He is leaning over the rail of the middle balcony that overlooks the stage at Chicago’s House of Blues. Taking Back Sunday is just wrapping up a passionate, aggressive set, and Bridges is getting off on the view of a sold out crowd of starry-eyed youngsters, all with hands waving while pogoing like mad.

Just minutes earlier, Bridges was stage diving into that very crowd with a reckless enthusiasm, culminating his band Moneen’s brief, but incendiary, opening performance.

Now, Moneen's frontman is at peace. Away from the fashionable punk rock cliques and away from the hyperactive fans, all that exists at this altitude is the music.

On stage, Moneen is frantic, dramatic and awestruck, usually all within the span of a single song. Guitarist Chris Hughes whips his long black dreadlocks about his head as he picks out complex arpeggiated musical lines. Drummer Peter Krpan’s beats are as thunderous as they are technically challenging. Bassist Erik Hughes uses his instrument almost to the effect of a percussionist, churning out heavily rhythmic four-stringed bellows. Bridges spends as little time as necessary in front of the microphone, preferring to flail around the entire span of the stage, bashing at his Telecaster. Between songs, Bridges’ eager friendliness takes control as he rattles off stream-of-consciousness odes to his fans and bitterly funny laments of self-deprecation.

On record, Moneen is just as intense. Their latest release, Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? (released by Vagrant in the US and by Smallman in the band’s native Canada), is as foreboding and blunt as the title suggests, filled to the brim with musical ideas and raw emotion. Most songs hover around the five-minute mark (the closing track, “The Last Song I Will Ever Want to Sing,” even clocks in at over 10 minutes) and contain enough twists and turns, stops and starts to keep everyone from the depressed Thursday lovers to the brainy King Crimson fans salivating.

Sitting on the edge of a mauve velvet upholstered couch in a very bohemian-styled vacant dressing room, his shaggy brown hair wild and bushy, his well-defined face still aglow from the adrenaline rush of Moneen’s set, Bridges speaks zealously over a plate of honeydew melon slices about his ever-growing affection and appreciation for life and faith in music, his words struggling to keep up with his thoughts.

Popular Underground Magazine: You seem to be full of energy out there [on stage]. How does that transfer over to your music? You were talking a lot to the crowd, you were kind of all over the place…
Kenny Bridges: Do you think I was talking too much?

No. I like it when bands talk to the crowd.
Bridges:But usually it’s just me calling myself stupid and ugly and I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. I’ll just be like, wow! I don’t know what I can say to these people as far as a conversation starter, so I usually just ramble on about nothing, then I start realizing I’m talking so much, then I start talking about how I’m talking too much, and how I shouldn’t be talking so much, which just means I’m talking more. But it is good. It is good…but wait. What the hell were you just saying?

How does that energy you have onstage transfer over to your music?
Bridges:I think of our music as somewhat high-energy and I think our [Moneen’s] personalities and the music go together really, really well. Like, we’ll have some songs that are just kind of fun, and, you know, more light when it comes to lyrical content. But then there’ll be those other songs…you know, the darker kinds of songs. Every stand-up comedian has his quiet moments, his depressant moments. Maybe not when he’s doing his stand-up routine, but at some point, every clown cries. I don’t know what that means when it comes to us. I’d love to be able to do the last song [“The Last Song I Will Ever Want to Sing”] on our CD [“Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?”], which is, unfortunately, extremely long. It’s very melodic and slow…it’s one of my favorite songs we have, because I think it’s the song that shows who we are the most. It has every aspect of our band wrapped up into one song. There’s a bit of all of us in there. You get these weird delays and noises… For me, it’s like my pride when it came to songwriting. That’s the song I always wanted to write. (Jokingly) So now, all my goals are done, and I can pretty much kill myself. (Chuckles)

