Matt Mondanile

Matthew A. Mondanile (born February 8, 1985) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American indie rock band Real Estate, with whom he recorded three studio albums, and for his solo music project Ducktails.

Matt Mondanile
Mondanile performing with Real Estate, 2014
Background information
Born (1985-02-08) February 8, 1985
New Jersey, United States
GenresIndie rock
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals, keyboards
Years active2006–present
LabelsDomino
Associated actsReal Estate, Ducktails

Early life

Mondanile was born as Matthew Anthony Mondanile. He attended Ridgewood High School with two of his future Real Estate bandmates, Martin Courtney and Alex Bleeker. Mondanile auditioned the former to join his high school band as a bass player but opted for an older schoolmate with a car,[1] while the latter learned how to play Pixies songs from Mondanile, along with taking guitar lessons together.[2]

After graduating from high school, Mondanile attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where he studied literature, history and art.[3]

Career

Ducktails
Mondanile performing with Ducktails in New York, 2015

While studying in Massachusetts, Mondanile became involved in the local music scene, where he would book shows for his campus[4] and join a number of bands, including Predator Vision with future Real Estate drummer Etienne Pierre Duguay.[2]

After a stint in Berlin to work on his thesis[3] where he became acquainted with musicians such as James Ferraro, Spencer Clark and Steven Warwick, Mondanile became influenced by their method of quickly recording music on cassette and releasing it. Upon returning to the U.S., Mondanile recorded what was to become the first Ducktails release in one day, and released it the next[5] by giving copies of the tape to friends.[4] Upon graduation, Mondanile moved back into his parents' house and continued writing and recording Ducktails material there.[5]

Real Estate

Mondanile kept in touch with high school friends Martin Courtney and Alex Bleeker while each of them had moved away from Ridgewood for college, and would send each other music that they had been working on individually.[6] During a summer break, they formed Lese Majesty with Mondanile's Massachusetts acquaintance Etienne Pierre Duguay for the purpose of being the touring band for Julian Lynch, another high schoolmate of Mondanile, Courtney and Bleeker's.[2] When Mondanile and Courtney moved back to Ridgewood in summer 2008, they starting writing and recording songs which formed the basis of what would become Real Estate.[1] After recording several songs, they were eventually joined by Bleeker and Duguay.[7] Real Estate released their self-titled debut album in 2009 to critical acclaim, with Mondanile in particular gaining praise for his distinctive guitar work.[8] Two subsequent albums, Days (2011) and Atlas (2014), brought the band further recognition.

On May 25, 2016, Real Estate announced that Mondanile had left the band, and "will continue to focus his creative energy on Ducktails."[9] Mondanile later admitted that he enjoyed working with on his own again. "It’s way easy for me to just do anything I want and not have to do the lame stuff I would have to do with them. Like, play a crappy jam band festival in Arizona.”[10]

Personal life

In October 2017, Real Estate stated that Mondanile's departure was due to allegations made against Mondanile of "unacceptable treatment of women."[11] Prior to the band's statement, Mondanile had denied the allegations.[12] As a result of the allegations, Ducktails tour dates in Asia and the U.S. were cancelled by the promoters.[13] In a statement issued by his attorneys, Mondanile apologized for his inappropriate behavior. He also accused Real Estate of violating the "leaving agreement" he signed upon his dismissal that "prohibits both him and the band members from making any negative or derogatory statements about the other, or that may negatively affect the other’s reputation and career," claiming the band came forward not to "protect the victims" but "to protect the band's commercial viability."[14]

Mondanile was previously in a relationship with Julia Holter, who also contributed to Ducktails' fifth studio album, St. Catherine.[15] In the wake of the allegations, Holter divulged her own past experience with Mondanile, calling him "emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life."[16]

Discography

with Real Estate

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References
  1. McGovern, Kyle (2014-02-27). "The Boys Next Door: Real Estate's Subtle Charms". Spin. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  2. Greenhaus, Mike (2012-04-05). "Real Estate's Wonder Years". Jambands.com. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  3. Tetzner, Anne (2015-07-15). "Bad Dates and the Berlin Wall: Small Talk with Matt Mondanile of Ducktails - NBHAP". nbhap.com. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  4. Obert, Alex (2014-12-13). "On the line with Matt Mondanile of Real Estate and Ducktails". Journey of a Frontman. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  5. Steeply, M. Hugh (2009-02-03). "Ducktails "I like the idea of everything being as raw-sounding as possible, with nothing covering up the sound."". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  6. Fitzmaurice, Larry (2014-02-27). "Real Estate: Suburban Dreams". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  7. Stosuy, Brandon (2009-01-23). "Band To Watch: Real Estate". Stereogum. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  8. Bevan, David (2009-11-17). "Real Estate Real Estate". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  9. "A Message From The Band". realestatetheband.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-30.
  10. Rowe, Amy (2017-09-19). "Ducktails' Matt Mondanile finds his own way in Jersey". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  11. "Real Estate Fired Guitarist Matt Mondanile in 2016 Because He Allegedly Mistreated Women | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  12. Hogan, Marc (2017-10-16). "Matt Mondanile Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Multiple Women". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  13. "Ducktails shows cancelled amid sexual assault allegations". The Guardian. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  14. Hogan, Marc (2017-10-20). "Matt Mondanile Addresses Sexual Misconduct Allegations". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  15. John, Lucas (August 26, 2015). "Ducktails draws you into a different sonic world". Straight. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  16. Connick, Tom (2017-10-25). "Julia Holter details emotional abuse from ex-Real Estate guitarist Matt Mondanile". NME. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
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