Monster Zero at Cringe.com

Normally Thursday would be a video day, but unfortunately, no video songs seem to have made to the web for Monster Zero. Instead, here's a press release from Lizard Family Music posted at Cringe.com in 1996. Enjoy!

Monster Zero
This Columbus, Ohio buzz quartet was born out of Middle America Suburban ® frustration! Fed by the driving guitar chants and introverted vocals of Brad Caulkins and John Jones, while Em Allen's hypnotic bass lines and Derek Bell's power punch drumming churn the heart providing the pulsing circulation that keeps this Monster on its toes! 

Thrown together over a year ago, the band evolved from the seed of previous musical experiments. These members exist in a highly tremultuous relationship who's eruptions fuel the fire behind their brand of noisy guitar basement rock. 

It was their first show at Columbus' all-ages hangout Luna that they were first seen by Lizard and Rich of L.F.M. Their songwriting ability and sonic prowess was so obvious that they were quickly slated to record with L.F.M. 

Since the release of the Unkindest Cuts of All  7-inch they have hit the Top 10 radio play on many college stations and have yet to play a live show to less than 100 convulsing teens! A religious experience indeed. 

What next? Monster Zero has two tracks on the ... L.F.M. compilation CD, The Beautiful People, a split 7" with Preston Furman and a 10" EP due out this fall??? !

Vinyl45LP.com: Monster Zero Spy vs. Spy 7" Review

Not a whole lot out there about Monster Zero, but I did find this write-up at Vinyl45LP.com regarding their 1995 single Spy vs. Spy:

Monster Zero was an indie band from Columbus, Ohio active in the mid 1990s. This release is arguably the best record the band recorded. The tracks remind one of Versus or good era Sonic Youth, as these youngsters dig for sounds most Columbus bands can't seem to muster up. The tracks are all properly documented by the band's drummer Derek Bell.

New Additions: The Unkindest Cut Of All seven inch single by Monster Zero

One of the fun parts of this project is finding the connections between various bands of the 2000s that are linked in the 1990s. For example, Monster Zero features Brad Caulkins, who would go on to play in The Jive Turkeys and The Sun, and Emily Allen, who would go on to play in Templeton, Estee Louder and The Means, which included her brother David Wayne Allen that played on third Monster Zero single. All that said, Monster Zero has grungy indie rock sound perfectly at home for the mid-90s, and it makes sense where this family tree extends off to in the various directions.

Know Yer Band: Monster Zero

Band: Monster Zero

Members
Bass – Emily Ann Allen
Drums – Derek Bell
Guitar, Vocals – Brad Caulkins, John Jones
Guitar - David Wayne Allen

Releases
1994 - The Unkindest Cut Of All 7" single (Lizard Family Music)
1995 - Split w/Preston Furman 7" single (Lizard Family Music)
1995 - The Beautiful People - An LFM Family Gathering compilation album (Lizard Family Music)
1995 - Spy v. Spy 7" single (Seldom Scene Records)

Entertainment Weekly 1995: Columbus, Ohio - Local Heroes

Back in 1995, Columbus was getting some serious attention while the major labels were scouring the land for the next Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Entertainment Weekly made their way to town and reported on the happenings in this piece:

On a recent Friday night in Columbus, Ohio, a garage-turned-art space-turned- recording studio called Magnetic Planet is the site of a hastily arranged concert featuring Gaunt, Appalachian Death Ride, Moviola, Lincoln Logs, and Monster Zero-a sampling of the city’s formidable, if largely unknown, rock & roll roster. Despite the thundering punk-pop, the BYOB event has a disarmingly casual air; there’s no cover charge and virtually no distinction between the musicians and the slacking audience from Ohio State. It may not look like the future of rock & roll, but in the current clime of the music biz, it’s a record-company executive’s dream. Major labels have been on the hunt for the next hitmaking hamlet since well before the orgy of Seattle signings. In fact, the search for the Next Big Scene dates back to the early ’80s discovery of R.E.M. in the boho enclave of Athens, Ga. Since then, Austin, Tex., Champaign, Ill., Chapel Hill, N.C., San Diego, and even Halifax, Nova Scotia, have been candidates for the title.