Who the Heck is Dave DeMonki?

By Chris Manson September 21, 2006 Issue

During a Tuesday evening solo gig on the AJ’s deck, Dave DeMonki—a/k/a Dave Pretlow—pays acoustic tribute to the Beatles (Norwegian Wood), Neil Young (Harvest Moon), even Johnny Cash (Folsom Prison Blues). His performance schedule also finds him singing and playing electric guitar with the Hog’s Breath Band five nights a week. Pretlow has many other duo and group credits to his name(s), notably the Beach Mice. That band—featuring Jacob Mohr and Brian Peet—just wrapped up a successful summer run at Finz.

“I’m trying to maintain (gigs in) Atlanta,” Pretlow says during a break. “I go up there for open mic things. If I lived there, I could make more headway.” His acclaimed original songs appear on his website DaveDeMonki.com along with his frequently downloaded cover of U2’s With or Without You.

A couple years ago, he oversaw open mic night at KJ’s. “It was fun. It just took a lot of energy to keep it going,” he says. Pretlow’s concept was to have a featured artist perform original material, as well as anyone else who wanted to get on stage. “There was no way to guarantee compensation, so it was hard to motivate some of the people who should have been doing it. It was a great opportunity to get my stuff out. It served its purpose. At the time, it was the only original music place around. Now they’ve got Paper Moon and some others.”

Pretlow joined the Hog’s Breath Band back in March, keeping him way too busy through the summer—“nine gigs plus a week.” He admits the band gig attracted him because it was “like being able to book the rest of the year in one full swoop.” He spends a lot of his time listening to songs he’s working up for the band.

When he lived in Atlanta, Pretlow became a huge follower of Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue. “That was the greatest live music nobody ever saw,” he recalls. As for the local scene, “there are so many good ones here—Mark Gillespie, the guitarist, he and John Hoorman had a band called the Rhinos. John turned me on to a lot of stuff. Jim Fuller (Mike and the Micros), Shannon Wallace, Donnie Sundal, Jeff Caldwell, those guys are great players. You learn a little from everyone.”

Having witnessed Pretlow’s considerable talents on electric violin, I ask him if it’s still part of the act. “I do maybe a dozen songs with it,” he says. He tries not to rely too much on “looping,” a gimmick that enables guitar chords and bass note runs to continue playing while he gets busy on the violin. “The violin distinguishes me. It’s like a harmonica. It’s cool to pull it out for a few songs.” He uses it sparingly but effectively during his interpretation of Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.

Pretlow doesn’t own an iPod, but he does listen to a lot of music on his computer. The last CD he actually remembers buying is Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below from 2003, although he raves about the new Dylan album. “I like Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes,” he says, referring to one of the many New Orleans ensembles displaced by Hurricane Katrina. “I warmed up for them in Mobile in March. They come through here every now and then.” Mike Johnson of the Beach Mice recently introduced Pretlow to alt-country favorite Reckless Kelly.

Taking all the solo, duo, group and private gigs into consideration, I ask Pretlow if there are any songs he absolutely refuses to play. “I don’t do Puff the Magic Dragon.” Yes, he explains, people actually do request that one. “There are certain songs I’d like to do but can’t because they’re so offensive.” From time to time, he’ll throw in Santeria by the great ‘90s band Sublime, but that’s about as far out as Pretlow gets.

“The variety keeps me sane,” Pretlow says of the endless gigs under his own name and the DeMonki moniker. “I just try to make sure I’m in bed by 4 a.m.”

He started to bill himself as DeMonki for certain out-of-town gigs, preferring to see his nom de plume misspelled than his given name. Whatever you call him, this guy is a sunny-voiced singer who evokes pain and heartbreak without struggling too hard. His spare but inventive arrangements will make you reconsider some of your favorite songs, and if you’re lucky, he’ll sing an original or two for you.

Chris’ Disc Recommendations
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: What’s Going On (Shout! Factory)
Audioslave: Revelations (Epic/Interscope)
The Derek Trucks Band: Songlines (Columbia)
Bob Seger: Face the Promise (Capitol)
Bill Champlin: Single (Reissue of 1978 LP) (Acadia)
The Drams: Jubilee Dive (New West)

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