How do you think your fans would react if you played more of that sort of thing in concert?
Bridges:I don’t know. I’d always think that people would like it. It’s different, but it depends on what kind of show you’re playing or how long you get to play for, because, like tonight, if we threw in a really, really slow song, there might be some people who would appreciate it, but in our experiences in the past when you only get to play five songs you want to (snaps fingers ) keep the flow going and keep the energy up. You see, even with us, our problem is that we do rock out and have fun, then in between songs we have a lot of time to go off and tune, so we can’t keep the flow going as fast as maybe some other bands, like, go from song to song unless we paid, like, a thousand people around us to tune our guitars all the time. I think even, like, five seconds in between songs can kill the momentum. So it’s hard to say. Some people appreciate slower songs, but then other people just won’t get it. But who are you there to impress? Are you there to play for yourself? The people? Just certain people? That’s the thing: you can’t please everyone. Most of the time I can’t even please myself. And, like I was saying earlier, that’s the thing I’ve really been concentrating on lately: really playing for myself again, and not over-thinking, and (in a gruff voice ), “Ahhh! You dork! You dropped the ball, you loser!” I don’t want to have to be playing and then thinking about what these people in the front row are thinking about. A lot of bands—and we’re guilty of it sometimes—if the crowd’s not rocking as much, sometimes people get bummed out. And I can’t say we’ll get hard on people. We won’t be, like, “Oh, the crowd sucked,” or anything. We take it more on ourselves that we’re not working hard enough to get those people pumpe d. But sometimes people are just there to listen. If people don’t know your band, they’re not going to start a mosh pit or whatever. And mosh pits really don’t mean that much. They may take your mind off of thinking that everyone hates you, but, the thing is, people mosh to Good Charlotte. People kind of mosh to anything. Just because they have a mosh pit for your band, doesn’t mean these are your new fans for life or anything. It just means there are some hyperactive kids in there that want to have fun. And it’s awesome when people rock out and stuff, but my point to that is not to say that mosh pits aren’t good or anything—because, believe me, I’d rather have people rocking out than have them stand there—but the one thing I’ve noticed is not to get down on people who are just standing there, because they’re listening. You know, they’re not just waiting: “Oh, when’s this band going to finish? I want to see [headliners] Saves the Day.” They’re kind of appreciating what they’re listening to. Some times. You know, some people don’t like it at all, and they’re ready to friggin’ whip flaming torches at us. But it’s just such a different world we’re playing in these days. It’s like these big, big shows, and we’re learning so much. I think we’re learning a lot about ourselves, which is really important. We’re learning to just be ourselves.

So what’s your ideal crowd?
Bridges:I don’t know. We’re not a girl’s band at all. We’re not one of those bands where the girls are, like, (high pitched squeal ). I just think we’re a guy’s band kind of. And I don’t know if that’s going to help us or not in the long run, but… In Canada…it’s a lot different for us in Canada. We do pretty good in Canada. And the crowds are so mixed there. You, know…college students, kids who are in grade nine, all wrapped up in the same crowd. Guys, girls… It’s just so mixed. We used to play a lot in the hardcore scene even, and for some reason it would work. We’d get a lot of those tough guys with full-sleve tattoos come up to us—and I’d be, like, “Oh, shit”—and they’d be, like, (in a monotone voice ) “Hey. I hate music. But you guys are alright.” We’d get a lot of that kind of stuff just because when we’re not thinking too much, that’s when we’re really having fun. And when we’re having a lot of fun, I think people can tell we’re having a lot of fun, and it’s easier for a pers on watching us to have fun as well. We can fit into a lot of different kinds of shows and be all right. I like to think we can kind of play on any show and make it through all right. Which is because we really do play for ourselves a lot. A good crowd is one who just appreciates different music and different things, because our songs are different from one to the next.

On Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? the lyrical content and the emotional content seem to be a little dark, a little more kind of soul-searching like you were talking about. Was there any particular incident in your lives that led to that?
Bridges:Pretty much that whole record was me looking back at either my life or the last couple years. There’s maybe one “girl song” on the record, which was an older song that we brought back. Because I’ve been with the same girl, [Moneen’s tour manager] Lisa, for seven years now, so I have no girl songs to write. I’m not having those kinds of problems. I really just wanted to write about life. Like, my grandma just passed away within the last year, and that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through. I’ve never been through death before. So that’s all over the record. And just a lot of making sure to just look at life, and go, wow—it’s really friggin’ screwed up, this world we’re in, but it’s just so important to find your spot in it and just be happy with who you are…just like the album’s called. When we were writing the songs, that’s when Vagrant asked us if we wanted to sign with them, and it’s just really scary to get thrown into this whole different world. And that’s where the title of the song came, and that’s when I asked [the band], “You know, what do you think of this for an album title?” because it really hit home: Are we prepared to take the next step and go into this whole different world? Are we going to be happy enough to be who we are? That’s the thing with the record. I was so proud of it, because I think I can look back at it—five years from now I can look back at this record and go, this was really me at this time, like, everything about doubting my place in life to doubting why people are taken off the earth for no reason. It’s a lot diff erent than a lot of stuff that’s in the mainstream. It’s more true, more honest. Honesty is good. If you can be honest, then you can be yourself. And if you can be yourself, then you can run around naked free as a bird!

So I’m taking it that music is your way of dealing with your life?
Bridges:Yeah! It’s a way to deal, but at the same time it’s a way to forget about it. There are songs about it, but at the same time it’s just our time, our 30 minutes or whatever it is, to just relax, and not worry, and forget about all the stupid things that are going on. It’s funny, when you’re on tour, unless you read the newspaper or watch the news, you really have no idea what’s going on in the world. I couldn’t even tell you what’s happening right now. I could probably tell you they still probably haven’t found any weapons in Iraq. We’re in our own world right now, and it’s probably the best world you could be in. You just forget about all the stupidities in the world. The [biggest] thing you have to deal with basically is traffic from city to city. Other than that, you know, we’re just a bunch of happy Canadians trying to meet some other happy people.

The music on the record sounds really grand and ambitious…a lot different than what a lot of other bands are doing…a lot of progressive elements in it. What are you trying to accomplish with the music?
Bridges:We just really want to do something different. We know we’re not reinventing the wheel and all. We’re barely probably doing anything really new in the [rock and roll] genre, but at least for us we feel like we’ve created something a little different. We didn’t really sit down and say, “This is how we want it to sound.” I was pretty much going through writer’s block for a while. I didn’t know what kind of stuff I wanted to write at all. Then Eric [Hughes], our bass player, was just, like, “Let’s just write some songs that would be really, really fun to play live. That’s what we’re going to be doing—we’re going to be touring—after this record comes out. We might as well make sure the songs are fun to play.” And then, just naturally we’ll always push ourselves. We always make sure every time we write a song that it’s the best it can be. That’s why our songs are so long, because we always try to put so much into them. I can’t just write a really, really short song, bec ause I don’t feel that the song’s taking enough of a journey. There’s always the ups and downs, and I think there’s a lot of movement in all the songs. We’re so proud of this record. I couldn’t think of anything I’d want to do differently. It’s kind of funny…when you have a record like this it puts you in the place of, what are we the hell are we going to do for the next one? At least with us, we’re totally excited for this record and I think we did probably as best as we could. And I actually had fun doing vocals for once. Usually I hate singing.

Really?
Bridges:I have a hard time singing. I’m not a very good singer; it doesn’t come naturally. I have to try very hard to make sure I’m able to sing. But I had a lot of fun singing this time. Usually I want to kill myself. I don’t hate singing or anything. Most of the time I don’t feel confident enough to do it, especially when I’m on tour with Saves the Day and I’m listening to [Saves the Day vocalist] Chirs [Connely] sing every night. I’m not jealous; that’s just something I want to aspire to.

It’s always good to have someone to look up to.
Bridges:I’d love—not to sound like him, because everyone has their own voice—but I’d just love to be able to do it that naturally. And a lot of people can, especially punk rock bands. A lot of guys will be drinking beer all night, doing heroin, getting hit by a bus and walk on stage and sing perfectly. Me, I don’t drink. I don’t do anything. All I do is eat fruit and try to keep myself healthy. ( Laughs and imitates his singing voice with a gargle)

Well, you certainly sounded confident out there.
Bridges:Okay. That’s good.

