Teenage Rocker Monét Making A Powerful Impression Series Of Riveting Local Shows And Brisk Internet
Sales Primes Eponymous Debut EP Was Produced
by Veteran Pop/Rock Engineer/Producer Tom Weir
(Toots & The Maytals, Blondie, Go-Go’s)

A bright and talented showbiz dynamo whose wild
ambition is surpassed only by her multitude of talents, 15 year old L.A. based rocker Monét is living up to the spirit
of her namesake, French Painter Claude Monet, and
making a powerful impression on her growing,
several thousand strong fan base.

She’s appeared as an actress on The Bernie Mac Show
and the hit Nickelodeon sitcom Zoey 101, starring
Britney Spears’ sister Jamie Lynn. Since making her
live singing debut in Southern California a few years ago
at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, Monét and her band
have played to SRO audiences at the hottest clubs
on Sunset Strip (The Whisky, The Roxy, Key Club),
the Ventura Amphitheatre and, in May 2005, opened for
the bands Mountain and Heaven and Earth at the Canyon
Club in Agoura Hills. She also got to meet Shaq last year when she sang the national anthem at the Staples
Center for the L.A. Lakers (she later sang for the Clippers).

While allowing her growing fan base of several thousand
to preview tracks on her website (monetrox.com), Monét
is currently fielding major label offers for her self titled
EP, which was produced by veteran mixer, engineer
and producer Tom Weir (Boxing Gandhis, Go-Go’s,
Blondie, Toots & The Maytalls, Willie Nelson) at
Studio City Sound. Some of L.A.’s top musicians are on board—guitarists Dave Darling, Tim Pierce, bassist
Lance Morrison (Don Henley, Rod Stewart, Alanis Morisette) and drummer Matt Laug (Alanis).

Yet unlike most teen singers who are at the mercy of a
circus of sounds and shots called by a production team looking for their latest ingénue, Monét’s vision shines through from the get-go. She wrote six of the disc’s nine tracks—“2 Of Them,” “18,” “Go,” “Nobody,” “You Are Mine” and “Me For Me.” The song “Call It A Day,” written by Tom’s brother Larry Weir, features vocals by Monét’s friend Scarlett Pomers, who is a featured performer on The Reba McEntire Show.

Another fascinating aspect to Monét’s music is her wide array of influences, ranging from the modern fem pop of Gwen Stefani, Beyonce and Christina Aguilera to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson, Nirvana and such classic rock bands as Styx and Led Zeppelin.

While she has been playing the piano since age 3, she has added electric guitar—she currently plays a bright pink axe specially designed by Daisy Rock Guitars—and drums to her arsenal. “My songs definitely have a pop side to them, but there’s a ton of classic rock in the mix, and I’ve emerged with what I believe is my own unique sound,” Monét says. “I made my first studio recording when I was 12, this song called ‘Latin Boys” that I performed at The Pond for the Rick Dees 2003 KIIS-FM Talent Search. But it was like a Britney track and I knew it wasn’t my real style. Then my mom Diane introduced me to groups like Styx and Led Zeppelin and I knew that I definitely wanted to rock like they did!”

Discussing her approach to songwriting, she adds, “I don’t try to write about things that aren’t true to who I am. ‘2 of Them,’ for instance, is about the real life experience of liking two boys at the same time. I’m just singing about how I feel about things, trying to connect with what other kids feel. When someone listens to my songs, I want them to think, wow, Monét really knows what I’m going through. I can tell you everything that happened that inspired any of my songs. They’re all my real life.”

As if acting and becoming a rock star weren’t fuel enough for Monét’s towering ambitions, the teenager’s talent for self-expression also extends to her career as a budding screenwriter. While she explains that the most commercial-minded of these, “Walk In Our Shoes,” is a 13-like firsthand account of what teenagers go through in this day and age, her other titles show an emotional depth uncommon for her age—“Euthanasia” (about a quadraplegic’s struggle with suicidal thoughts) and “Interview with Adolf Hitler.”

The youngest of five children spread many years apart (her next closest sibling is her 34 year old sister Rene), Monét says that singing has been part of her life since…well, to hear her tell the story, just about the day she was born: “My mom told me the doctors came running from across the hall. They wanted to know how this baby could scream so loud!” Her first public performance came at age 4 at Cavalry Community Church in Westlake Village, when she performed in the chorus and had a few sung solo lines in an original Christmas production. Her early childhood was full of numerous lead roles in community playhouse musicals, from “My Fair Lady” to “Hello Dolly,” “The Music Man” and “Grease.”

“I feel so blessed to have so many kind fans from all over, even these girls in Canada who created buddy icons on their computer based on me,” Monét says. “While I’m working on getting my name out in the mainstream and securing a major record deal, I’m really focused all the time on making that personal connection with people. Making music is about a lot more than making money. On a deeper level, writing and singing is about getting people to understand you and let them know someone else feels the way they do about life.

“To stand out,” she adds, “an artist has to have an attention grabbing hook, a certain sound, lyrics that listeners can relate to and appreciate. The kind of music I’m doing is different from that of artists like JoJo and Lindsay Lohan, and I really think I have something special to offer. It’s also very important to stay in constant touch with your fans. I respond every day to the email I receive. I don’t take any of this for granted.

Monét has a perfect life philosophy that captures the whirlwind of hope and inspiration wherever she goes: “If a dream is running away, go catch it…that should go out to everyone, not just kids, but adults as well. You’re never too old to dream big.”