Welcome to AFS vol.54 with National Product guitarist Stan Moniz. National Product's debut release, Luna, out now on R&M Artist Records features their first single entitled “By All Means” which is already getting heavy airplay at Alternative Radio across the country. National Product was named one of the ’TOP 100 BANDS TO WATCH IN 2008’ in the upcoming April ’08 Alternative Press Magazine.
My name is:
Stan Moniz aka “Stantera”
Myself described in 5 words:
Lively, exciting, adventurous, fun, technical.
My current job is:
Guitar player/guitar tech for National Product
My hometown:
Waialua, Oahu Hawaii
My current album or project is:
“Luna” National Product
Former bands:
Wrong Way and Fieldtrip
My guitar influences growing up were:
Page Hamilton of Helmet, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd & Randy Rhodes of Ozzy Osbourne
The guitars I use are:
Washburn Pilsen Idols and Washburn acoustics.
The strings and tuning I use are:
Ernie Ball 10-52's. My main tuning is a half step down/drop D. Which is in order from low to high: C# G# C# F# A# D#. I recently got into open G tuning inspired by Pete Townsend of the Who. A ton of the new material I've been writing right now is in open G. I LOVE IT!
My current rig setup consists of:
Revolt 100 watt Barbarian X head ,Revolt 4×12 cabinet, Mogami cables, Boss tu-2 tuner, Boss ns-2 noise suppressor, Boss rv-3 reverb/delay, Sennheiser ew 100 guitar wireless.
The greatest invention for guitars are:
The tuneomatic bridge FOR SURE…Being the guitarist/guitar tech for NP I highly recommend picking up a guitar with one of these bridges included. You will defiantly be happier in the long run. It makes life so much easier on the road and in the studio. These bridges provide pinpoint accuracy with string intonation and tuning. Making those fine adjustments is a snap! Gosh! I hate floating bridges. From time to time I have other buds in bands that we tour with come and ask me to set up their guitars with these Floyd roses bridges. It can be done =) but damn are they fickle and time consuming. Unless you love doing dive bombs and are a fan of the whammy bar I would say stay clear from a floating bridge.
My normal songwriting process consists of:
Jamming out my ideas on an acoustic guitar. The way I see it, if a song sounds great on an acoustic, it’s going to sound amazing on an electric guitar. A lot of the time I come up with a chorus, verse or melody in my head, take it to the acoustic to work out the chords and licks that carry the idea, then structure the rest of the song around that beginning. Then I take it into pro-tools, lay down the tracks to a click. Form there I take it to Reason to lay down the drums, synth, samples, and whatever other bells and whistles the song may call for. After I feel the song is finished and to my liking I take it to the rest of the guys so they can put their spin on it. This is the fun part! I love getting excited about a new tune and jamming it out with my bros and seeing a song come to life. If we all feel like it’s a keeper we will continue to work on it and make those necessary changes as a band and re-record the song as a full band for the final revision. This was the way “LUNA” our debut record was created. Everyone is a songwriter in this band. Whoever had an idea followed this method from start to finish. For NP, this direction works really well for us.
Favorite all-time song (any artist) is:
Gosh that's a hard one. I would have to say, “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley. It’s such an uplifting song. It always puts me in a great mood. It really reminds me of being back home in Hawaii hanging out on the North Shore, surfing amazing waves and just kicking back with close friends on the beach enjoying the Hawaiian sun.
Favorite song by our band is:
Valentine
Favorite song to perform in front of a live audience:
“By all means”. It is our first single off our album. We also have a music video for it that’s doing really well right now. On top of that, the song has been getting some radio love lately. It’s the first song to start off our set. I just love it and I get so pumped when I see all the kids singing along at the top of their lungs. I sometimes feel like I'm going to explode from all the energy they put out…haha! I live for that =)
My career highlight thus far is:
Going back home to Hawaii and playing the Rocktober fest at the Pipeline Cafe this past October. It was AMAZING! The show was sold out! I believe it’s a 2000-seater. One of our songs “Love me” had been spinning and hitting the radio really hard out there and became an instant hit! It was such an achievement for us to play in front of family and friends and a sold-out crowd! My family was very proud of me to say the least.
Most embarrassing moment on stage:
I would say my most embarrassing moment was at a past Chain Reaction show a few years back. I used to do these guitar throws around my back on the bridge of “Sean Song” and on this night in particular my strap lock snapped on the spin. My guitar literally went flying across the stage and nearly took out a girl in the front row. It was like slow-mo. I just watched it fly past everyone on stage and watched it land inches from a girls face. Yikes! That could of been REALLY bad.
Other than my guitar and amps, the one piece of gear that I cannot live without is:
My Boss tu-2 tuner. I can't stand being even a slightly out of tune. I have a very sensitive ear to that sort of stuff. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves.
