Today we’d like to introduce you to MonoNeon.
Hi MonoNeon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m from Memphis, Tennessee, and I started playing bass when I was four years old. My dad gave me a guitar, but I flipped it over left-handed and taught myself to play it my own way. I mimicked my dad’s thumping, imitated the guitar players I saw on Beale Street, and played along with the radio in my grandma’s living room. That radio stayed tuned to 1070 WDIA, filling my lil’ brain up with all kinds of Southern soul music that shaped my ears from an early age.
I grew up in Orange Mound, where the Baptist church, the blues and early 90s hip-hop/rap became major influences on my musical foundation. Whenever I visited my churchgoing auntie and cousins as a little kid in Gary, Indiana, I always tried to find a way to play bass or be part of the choir at their church, TarryTown Missionary Baptist Church. Later on down the years (my teenage years) I started playing bass at Olivet Fellowship on Knight Arnold in Memphis, that’s where I really learn about playing bass with a band.
Hearing my grandma, Grandma Liz, sing in church deeply shaped my ear. Listening to her sing alongside my late cousin, Johnnie Morrow, on the organ was another influence.
My dad, Dywane Thomas, played bass with The Bar-Kays, Rufus Thomas, Denise LaSalle, and Pops and Mavis Staples, so I was introduced to the bass and fell in love with it at a very young age. My grandfather, Charles Thomas, was a jazz pianist who played with Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, and Alan Dawson. Music has always been a part of my life, it’s in my blood… I guess!
When I was 11/12 years old I was invited to go on the road by keyboardist Bryan Smith from The Bar-Kays, Larry Dodson would call me up on stage to play a bass solo with the band.
When I was 16, Shea Norman (gospel singer) took me under his wing and really helped me grow as a musician… playing and developing as a bassist in church. I would watch Shea Norman’s left hand all the time whenever I had a chance to play with him. A lot of my early mentors have been the organ and keyboard players from church.
A lot of the recognition and opportunities I’ve gotten has come from consistently posting videos on YouTube and other sites for years. Later on thru the years… Prince found out about me from the videos I posted on YouTube… and Prince hired me to play with Judith Hill and I eventually started playing and recording with Prince at Paisley Park in 2015 into early 2016. Me and Prince played shows together at Paisley
in the NPG Music Club Room. Hanging and playing music with Prince at Paisley Park put a fire in me to step up front and do my thang in my MonoNeon universe! David Fiuczynski is another mentor of mines… his approach to the guitar is an huge influence on me, my time studying microtonality with him is a big part of how I hear music and express myself.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think any creative journey is completely smooth. There were moments of doubt, moments where I had to keep pushing even when nobody was paying attention or listening. I had to trust the process, keep practicing, and keep putting my music out there. The biggest lesson for me was realizing that being determined and imaginative is my greatest strength… just stay committed to this shiet! I’m still in my journey, in my path where it’s only me and God listening. I’m thankful for my mom for always giving me the space to be me… even when we both don’t know what the hell I’m doing… my mom knows I just love this music thang and being creative.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ll just say the thing I’m most proud of is being able to create music with my grandma, Grandma Liz. She’s been living with dementia for a few years now, but I’m so grateful to have the space, the time, and the imagination to still make music with her. Her singing voice… everything about her… is my shiet! My grandma doesn’t second-guess herself when it comes to how she feels and hear music… I’m learning from her!!!
We’re always creating together. Me and my grandma even made an homemade album together called “Crusty Neon Missionary Baptist Church”. Being able to share those creative and musical moments with my grandma means more to me than anything else.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think one of the biggest risks you can take is being yourself. And it’s crazy that being your true self can even be considered a risk because of some social construct, but that’s the reality. For me, the goal has always been to be fully myself and to keep growing in that space without fear.
That’s been my approach from the beginning… even while pushing through self-doubt. When you choose your own path, there’s no guarantee people will understand it or that everything will work out. But I always felt like pretending to be somebody else would’ve been the bigger risk, and that just wasn’t worth it.
My time with Prince and being around George Clinton taught me that it’s really okay to be exactly who you are. Just own that shiet!
I’ve always trusted my instincts, stayed creative, and let the music, sounds and my fashion, my heart and my ears lead me. Sometimes that means taking chances and opportunities that don’t make sense to everyone else… shiet sometimes it don’t make sense to me… but I’ve learned that if it feels honest, it’s worth taking the chance… I’m just out here living in my imagination.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mononeon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mononeon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMonoNeon
- Twitter: https://x.com/mononeon
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/themononeon
- Other: https://dywanethomasjr.bandcamp.com/music
