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4 unusual facts about Velvet Monkeys


Velvet Monkeys

In 1994 Malcolm Riviera joined Gumball on second guitar and keyboards, making the line-up little different from the Velvet Monkeys c.

Formed in 1980 from the ashes of Williamsburg, Virginia's new wave rockers Citizen 23, the band relocated to Washington, DC at the right time to become darlings of the local art-punk scene, along with other post-punkers such as Egoslavia, Bob Boilen's Tiny Desk Unit, Chalk Circle, and The Insect Surfers.

After that one-off effort, Spiegel and Fleming briefly joined Dinosaur Jr., then created a new band, Gumball, in 1992 with former Stump Wizards' bass player Eric Vermillion.

After that group's acrimonious demise, the duo of Fleming and Spiegel enlisted such indie celebrities as Thurston Moore, J Mascis, and Julia Cafritz in a reformed Velvet Monkeys.


Rake.

It was rumored that the band chose its name from indie rock "supergroup" Velvet Monkeys' album Rake, which was released on Rough Trade Records in 1989, about a year before Rake's first single.


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