a track with a country twist that just works with her voice and this style.  Columbia has the backing to make her a pop star and I think it could happen.  The rest of the band are already basically “touring musicians.”

Those are my two cents. Here are my two favorite tracks:

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As I said before, this is catchy as hell and I can listen to “Hangover” quite a few times in a row.  So, I’m giving away a couple copies of the record.  Just leave a comment on your thoughts about anything in this post and I’ll pick two winners to win a copy of the LP on Monday.