Trashmonkeys

Emerging from Germany, the garage rock outfit Trashmonkeys earned NME Single of the Week recognition for their debut release "Sundays" in 2000. Guitarist and vocalist Andreas Wolfinger joined forces with drummer Gunnar Riedel to establish the group during a spontaneous 1996 jam session in Bremen. Bassist Daz Fralick, who had recently arrived from London, soon completed the lineup as a trio. Their profile rose sharply in 1997 after securing an opening slot with Link Wray, the acknowledged master of skeletal, minimal guitar rock. The self-titled debut album Trashmonkeys appeared on the Karate Club Meier and Weser labels, which in turn generated support dates with the Cramps and the Hellacopters. Keyboardist Offer Stock came aboard in 2000, expanding the group's sound for the recording of their second album. Acid Jazz acquired the finished recordings and issued Clubtown in 2002; the set, anchored by the earlier single "Sundays," developed a cult following and delivered valuable television exposure. LADO next released the band's third album, The Maker, in 2004. Extensive touring followed, building a sizable audience and prompting a return to the studio in 2005. Those sessions produced the fourth album Favourite Enemy, issued by LADO in 2006 with an accompanying bonus DVD.