What are your feelings about the term “emo”? It gets thrown around a lot, and I know you guys are on Vagrant, which typically is known as an emo label…
Bridges:Here’s where I stand: I’m fine with it. I don’t know if I’d necessarily put ourselves exactly in that category, but I don’t know what that category really is anymore. At one time, like, five years ago, when I first started listening to music that would be put into the genre of emo, it was more stuff, like Mineral…bands like that. And then today I would think, like Further Seems Forever kind of would fit within that [category]. I’m not saying that we’re really far off from these bands or anything, but now anything that’s not, like, fast punk is all of a sudden called emo. If it’s anything between indie rock and punk rock… But then a lot of those bands will say, “We’re rock and roll,” but to me—this is what I’ve always said—if someone says we’re emo, at least that gives someone a better idea of kind of what we sound like. Where if I say we’re rock and roll, what the hell does that mean? Like, are we the Strokes?

You could sound like Chuck Berry for all anyone knows.
Bridges:Exactly. It’s always been hard to put any band in a genre. Let the people say what they will. As long as someone’s enjoying it, that’s all that really matters, whether they call us emo or friggin’ ska-reggae-punk-jazz fusion.

What kind of difference do you see between the Canadian music scene and the American music scene?
Bridges:At first I didn’t really think there [were any], but now I’ve kind of seen it. Canada’s more starved for bands than a lot of places in the States are, because most of the bands that are bigger these days are American bands. They don’t really come to Canada as much, other than Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver maybe… That’s the thing that kind of sucks. Places like Edmonton and Winnipeg have got great scenes, but these bands will never get to experience it because no one will ever go there. So, at first I thought the [fans of the] Canadian scene were more passionate about bands, but they’re more passionate in a different kind of way. They’re more passionate where they’re really into so many different styles of music. In the States, the passion is—a lot of the kids in the States I’ve seen show it more. Like tonight: they’ll start rocking out to a band they’ve never seen before. I can’t say I’ve seen many shows in the States of different styles of music, but I’m pretty sure it’s a lot of the same, other than the fact that there’s more bands that come play more places in the States than there [are] in Canada. I think people feel more comfortable to show their excitement at shows in the States than they do in Canada. But that’s what I’ve heard about Europe as well. A lot of people in Europe—maybe they won’t start jumping around like crazy, because, like I said, they listen to the band. Which is, I think, a lot [like] Canada, because, you know, everyone wants to have a good time, but I think they want to appreciate the music. Because, like [Saves the Day openers] Taking Back Sunday, has played Canada maybe twice at the most I think. So maybe instead of crowd surfing and stuff, people just want to sing along and just listen to the music. But there’s a lot of similarities. It just seems there’s a dwindling underground scene right now, because all of these bands are now getting picked up by majors…and us even going to Vagrant… It doesn’t seem like there’s much of an und erground, because the underground is kind of what’s getting popular. What I’m sure everyone, including myself, misses a little bit is, like, that underground scene of people making seven-inch [records], and trading records, and things like that. The punk rock scene is very different right now. I’m not really one to talk about it, because I was just a spectator. It’s not like we made any huge dent in the Canadian punk rock scene or anything. So that’s the one cool thing, is we have a lot of really, really, really devoted fans in Canada that are more our friends because we’ve seen them so many times. We’ll play to maybe a couple hundred people—300 people—when we play places across Canada. That’s kind of what I miss with these shows. There’s all these faces I’ve never really seen. You’ll see, after the show, I’ll go down to the merch table and just hang out and talk with people and just try to meet as many people as I can. Not to be, like, “Go buy our record,” or anything like that. That’s all I know. All I know is being human and making friends. I can’t go and sit in the backstage room and just drink water, because what the hell am I going to do drinking water? I don’t drink [alcohol] or anything, so I can get plastered and start trashing the room. I just gotta go out and meet people, and I have more fun that way.

