No longer a Drag

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By Stephanie De Pasquale | Wednesday, April 23, 2008 1:36 PM CDT | () comments

The inspiration for the name Mondo Drag came from an unlikely place: wall art in a bathroom shared by members of the band.

The band previously was called Holy Smokes, but when Johnnie Cluney came on board to play drums and keyboard as well as provide vocals, the trio wrote all new songs and decided to change the name. That’s when Cluney noticed the picture of a skull above a depiction of the Virgin Mary with the words “il mondo.” (The other members of the band who were in on the name selection are Jake Sheley, guitar, and Nolan Girard, guitar and vocals.)

“The word just kind of popped,” Cluney said. “We were talking about using the word ‘drag,’ and we couldn’t really think of another word to go with it.”

Since the name change in 2006, Mondo Drag has recorded its first album, “Holy Spirit,” which doesn’t have any intended religious meanings, and brought on bass player and former Holy Smokes member Jamie Warren.

Cluney said the biggest differences are the feel of the music and song lengths, which are now eight minutes at the most as opposed to the 17-minute sagas Holy Smokes played.

“It’s all kind of the same, but I think more people are into Mondo Drag,” he said. “Mondo Drag is easier to digest.”

The band plays 1960s psychedelic folk music with a mix of blues, classic rock and jazz. Lyrics are sparse, keeping the focus on the instrumentals.

“What we have always been into is playing that has always been different,” Warren said. “You know, just liking things that are different and not in the norm or in the mainstream.”

Mondo Drag’s influences come from little-known ‘60s bands that developed a cult following, and its members are constantly searching out albums from which to get ideas.

“We all just find obscure albums and just all different kinds of music,” Sheley said. “Every few days, we’re just finding 20 new albums. It’s just like whatever we’re on that week.”

“Holy Spirit” was the first recording experience for Sheley and Girard and a do-it-yourself project for the band as a whole.

Mondo Drag set up shop in the basement of the duplex they shared at the time, played with sound levels for about a week, turned up the volume and hit the record button.

“I think we captured the sound we wanted,” Cluney said. “It was exactly what we were going for, just kind of layered, fuzzy, lush.”

The band is shopping “Holy Spirit” to record labels and selling it through Mixed Tapes in East Moline as well as at its shows. Warren said the band has modest expectations for success, but members would like to be able to make playing music a “day” job.

“We’re not looking to be millionaires or anything like that,” he said, “but just enough to be able to pay the bills and tour and stuff and not have to worry about ‘am I going to have a job when I get back?’ ”

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or at sdepasquale@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.