Oklahoma's

No Time To Rest
By Jeff Dennis

A lot of cities across this great nation have trouble keeping their bands around because of a lack luster scene. Oklahoma City seems to be one of them. Naturally, the good bands start slipping away to test new waters — which leads us to Monument.
After a successful beginning back home, these guys have been gracing D/FW stages for over a year now. As one of OKC’s top acts, they’v

		Monument's Kirk Callaway - loving the scene in D/FW Photo: Linda Hollar

e opened for such groups as Flotsam and Jetsam, Fates Warning, Nevermore and Forte.
Around since 1993, Monument consists of Chad Callaway (bass) Sean Kelly (guitar) Kevin Courtney (drums) and newest member, lead vocalist Kirk Callaway. In 1997, Kirk replaced Jim Davis (who sang on first release, Dust). “Jim was going back and forth to Arizona,” Sean explains, “and he finally stayed. So we got Chad’s little brother. Since Kirk’s more aggressive and not as melodic, we had a direction change as well.”
“We’ve also matured in the way we perform and write,” adds Chad. “Although the scene is better in Texas, it’s sometimes tough to get people out to see out-of-town-bands, but we’re making progress.”
Monument recently got a break when they were selected for Baltimore’s Power Mad Festival. Out of 300 entrants, only 26 bands from across the country were invited to play.
“It was mainly progressive bands, so we were a little out of our element — with us being one of the heaviest bands,” points out Sean. “We were also on the Power Mad compilation CD that was handed out at the door, so that was cool. Seigen Records’ President Keith Mensar (also a member of Mystic Force) was the organizer of the event.. The Baltimore gig was a learning experience for us. We all felt we could’ve played better, but we’re always our own worst critics,” clarifies Kirk.
The band has been written up in magazines from all over the world like Metal Maniacs, Scream, and others from Germany, South Africa and England. That probably helped them get picked up by European distributor, EMP, a mail order catalog.
Sean closes with, “We love the scene here in D/FW. People need to support it and the Harder Beat. We don’t have a scene like this in Oklahoma.” Chad adds, “We really appreciate how everyone in DFW has treated us, and we hope to continue receiving the support we’ve gotten.”
Monument periodically plays at the Gusher Club, Abracadabra, The Tattoo Bar, the Sanctuary and Vampire Lounge. When you see ‘em, pick up Resting Place, or order it via brainticket.com and audiogalaxy.com. You won’t regret it!