The latest release from DJ Monkey, "Higher Authority," comes on like a French Film; the sound track to a daydream or an out of body experience. Musical styles from across time and all around the globe, upon which ride the words of poets, singers, thinkers and rappers.  It is refreshing to see people use their artistic privilege with what you might call respect to its value. When I asked him what makes a hit record, Joey Alkes coined a phrase, "If you aint got nothing to say, you aint got nothing to say".  What I like the most about Joey Alkes and fellow DJ Monkey foundation member Mick McMain's is their artistry, passionate attitudes on life, and the fact they are thinking men with a lot to say.  DJ Monkey is an internationally influenced interracial posse with the ability to fuse Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock, and Beat Poetry into something previously unimagined and entirely enjoyable. The record begins with what sounds like ceremonial Native American chanting over a drum groove done by the bands scratcher Mr. 1(Jeremy Roth).  As soon as you have that straight in your mind the song "Love Knows No Color" suddenly comes soaring down from above with one of guitar player Mick McMain's patented "sound scapes" and then quickly locks into a relentless sexy groove. McMain's sequencing and mixing skills are so deftly done on this song one can't tell if it is real or Memorex. Mick is joined on this record by his son Ian writing and playing guitar as well as his brother Moose who plays Bass. One thing that is very real is the fine percussion attack by Francisco on track # 13, "Hard Times," which considers life on the streets of New York and is a return to a former successful songwriting partnership between Joey Alkes and Chris Fradkin who also sings backup vocals on the song "Reconstructed Surgery." The classic jazzy sound on the record is largely contributed by Michael Schneider's wonderfully smoky horn playing on such songs as "The Hum" and "All Else Is Shadow." Shadow also includes rapper Jamal Cryer aka Lil Tip Toe's ode to his lady, which is my favorite of his many contributions to Higher Authority. Cynthia Contreras voice is haunting and ethereal as it appears from time to time throughout the record and her solo contribution Vampires is a good-humored tooth in neck tale of vampire lovers in the night. DJ Monkeys bi coastal East/West nature is represented by a catchy tune called "No Place Like This Place" which is co written and produced by Ray Lewis at Black Ray Media in New York. "No Place Like This Place" is a tale of two cities with Joey Alkes taking the lead and what appears to be the Corgan from the Movie Highlander delivering the hook. The last song could stand on its title alone. "God Is An Underachiever" goes out with a gospel sound and a beautiful plaintive violin played by Lita Neumann. Lil Tip Toe returns "And God took him to a better place where the water has a better taste". Once again DJ Monkey turns in a great record and proves that you don't have to wear a uniform and march to that same old drummer to get your ya yas out. Bryan Allinsmith Wine Cellar Studios/Song Lab Productions

POPBOOMERANG - AUSTRALIA The Finders - Calling Dr. Power Pop An amazingly great discovery of 80's obscure powerpop band called The Finders. This CD is features 12 tracks from "The Finders" CD and 3 tracks from "Demos" CD as Japan only bonus songs. 3 of the 4 members were in the Rockers which sounded almost the same as the Finders. I'd say The Finders was the best mixture of the Flashcubes, The Rubinoos, The Records, Off Broadway and The Reducers. If you are the fan of them, simply you can't avoid this title.

Spin & Downbeat Magazine - US "......DJ Monkey's debut album, is a risk-taking blend of alternative rock, spoken word, hip-hop, funk and jazz, and they pull it off impressively well. Other groups that have dared to be this ambitious have missed their mark and delivered albums that were wildly uneven; for all their good intentions, things simply didn't work out. Another Evolution, however, is as focused and coherent as it is ambitious - and unlike other experimental, genre-busting artists, Alkes and his colleagues are never abstract just for the sake of being abstract. Actually, this CD is quite accessible - adventurous and unpredictable, but still accessible. Lyrically, DJ Monkey can be fun and humourous......."

