Dancing with the Demons

I stood there in silence.

Strolling into The Preservation Pub once recent evening, downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, had seemingly (as per usual) pig-piled into the legendary multi-level music venue, the midnight oil of college students and beloved bar flies burning hot in anticipation of the unknown night. 

Echoing from the back of the shotgun-style first floor was The Monday Movement. A local indie-rock act, the quartet was headlong into “Came Our Hope,” a rollicking blend of razor-sharp guitar licks, thundering drums and songbird vocals. I stood there in silence, captivated by the presence of such a powerhouse ensemble. I turned to my friend, yelling to him over the heavy sounds radiating from the stage, “Who in the hell is this?” 

And that’s the exact question that continually follows The Monday Movement around. Largely unknown outside of East Tennessee, the group can immediately turn a small room into an enormous arena of tone and sound. The band pulls in the listener, a cosmic magnet of melody attracting you to the positive light of their intent, and ultimate message. 

“It doesn’t matter much how the song sounds, it’s more about how the song feels,” said lead singer/guitarist Aaron White. “That passion and feeling that attracts me to rock ’n’ roll is a bit transcendental to me, because I can feel that desperation that I associate with rock in any sort of good music I hear.”

Alongside his writing partner and bandmate Kamron Sanders (guitar/vocals), The Monday Movement (alongside bassist/vocalist Jon Lucas), formed in 2012, brings the “nitty gritty” of real rock ’n’ roll back into the heart of a music town (and radio airwaves) better known for its endless array of bluegrass, country and Americana acts. 

In an era of sugar-pop and hip-hop dominated radio and charts, studio tricks and stage gimmicks, The Monday Movement aims to shatter that dominance by other—sometimes diluted—genres.

“I personally don’t believe the guitar is dead, and I certainly don’t believe rock ’n’ roll music is dead. It’s definitely changing form, but hasn’t it always been?” Sanders pondered. “From the 1950s onward, nothing ever looked quite the same as what was played before it. We’re very guitar-heavy in our writing and in our performance, and the guitar—primarily the electric guitar—has long been synonymous with rock ‘n’ roll music.” 

So, why not just jump into the van and head west on Interstate 40 for the bright lights of Nashville that’s just down the road?

“We’ve definitely talked about it before, but never really desired it. Knoxville has a healthy list of benefits for a musician—especially a startup band,” Sanders noted. “I think the main appeal of Knoxville is its artistic community. I think there’s a strong stream of promoters and musicians who are interested in building a diverse musical ecosystem, the kind of people who want to work to make sure everyone succeeds as much as they can. It’s good to have that support, and it makes for a more interesting music scene if everyone does what they can to challenge and push one another. Knoxville has people that exemplify that.”

With their 2015 release Through the Fire/Through the Night, The Monday Movement looked at the album as a step in the right direction of where to ideally channel the raw and intricate energy that’s signature to their mesmerizing live sound. It was during the recording of that album where White developed his stage vocals, a soothing presence that can instantly be catapulted into glass-shattering howls. 

“Somewhere in that process (of recording), the voice I’ve always written with became the natural path for my songs, and I learned how to get out of the way of that while I’m on stage,” White said. “Now, I feel I can look people in the eye when I sing and just say what I mean, however it needs to be said. I used to be hyper-aware of how my influences affected me and how I was coming across, but these days I feel like I’m a better communicator because I’ve learned to let the song speak for itself.”