The first song I ever mastered on the guitar is:
“Unsung” by Helmet
My first guitar was:
A 1976 Harmony Strat like electric guitar. My dad gave it to me when I was around 14. Man, being a drummer growing up I Never picked it up until I was around 20.
If I am only sure of one thing in my life:
It's to always be truthful and honest to yourself and the people around you.
The one ritual that I always perform prior to going on stage is:
Jumping jacks and stretching, especially my legs and neck. I head bang a lot on stage and I stretch out pretty good in order to prevent a BANGOVER haha! I make sure I'm always warmed up and ready to go before we hit the stage, especially if it’s my first show in a longtime. I hate waking up with a stiff ass neck in the morning.
The exact moment I knew I would pursue a career in music was:
After seeing the band Fugazi live at the After Dark nightclub in Honolulu, HI. They blew my mind! All I wanted to do was own a Gibson sg and a Marshall amp and produce that kind of feedback that Ian Mackaye could drive up. “Waiting Room” has to be my next favorite song on the list. I just wanted to learn and create hard-hitting impacting songs that would get the whole venue rocking. There was nothing better than seeing the ceilings in that place sweat and rumble because of how crazy the crowd was that night. It was like the venue was alive.
The one thing that most fans don't know about me is:
That back in the day before I got into music I was a professional body boarder. It was a great time in my life. I got to travel the world and surf some amazing waves and meet some very interesting people.
The best advice I could give beginning guitarist is:
Don't short cut yourself. Learn the basics first. Learn all your open chords and then move on to the Major and Minor bar chords then scales; that sort of thing. Pick up theory gradually as your learning the basics and soak it all in. For example, understand why it’s a major and not a minor chord, etc. For the first few years I kind of learned the guitar all over the place. It wasn't a bad thing but when I decided to get serious about music I had to go back to the basics and learn from the ground up to build the foundation that I needed to move forward. Also, learn how to play with a metronome. You'll thank yourself for it later. When you start getting involved in recording and playing in time with a band this skill will come in very handy, trust me.
Cd(s) I'm listening to right now:
Genesis “The Best of Genesis”
Radiohead “In Rainbow”
Band of Horses “Cease To Begin”
My three all time favorite albums:
Pink Floyd “The Wall”
The police “Synchronicity”
Bob Marley “Legend”
Best gig:
The Rocktober fest, at the Pipeline cafe in Oahu, Hawaii.
Favorite junk food:
Hawaiian hurricane popcorn
My biggest pet peeve:
Being unorganized
The word or catch phrase I say too much:
What the hell?
The hardest part of my job:
Is the crazy drives that we do across the great ‘ol USA. We just did a 20-hour drive from New York City to Atlanta, Georgia. It was CRAZY far! I thought it would never end.
The first thing I do when I come home from touring is: catching up on all my TV shows:
Nip-tuck, Lost, Prison Break and Project Runway. Also, hitting up Sharky’s and Johnny’s our local hangouts to catch up with family and friends.
Previous or first day job:
FedEx courier
Right after this interview I am going to:
Rest my fingers from all this typing…hehe
The one thing on the road I can't live without:
My new favorite toy, my line 6 pocket pod. It’s great! Just plug your guitar in and with a set of headphones and you can practice and warm up for hours.
If I wasn't doing the musician thing I could see myself being:
A lifeguard gig on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.
Favorite movie:
Clockwork Orange
My mission in life:
As corny as it sounds it’s just to be a happy person. Love and help everyone around me as much as I can. It makes me happy to see smiles on people’s faces.
My guilty pleasure band or artist:
Would be NSYNC. Man you have to love them for what they have accomplished. And further more, I personally know a one of them and he's one of the coolest guys you will ever meet.
My next goal is:
To eventually take all I've learned from music and those around me and help out other bands in the producing and songwriting process. I'm considering, when the time is right, opening my own recording studio. Another goal of mine is to one day open a guitar shop and specialize in guitar setups.
The greatest contribution guitars or music has brought into my Life:
All the amazing places I've seen and all the cool and different people you meet along the way. I wouldn't take any of it back. I would never have thought that in my life I would have been able to see all 50 states and to travel out of the US including Mexico and Canada to play music.
The one musician that I would love to work with but have not got the chance to:
Page Hamilton of Helmet would be my pick. I've always looked up to his playing. I think working along side with him would be amazing!
If had had three wishes they would be:
1. To clear all the debt that I have from buying all this music and recording gear…hehe
2. An unlimited supply of sushi
3. A wall full of old and sought-after guitars
When it’s all said and done I want the world to know me for:
Being that simple dude that rocked out hard on stage and did whatever he could to help others.
Copyright March 2008 Dave B. Roberts and www.extremeguitars.com is the web home of articles and interviews written by Dave Roberts. All Dave Roberts interviews and articles are available for use or FREE reprint ONLY by Permission and proper credits. Permission can be obtained by contacting [email protected]. All materials are Copyright 2004-08 Dave Roberts and OnTourOnline Ent., All Rights Reserved.