How do you feel about Internet file sharing? How has that affected you guys as a band?
Bridges:It’s helped us. It’s helped us more than anything. I remember when Vagrant put up “Are We Really Happy…?” on their site before the record was out. They just put the demo up on the first page of their website, so every kid who went to Vagrant the site saw “Moneen: ‘Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?’—Download Now.” I just want people to enjoy music, regardless…whether they pay for it, whether they download it off the Internet… The only people it probably really affects are major label artists, like, you know, Justin Timberlake. I’m sure their big sales aren’t at their shows, whereas, for a band like us, most of our sales will happen at shows. And in the punk rock scene, people still want to buy the CD’s. With Justin Timberlake—I have to admit, he’s my guilty pleasure; I love that record [“Justified”]. I mean, I may buy it if I see it used, but I don’t want to pay 20 bucks for it. And I know he won’t really miss my money.

That’s another thing: With CD prices so high, are the concert sales what help you get your music out there to people?
Bridges:Well, the Internet helps us more than anything. I couldn’t even imagine bands 10 years ago without the Internet…you know, it was all word-of-mouth. Now, that’s why punk rock is taking over. There are so many punk rock bands, and there was this huge underground scene that’s now getting dug up [by] kids who just surf the Internet. That’s all they do. So they’re finding all these bands and they’re just, like, “Oh my God! There’s some crazy music out there.” Everyone wants to be the one to find a band. That’s why when you find a band no one’s ever heard of on mp3.com or whatever, it’s like finding a little bit of gold at the bottom of the creek. It’s a little treasure. So, hopefully someday we’ll be that little treasure for someone.

One last thing, just to kind of get off the heavier topics: What kind of stuff would you find in your record collection?
Bridges:( In a high-pitched voice) Oooh! My top three records are The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds,” “Clarity” by Jimmy Eat World, and the third one right now would be hard, actually… It would either be the new Death Cab for Cutie record [“Transatlanticism”] or the new Cursive record [“The Ugly Organ”] or anything by Choke I love ( points to his Choke T-shirt). They’re a Canadian band; we’re on the same label as them in Canada. They’re one of my favorite bands of all-time. And they’re my best friends, and I still am a superfan even though I know them so well. Every show I see, I’ll be the guy in the front row singing along to every word.

That’s good, because a lot of times you have these bands who are friends with each other and you never know if they like each other’s music.
Bridges:That’s why this tour is incredible. I love both these bands. For me—it sounds cheesy—it’s a true honor to be on this tour, because there are a million other bands that could have fit on this tour and helped maybe bring more people, but this tour doesn’t need it. That’s why we’re so lucky to have got put on the tour. For us, it’s basically, like we get to play to packed places every night with amazing bands. Watching Taking Back Sunday I just [think] that one day if we could get those people singing along to our songs it would be incredible. Then I watch Saves the Day and I’m, like, if we could ever be that tight, and play songs that well, then that would be incredible. So for me, I love [watching the bands] and just learning from them. We’re the young, innocent ones on this tour. We have a lot to learn from these bands. Like Eddie from Taking Back Sunday—that old man—he’s got a lot to teach us. He’s good dude; everyone’s really nice. And everyone really welcomed us well, too.No one was like, “How did these guys get on the tour?” It was more like, “Hey, welcome to the tour! Let’s have as much fun as we can!” The first ice-breaker was we all went out to an ’80’s dance night, which was so fun. And no one was dancing at first, because I think they were all a little nervous. So I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I have to admit, I was the out there dancing it up, and next thing you know, everyone came out. I didn’t care about making a fool of myself. It doesn’t make a difference. You know, if you’re dancing to ’80’s songs, that’s what you’re there to do— you’re there to make a fool of yourself. You’re not there to dance well. You’re there to do the stupidest dances you can. It was so much fun. But it was a great, great night of just everyone coming together and knowing that no one has any attitudes on this tour, which is important. I’m sure there are some bands out there within the scene that probably have some attitudes of some sorts. B ut whatever.Everyone we’ve met has been really, really nice, and I’m just happy that the punk rock scene that we are involved in is a positive one. That’s the most important thing to me—I don’t like negative things.

By: Jeff Danna - Contributing Writer