Monica Lee Band

Our Story After 30 years of ambiguity, Monica Lee recently realized something rather terrifying: she’s a closeted country musician. It took her by surprise, but when she noticed the last five songs she had written all fit the bill, she had to look in the mirror and face the truth. Raised in Alberta, she has been running from these roots since she was 19 and first hit the road. She studied Jazz, sang with a big band, a gypsy swing band, toured with Hip Hop artist C.R. Avery and had a weekly house gig in the heart of East Van at the Libra Room on Commercial Drive for 15 years, where she tried on every style and genre and loved them all. “What genre is your band?” became her most dreaded question. To which she would sheepishly answer, “Err … beautiful music?” At long last, perhaps she can now confidently and succinctly say: “Country!” Lee’s songs can be both powerful emotional exposés and fun runaway hoedowns. She has taken to writing songs literally in her sleep, waking up to sing the sleep-stealer into her phone, before drifting back to la-la land. These voice memos are a gold mine of melodies. Her guilty conscience forced a mid-sleep confession in... more...