Ace Monroe talks Summer Heat, go-to karaoke songs, and the best part about touring.

Tell me a little about yourselves! How did you all meet/ what made you want to start a band?

Josh: So I met Jonathan originally, I slid into his DM’s, as you do in college, and was basically like “hey man, I’m looking to form a band and was wanting to know if you wanted to jam sometime?” And he was like “Yeah I guess, why not.”

Jonathan: I did not want to, I was a little skeptical at first 

Josh: He didn’t want to. 

Jonathan: I wasn’t very excited. Jack and I lived together in college, so he came into our dorm room and we were like, “Okay, what do you have?” And the first thing he played was the riff of ‘Gospel’, which was the third song that we put out. It was the best riff I had ever heard, so I was like “Okay, this guy means business.”

Josh: So they [Jack and Jonathan] were living together, so that happened very easily. A friend of mine was auditioning for a songwriter thing at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville the same day he [Robbie] was.

Robbie: And afterwards she came up to me and she was like, “You have an awesome voice, but it's not singer-songwriter, it's not pop…” So I was thinking, “Well shit, what have I done with my life?” She said “It’s rock-n-roll.” And then she said the thing that everyone who has been in a band before has said and most of the time it’s false… “I have a friend who has an amazing band and they need a singer.” Honestly, I just kind of bit the bullet and said ‘fuck it, I’ll try it’ and I was just blown away by their musicianship and seriousness. Jack and Jonathan were both 18, Josh had just turned 20, it blew me away how serious they were for how young they were. I loved the music and I wanted to be involved.

What is your “why”?

Josh: I think I can probably speak for most of us when I say we can’t imagine ourselves doing anything else. There’s no plan B. 

Robbie: We’re also just in love with the music. 

Jonathan: I also feel like there's a stereotype with the ‘sex, drugs, rock-n-roll’ and that you have to be a certain way to play rock music and we are wanting to change that to where instead of focusing on the lifestyle so much, you focus on the music. 

Josh: I had a mentor say to me, “take care of the music and the music will take care of you,” so we try to live by that. 

Eric: Plus, it beats slinging food in a restaurant. 

Jack: Which me and Jonathan still do, but I live to travel 10 hours on the road to play a show. Nothing compares. 

If you could tell your younger self something about getting into music, what would it be?

Robbie: Don’t listen to Poison as much and don’t think you know everything right out of the gate because what you can gain from everyone that you work with, meet, encounter, could be what sets you on your ‘real’ path. 

Jack: Mine would definitely be to expand my musical taste. I feel like in high school I was trapped in such a small musical taste and then when I met these guys and people at Belmont, it expanded so much. And that has helped my playing, too. 

Josh: I would agree with that, I’m right there with you. 

Eric: Learn how to work with people. Which is something that I’m still learning how to do. When I was younger I did a lot of cover bands and work for hire stuff and I would let my opinions get in the way of relationships. 

Jonathan: Be patient. 

Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind ‘Summer Heat’?

Robbie: The most interesting thing about this song is that it really was the first song that we have all written together. Up until this point, we were all very much individuals in the way that we wrote music. The first record we put out was fragmented together because it was over COVID and we were all separated, so it was all written separately. 

Josh: So with ‘Summer Heat’, we went out to a cabin in North Carolina with the intention of writing something. We were on our third and final day there and we were all hitting our heads against the wall going ‘wow, we haven’t written anything.’ It was close to two in the morning, everyone was a little slap-happy and we just started going for it. I had the guitar riff for the intro, we were just kind of joking around, everybody was throwing random phrases out, and it kind of wrote itself in maybe half an hour, 45 minutes. The rough shell of it at least. We took it home back to Nashville and worked on it. We let it sit for a while, maybe five or six months, and came back around to it when we were getting ready to start recording. It came together in a really special way with all five of us working together on it. 

Robbie: One really interesting note, after that, everything started to get a little easier. We started coming up with ideas quicker. It was like we opened up our chakras and something aligned. 

How did you come up with your name?

Everyone points to Jonathan and chuckles.

Jonathan: Microeconomics class. Instead of being a good student, I was trying to come up with cool band names… sorry mom. During roll call, the professor was going through all of the names and he eventually said ‘Ace Monroe’ and it was just a lightning bolt ‘THAT’S THE NAME!’ I didn’t know the guy, so I talked to all the guys about it and everyone was crazy about the name, so in the next class after it was over, I went up to Ace and was like ‘hey Ace, I’m Jonathan. You don’t know who I am, I’m in a band, we’re looking for a good name and you have the perfect name. Can we use your name?’ He was like ‘Sure dude, that's fine.’ He’s been so cool about it, he’s the absolute best. His whole family has been out to a few shows, they came out to our Detroit show. We always try to hook them up with as much merch and tickets as we can. They wear it proudly. His whole family wore Ace Monroe shirts to his graduation. Luckily, we have a very good relationship with the Monroe family. If it wasn’t for them and their knack for naming children, we wouldn’t have a name for the band. 

What is your favorite tour memory or performance memory?

Jack: I have two. My favorite performance memory happened just recently. We played a show in Detroit about a month ago and the crowd was just amazing. It was one of those shows where we were just all feeling 100% the entire time. My favorite memory, now, definitely not then, but it is now. We were in North Carolina and we were playing a festival and the festival had booked us this hotel, so we went to this hotel they had booked for us after our show in Wilmington. We drove over three hours, we’re all tired, it's like 3am. We arrived at the hotel and they said they didn’t have our room. Long story short, we drove around all night looking for hotels in this random place in North Carolina, it wasn’t like Raleigh or anything.

