Pinmonkey

Pinmonkey was an American country music group formed in 1998 by Michael Reynolds (lead vocals), brothers Michael (vocals, bass guitar) and Chad Jeffers (Dobro, lap steel guitar), and former Pure Prairie League member Rick Shell (drums, vocals). Their first album, Speak No Evil, was released independently in 2002. Later that same year, they signed to BNA Records and released their self-titled album. It produced the singles "Barbed Wire and Roses" and "I Drove All Night", both of which charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. The band later released a cover of Robbie Fulks' "Let's Kill Saturday Night", but it failed to reach Top 40.

Shell departed as well, with Mike Crouch taking his place as drummer; Chad Jeffers also left to join Keith Urban's road band. Reduced to a trio composed of Mike Crouch, Michael Jeffers, and Michael Reynolds, Pinmonkey released their third album (titled Big Shiny Cars) on the independent Back Porch label in 2005.

Biography

After several years on the writers' circuit, lead vocalist Michael Reynolds befriended brothers Michael and Chad Jeffers, as well as Rick Schell, a drummer who had previously worked with Allison Moorer.^[1]

The four musicians soon began to perform together under the name Pinmonkey, which they derived from "And Maggie Makes Three", an episode of the U.S. cartoon The Simpsons.^[2] After self-financing their debut album (Speak No Evil) in 2002, the group caught the attention of record producer Joe Galante, who signed them to BNA Records.^[1] A year later, the single "Barbed Wire and Roses" was released, peaking at number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Itt served as the lead-off single to their self-titled album, which saw release in early 2003. This album's second and final single was a cover of "I Drove All Night", a pop standard originally recorded by Roy Orbison. Pinmonkey's version of the song made number 36 on the country charts. The album also featured a cover of Dolly Parton's 1976 composition "Falling out of Love with Me", on which Parton herself contributed backing vocals.

In 2003, Pinmonkey began to tour the United States, meanwhile working on their second album for BNA. Although that album's lead-off single (a cover of Robbie Fulks' "Let's Kill Saturday Night") had been released to radio with a peak of number 44, the band parted ways with BNA shortly afterward, and this album was not released.

Shell left Pinmonkey in 2005, with Mike Crouch taking over as drummer, while Chad Jeffers left to join Keith Urban's road band. The three remaining members — Crouch, Reynolds, and Michael Jeffers — were signed to a recording contract with Back Porch Records, with the album Big Shiny Cars being released a year later.^[1] This album produced one single in "That Train Don't Run", which was originally recorded and released as a single by its writer, Matraca Berg.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References