Moneen
Disney, nudity, a bad memory
'Kenny Bridges is very hyper and appears to be very excited. Who can blame him? He's basking in the glorious sun of Orlando, Florida. Though he does not specifically say what he's in line for, it sounds like he's somewhere within the magical kingdom of Disney. Rather, he reserves his comments for what the people around him are wearing.
"These people are wearing jean shorts," says Bridges. "Jeans are so popular right now. I'm glad a not a part of this trend."
Though not another word of this line of commentary is spoken, we have both come to the silent agreement that he is surrounded by a group of people lacking any fashion sense.
As for all other aspects, he claims that "I become one with my surroundings."
One can only assume that means he's a lazy tourist with nagging children.
It's funny listening to Bridges talk. He stars as front man for the band Moneen, which calls the suburb of Brampton, Toronto, Canada home. His voice crescendos as the ends of sentences near. He does not say "Eh," but the majority of the typical Canadian accent dominates his speech. It's very pleasant and uplifting, far from the monotonous, droning voices we encounter every day. Whether or not he is actually ecstatic is difficult to say - but something as simple as his tone of voice puts you in a better mood.
"I become one with my surroundings," he repeats. His sunny disposition makes the people in his surroundings want to be one with him.
As a result, he makes lots of friends on tour. The problem is, he's got an awful memory.
"I don't know how good of a friend I am to the people I meet," he says. "I don't remember most of their names. It's gotten to the point where I say to people, 'It's good to meet you again.' It's the safest way for me evade any problems. You've got to find a way to not come off as an asshole."
In college, Bridges was a drama major. According to him, he was the worst drama major of all time. This bad memory of his prevented him from remembering any lines.
With any luck, his improvisational skills were keen and he strayed away from performing Shakespeare.
"I usually just tell people I'm stupid," he admits. "That can get you out of so many awkward situations in life. 90 percent of the time, you'll get a pity hug. In my case, 90 percent of the time, I have people agreeing that I am a moron."
Perhaps ADHD or a little naive, but he's definitely not stupid.
The last time Moneen played in Orlando, Cursive played a show close by. Since the band had yet to make it on the cover of major magazines like Rolling Stone, Bridges and company assumed they were a struggling group like themselves. So, they went over to their venue to invite them onto their bill. It was at this point that they realized that over 500 people had sold out the Cursive show and that they did not need their help at all. As a gesture of thanks, Cursive put Moneen on their guest list and promised to come see them play when they were done.
Bridges is not sure whether or not they ended up coming to see them play or not, but agrees that it was kind of them to offer.
"It's wicked to the spigot," he comments, whatever that may mean.
If Cursive did happen to make it to their concert, they would've been treated to a performance that's an outburst of energy. One critic described Moneen's live show as an event in which "the band moshes more than the fans."
The term "mosh" may be a little 1993, but it's an on-target description.
"We're not trying to be crazy or do weird stuff like Napalm Death during our live shows," Bridges says. "It's just the only thirty minutes of a day where we can forget about everything else and just have fun. Sure, maybe we realize afterwards that taking our pants off and swinging from the chandelier was a bad idea but, so what?"