NYC Scene Report – Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart, Monotronic, & Eleanor Kelly

This week’s NYC Scene report features Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart remembering some joyful “Monday Nights,” Monotronic’s skateboarding French bulldog, and Eleanor Kelly with a trilingual treat.

* Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart are putting the finishing touches on a new EP titled Late Nights, the first single off of which is “Monday Nights,” which celebrates the joy of music venue hopping in NYC back in the day.

Discussing the classic rock tinged song in a statement, Haviland said, “The lyric and production of this song really capture the vibe and inspiration behind the entire EP. It’s about the old music scene in New York, a time when you could go out on Monday nights, also known in the New York music scene as ‘Musicians Night Off,’ and bang around on Bleecker Street, or in the East Village, hanging at different music venues, and meeting up with friends, seeing some killer music, or playing your own show that everyone in the scene would come out and support. Sometimes we would even have multiple gigs on the same night, just walking down the street to the next club, and playing another set … you would just head out to the neighborhood to find out what was going on.”

She continued, adding, “This is the New York that made me who I am, and even now, 20 years later, the city has changed a lot, but it’s still my favorite night to play a gig, or go out and see music.”

No matter what day you’re reading this, it’s always a perfect day for some “Monday Nights.” Click play, and feel the vibe of a great night out.

* Monotronic has a skateboarding French bulldog named Snookie in the video for their latest single, “Kids of Summer,” and … you immediately clicked on the video after reading “skateboarding French bulldog,” didn’t you? Hey, I don’t blame ya, she’s pretty rad.

The video was shot DIY/guerrilla style in the streets of lower Manhattan way back in the summer of 2020 (you remember the streets were … uhh … available … then). The song was also originally released in 2020, but on this new version they’re joined by Grammy nominated drummer Omar Hakim.

Monotronic’s bandleader/guitarist/producer Ramsey Elkholy (who also happens to be Snookie’s human) discussed the inspiration for “Kids of Summer” in a statement, saying, “It’s a song about freedom, and youth, set in a chapter of life that we can all relate to, when things are simple, and responsibilities are fewer. It’s also about the unknown, and facing a world of limitless possibilities, while having the courage to navigate through relationships, and other uncertainties with grace.”

If you haven’t already clicked play on “Kids of Summer,” make it happen, and skate along with Snookie, and dance along with Monotronic.

* Eleanor Kelly may have you running to Google to translate the lyrics to her recently released single, “Nili.” Well, that is, unless you speak English, French, and Hebrew, because she sings in all three languages on this one!

Even if, like me, you only understand one third of the trilingual song, “Nili” is still an absolute banger.

An alt-rock gem, Kelly released a wonderfully weird video for the song which she filmed with an iPhone 15 Pro, and used Adobe After Effects to create. The clip is as eye catching as “Nili” is ear catching (ear catching? Is that a phrase? It is now!).

Click play, and check it out!

For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.