PURE POP - u.s Now that my pop palate has been sufficiently cleansed, let's move on to some GOOD stuff, k? Ever hear of The Finders? Me neither, until a retrospective CD from the early '80s San Francisco-area power pop combo made its way into my mailbox recently. Sounding like Phil Seymour fronting the Plimsouls on many of the tunes, the 12-song effort is classic power pop, and makes one wonder how many other great, unknown recordings like this are languishing in someone's garage. Most of the tunes were written by one Phil Schraub and sung by John Rock, and some are on par with many of the classic pop tunes of the new wave era. My personal faves? The jangly "I'm the One" (with the immortal lyric "I'm the one who'll be making her love tonight." Say what?) and a rockin' littleThree Stooges tribute called "Calling Dr. Howard." Coulda done without the way-too-realistic vomitsound effects on the disc-closing "Bad Food," though… Schraub and Rock also led another Bay Area combo called The Rockers that predated The Finders, and their 1980 four-song EP has also recently been digitized. The crown jewel here is the perfectly constructed power pop gem "Don't Leave Me Tonight,"

BUBBLEGUM THE PUNK - FRANCE The Finders British invasion was probably a life altering influence on these guys' minds ("as it was on every musically inclined teenager with a brain and good taste" said once guitarist Phil Schraub) and throughout these "long lost" sessions (including eight never released tracks), The Finders confirm they well and truly had their own wall of (pop) sound, combining the upbeat feel of 60s British Pop invasion with the instrumental muscle of the 70s. The CD is quite consistently good ranging from songs with a slightly pronounced glam-ish approach, like in standouts "Ain't No Use In Trying" or "Sweet Litlle User", sometimes even coveting a Cheap Trick-esque bigger sound in "Hideaway", to more "direct" material like the (a bit) punk-ish "Calling Dr. Howard" or the funky (but pop) "Bad Food". Tracks like "Talk To Me", "Think I'll Ask Her" or "It's So Insane" definitely reveal the perfect powerpop craftmanship of John Perga and Phil Shraub. The Finders Demos As much as I dig the "Long Lost Sessions" CD, this collection of demos -- recorded prior to the addition of Mark Newcomb to the band -- is THE stuff. Okay, the sound is muffled and rough (not that much anyway), but some tracks that appear nowhere else are outstanding : "Hold Tight","It All Works Out","Summer Love","On And Off","Standing In The Rain","The Way It Goes". The production is more pop, more `60s oriented maybe. Some early versions here are even better ("Ain't no use in tring"). Essential : pick up the Rockers, the "Long Lost Sessions" and the Demos CDs and you'll have a oh-so-ah enjoyable slice of vintage

From Demo Universe After years of cruising around the old school of anthemic pop rock, journeyman songwriter Joey Alkes makes an unexpected hard left turn into a completely different neighborhood. At the intersection of hip hop, jazz, soul and spoken word, the fiftysomething rocker is reborn. On their debut CD, Alkes and his cohorts (coproducer and multiinstrumentalist Mick McMains, horn maestro Mitch "Count Daddy-O" Rafal, rapper Jamal "Lil' TipToe" Cryer, DJ Jeremy Roth and guitarist Ian McMains) have produced a work suffused with cool intelligence, deep beats and e0xhilirating eclecticism. A promo pressing kicked off with the infectiously swinging "Beatnik" but the official disc takes a stand with Alkes' hard-boppin' "5th Avenue" and McMains' brooding "U-Boat" before gettin' the party started. I suppose it's better to be up front about the changes this platter will take you through. Navigating from the sexy slow jam of "Too Cool" to the cynical ragtop jazz of "Hollywood & Vine," the Clintonesque funk-hop of "My Life Is," the utopian soul of "Jerusalem" and so on may be more challenge than some will appreciate, but Another Evolution offers rich rewards to the adventurous listener. demo universe

