"The thing I like so much about [munk] is there really is no pigeon-holing this guy. I love that. I love that he has not had to give in to the corporate machine that says you can only create one kind of music and fit into a corporatized mold of what people expect you to sound like. He's free to create and be creative. That's what I believe this new phase of the music business is all about." — Cruze, former Program Director, WFNX, Radio Personality
After the release of his electronic tinged, beats driven debut ANIME SWEETHEART (2001) and the darkly confessional, hard rock follow-up SEVERED (2003), [munk] was critically lauded in traditional press, regional major market radio and national college radio.
The Boston Globe boldly wrote, “[munk] crafts his music with intelligence and panache. Can superstar status be far behind?”
He was invited by, then, Program Director at WFNX, Boston, to perform alongside signed touring artists in the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll concert, was the listener voted feature artist on WBCN’s Buzzcut for two weeks and had the phone lines lit for a solid hour at WAAF after an interview and debut of tracks from SEVERED. The tracks YOU WILL KNOW and IF I from SEVERED received honors in the 11th Annual Billboard World Song Contest, noted as "demonstrations of the talent and dedication it takes to write a hit song" by Billboard Contest Director David Kindred. [munk] also earned Top 30 airplay on over 100 college radio stations around the country.
It was a strong, grassroots start but the landscape of the music industry was changing. [munk] saw which way the wind was blowing with Digital Distribution and New Media, and seized upon an aggressive and experimental strategy to utilize both outlets.
In 2005, [munk] was approached by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff who was hosting a Podcast rapidly growing in popularity called Pacific Coast Hellway. Nemcoff suggested that podcasting, as a movement, needed an irreverent call to arms. In response, [munk] wrote and recorded a song called Podpeople which was originally broken on PCH. The song rapidly made its way to the ears of podcasting pioneer and former MTV VJ Adam Curry, who inaugurated the song on his popular podcast Daily Source Code. Curry proclaimed Podpeople “the anthem for the podcasting revolution”. Virtually overnight, Podpeople saw plays on hundreds of podcasts all over the world, instantly exposing [munk] to tens of thousands of new listeners and a new global audience.
[munk] proceeded to make his music available in digital distribution outlets such as iTunes, Rhaposdy, Napster, Sony Connect, Verizon, Music Match, MSN Music, to name a few. He also made his songs freely available to the fledgling Podsafe Music Network, a site created by Adam Curry’s company Podshow Inc. The PMN was created to offer content to Podcasters and [munk]’s music became some of the most popular.
After 18 short months, [munk] audited his international Digital Distribution for his previous releases ANIME SWEETHEART and SEVERED through 12/13/07 and discovered 12,151 purchased downloads were registered—an impressive number for an indie artist that had not released a full-length album since 2003. It became apparent that leveraging New Media was a sound approach.
In 2008, [munk] was featured in Billboard Magazine, which focused on the success of his New Media focus.
Podcasting was only one part of [munk]’s three-tiered strategy. He teamed with music publishers to get his songs featured in over 100 placements on network and cable television such as HBO’s The Sopranos, CBS’s NCIS, CBS Sports, CBS’s The Young and The Restless, ABC’s One Life To Live, ABC’s All My Children, The WB’s Charmed, composed music for the video game Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach®, the score for podcast drama Shadow Falls and the game show Boned and the list goes on. New Media and television exposure combined with [munk]’s high visibility on the web, as is evidenced on his MySpace page, which has seen over 21,000 visits, is proving to be an effective and assertive strategic response to the woes of an industry that has lost its way.
Imbued with the musical mood swings that are [munk]’s signature, his third independent release MODEST AMONG THE LIVING (2008) weaved its way into a cohesive allegory about unexpected second chances and major life changes. Songs like 30 Days, Grave and Tell Me Nothing Is Wrong lay themselves bare to the reality of existential crises of faith, families that tear themselves apart and the indignity of old age while Awake and Waiting and Superheroes focus on vigilance against those in power and personal accountability. Countering the more serious tones are the upbeat and pop-laden Dirty Work, Sometimes Life Starts To Fall Into Place and the “Beatle-esque” Beautiful (I Know You’re). Also of note is the haunting track I Am, which was a “hit” for [munk] in the Podcast world as the theme to the popular original dramatic series Shadow Falls.
"I think without a doubt, "I Am" has totally cemented [munk]'s status as one of this genre's few legitimate superstars" — Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff of Pacific Coast Hellway
"[munk]'s done it again. Wow! - that has monster smash written all over it". — Adam Curry, Daily Source Code #422
MODEST AMONG THE LIVING showcases the next stage of evolutionary breadth in [munk]'s ability to blend the sonically alluring with classic pop sensibility, as promised in his two earlier outings. He genre jumps at will to reflect whatever emotions he is wearing on his sleeve, plays all the instruments, sings every note and crafts clever outlets for each body of musical expressiveness.
As of June 2010, [munk] has sold over 22,000 paid downloads of his discography through digital distribution outlets like iTunes. He is currently developing two new bands projects (The Radio Says. and My Fellow Americans) and continues to score for TV and Film.
