Monopoli

Bands come and go. When you're featuring 12 bands, compiled over the course of a year because of their talent as well as their local ties, odds are some problem is going to pop up.

Such as one of your featured bands is breaking up.

Such is the case with Washington, D.C.'s own Monopoli, whose members decided to go their separate ways after four years on the local music scene. Alfonso Velez has taken his talent to New York and has released a solo album (see this month's CD reviews). Chaim Rubenstein has done some producing, has worked with fellow talented local Justin Jones and is looking into doing a solo effort. Dave Magazine has joined up-and-coming band The Sketches (also featured in this issue). And Tracy Epperson has worked with Paul Michel, has his own band, The Invisibles, and also plays with other area acts, including Jones.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Rubenstein, who talked about how the band formed, why they split up, their legacy, unreleased tracks and the possibility of any future collaboration.

OT: How'd the band initially form?
CR: It kind of started with Alfonso and I meeting. We worked at adjacent bars. There was genuine chemistry. The chemistry was instant. It was undeniable.

OT: So, why did you break up?
CR: It was the contribution of a few things. We were growing in different directions; we started to drift apart. As a band, we had high expectations, and we weren't as far along on the business side of things. It was never one thing. Main reason was we started growing apart as people and musically.

OT: What is the band's legacy?
CR: As far as bands go, we were a really good band, and the music itself was a legacy. We brought diversity to the scene. We were going against the hardcore punk scene. We were able to play a different kind of music. We showed that there are different kinds of music in DC. There were other bands that were part of it.

OT: You've mentioned the band has about an album's worth of material that hasn't seen the light of day. Any chance it'll ever get released?
CR: You never know.

OT: Any chance of a reunion?
CR: I don't see that happening in the near future. You never say never, but it's not very likely. The split was amicable and we're all still friends. We decided to part ways while we're still friends.

For more info on the now-defunct Monopoli, visit www.monopoli.tv.