POP ON TOP - EUROPE The Finders were an early eighties power pop band from San Francisco that were strongly influenced by British pop bands such as The Who, Small Faces and The Move. At the time they only released two singles, Which Way/It's So Insane and Calling Dr. Howard/Bad Food. This CD release not only contains these two singles but eight previously unreleased tracks that were destined to comprise the band's debut album. Hearing these tracks now highlights just what a waste it was not to release them in the first place as they would have had a lot of commercial appeal, given the right promotion. Interestingly, the two worst songs on this CD are both from the band's second single. Both Bad Food and Calling Dr. Howard both have a novelty approach that quickly loses it's appeal. However, the rest of the songs more than make up for these two tracks. Talk To Me, Hideaway and Sweet Little User could find a place on any 70's power pop compilation while my favourite track is It's So Insane with it's cool saxophone break. The Finders represented the more commercial side of rocking power pop, much in the vein of the Romantics and Raspberries and to the band's credit they can still hold their own along these more well known bands. With their big power chords, loud and catchy

HYPED TO DEATH - U.S ROCKERS I Want to Tell You 2:05 / Don't Leave Me Tonight 3:15 // EP (Alcatraz) S.F. '80: San Francisco's Rockers, briefly grasped a perfect mix of British Invasion harmony and Flamin Groovies twang on their 1980 four-track…Most of them became the Finders. Squid Music has reissued the Rockers EP and some amazing Finders material on CD...with much more in-the-works.

STONEWALL MUSIC - NASHVILLE Carolynn Street Born in California, Carolynn honed her writing/vocal/instrumental skills in local clubs. Carolynn recorded two LP's with northern Cal pop/rock favorites The Responsibles before relocating to Nashville. Years of work as a session vocalist and band leader resulted in this, her first release. With a voice that can lift off the rafters,

POPMADRID - SPAIN THE FINDERS - Calling Dr. Powerpop Recopilatorio de esta desconocida pero fantástica banda powerpop americana de los 80. Incluye canciones de sus inencontrables singles y 3 canciones inéditas. Muy recomendable para fans de Rubinoos, The Records y Off Broadway.

From offthehip - australia Our fave album from 2002!! THE FINDERS - "CALLING DR. POWERPOP"

BUCKET FULL OF BRAINS - ENGLAND Listening to the 4 tracks on the Rockers EP, you are instantly transported back to the golden era of power pop, when bands like this took the UK Sixties beat and updated to the then present with the energy and vivaciousness of punk, but melody always remained king. All 4 songs are strong, but "Comeback" can even be considered a classic, with a chorus to kill for. The Finders continue the story, as they are in fact 3 of The Rockers plus 2 new guys. Here you get a full album and most of it is top-notch power pop in the Dwight Twilley/ Romantics mode. Unreleased until now this San Francisco's Bay band material is too goddam enjoyable to remain rotting in some vault. Full marks to Squid Music

FROM GERMANY The Finders - Calling Dr. Powerpop Klassischer Powerpop im Stil von PAUL COLLINS BEAT, HEATS oder den FLAMIN' GROOVIES. Die Zusammenstellung enthält ihre erste 7" von 1981, dazu die kurz darauf folgende zweite 7", die eine Tribute-7" an die THREE STOOGES war und den rockenden Powerpop Hit "Bad Food" enthielt, mit dem sie den Fastfood-Ketten ans Bein pißten. Um einen volleren Sound zu bekommen kam noch ein zweiter Gitarrist dazu und es wurden über mehrere Monate hinweg etliche Powerpop Hits wie z.B. "Talk To Me", "I'm The One", "Don't Let It"... für ein komplettes Album eingespielt, die hier nun zum ersten mal veröffentlicht wurden, denn die Aufnahmen landeten in der Schublade von MOBIUS Records, da sich die Band wegen musikalischer Differenzen nach einem letzten Konzert in San Francisco im Juni 1983 aufgelöst hatte. Im Gegensatz zur US-Version enthält die japanische CD noch 3 Bonus-Songs, die allesamt einen

From globorecords - spain Banda muy popular en San Francisco a primeros de los '80. Incluye 15 canciones esta edición japonesa con 3 temas extras de sus primeras demos. Tres de sus miembros estuvieron en otra banda llamada The Rockers. Disco esencial para amantes de The Hawks, The Rubinoos, The Flashcubes o los olvidados y perfectos The Sinceros

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