Josh: We ended up in Virginia!

Jack: We ended up in Virginia at one point and then back in North Carolina. We went to like five or ten different hotels and they were all sold out. We ended up sleeping in our car at the festival grounds. Jonathan was so uncomfortable in the car that he moved out of the car and slept on top of the UHaul trailer. 

Josh: We woke up at like 6am with the sun coming up and he was out there with a pillow.

Robbie: We all were contorted in different ways in the car. 

Jack: Me and Robbie were in the trunk sleeping. 

Robbie: Don’t leave out the best part, which is what happened the next morning when we met the guy who had our room, like the room was checked into. The first thing Eric and I see waking up, because we were the last two people to wake up, we’ve had a night. We get up and we start walking to try and find the rest of the guys. Five minutes after waking up this guy comes up to us and says ‘hey man, I was the guy in that room.’ He was the nicest guy in the world. And then he said this… ‘I actually wasn’t even there.’ He checked in mid-afternoon to freshen up and then he went back to camp. He was very apologetic. 

Eric: The worst part is, he was so nice that you couldn’t even be mad at him. We were all waiting to get food and he came up to us and was like ‘yeah the next time I’m in Nashville, let's all go get drinks or dinner and hang out,’ He was just the sweetest dude, like I can’t be pissed at you, man. 

Jack: At the time, I was miserable, but looking back on it now, it's funny. 

Josh: I think my favorite on the road memory, it was the first show of the spring tour, we were in Lexington, Kentucky playing with Jared James Nichols. That was a fun one, the show was great. After the show, it was Jonathan’s birthday, so we all decided instead of getting home earlier like we probably should have, we stopped at a gas station and got tacos from a food truck. We all sat outside eating tacos at like two in the morning. I just love all of the moments in-between, late at night, and after the show. 

Eric: So it’s technically not a tour story, but one of my favorite moments was when I joined the band. When I joined, it was through a Facebook ad and I was still living in Alabama. For the first year and half, I was driving up to Nashville to do rehearsals and shows and whatever else. I had not met Jonathan or Jack yet, I had only met Josh and Robbie. I had reached out to them before and then ghosted them and then reached back out in a not very great way and asked if I could sleep on their couch. I didn’t really know them, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go in Nashville. So they, thank the Lord, said yes. 

Josh: I called him [Robbie] and said, ‘hey, do we let this stranger who ghosted us sleep on our couch tonight?’ There was a pause… ‘yeah, why not’ he said. 

Eric: I got wrapped in that way. One of my favorite memories is when I was driving up to Nashville in the beginning and it was the first phone call where I got introduced to Jack and Jonathan. I broke the ice by telling Jonathan I was going to make out with him and he did not seem very amused by it at all. He definitely thought I was weird, but once we got in the room together, we did make out and everything was history from there. 

[Laughter erupts] Robbie: And it’s recorded!

Josh: And that’s the story!

Jonathan: That didn’t happen but, ya know. 

Eric: That’s what he wants everybody to believe! We’ll leave it up to the reader. 

Josh: He’s so red!

[Interviewers note: That was definitely a joke! I wish I could insert a little clip of all of the laughter and joking that went on during this interview, it’s just too good!]

Jonathan: I don’t know how I can beat that story now. Honestly, one of my favorites was opening up for Tyler Bryant and the Shakedowns in Louisville the second time we did it. I felt like I was a lot less nervous because they’re heroes of mine and Caleb is a drum idol of mine. Caleb is just an amazing drummer and he has taught me a lot of important things about drums and life too. Being able to open up for them and share the stage was a huge honor and I’ll never forget it. 

Robbie: My favorite performance has to be tied between two. The first was honestly our first big performance at a venue called Exit/In in Nashville. The amount of people that came out just for us, over two hundred people just for us. People were singing along to our lyrics, it was just kind of cool seeing the crowd be so into it. Singing every song, taking in every movement, every action, and having them so responsive was insane. Tied with that one would be when we played Brooklyn Bowl, which is a really big venue in Nashville, it was sold out. Eleven hundred people came out just to see us, we haven’t done that before. Winning the audience over was definitely the fun part. 

What is the best part about being an artist? The worst/most challenging?

Eric: The best part for me is playing shows, playing live. I think this kind of speaks for all of us because it's the part that makes everything worthwhile; from sleeping on the top of the UHaul trailer to dealing with Jonathan farting in the back of the car.

Jonathan: Oh that’s rich coming from you!

Eric: It makes it worth it to be able to play live and influence people and have them enjoy the show is just the best part. 

Josh: I would agree with that, that is the best part, the shows, the people we meet.

Robbie: I think for me, my favorite part about being a musician and an artist, is the moment you have when you’re doing something and it just clicks. When we tap into something and it feels like magic, I just want to share it. Seeing how people react, going around the country, I just want to share our work with the audience and with each other. 

Josh: And the fact that it’s different every night. Jonathan will throw some improv things at me and normally it’ll make me turn around and smile at him. 

Jonathan: Or he gets mad!

Josh: I give him a mean look [said with a grin on his face].

Robbie: It’s crazy how we can communicate during the set now. 

Josh: The most challenging part has to be the social media side of it. Keeping up with the trends and all that stuff.

Jack: It’s draining sometimes, but it’s rewarding a lot of the time!

Josh: It is draining, but people will come up to us after shows and say ‘Oh we found you on Tik Tok!’ And then that’s when it clicks that what we are doing is working!

Eric: The most challenging part for me is just dealing with Jack [laughs]. 

Jack: That’s also our managers most challenging part [laughs]

If you could tour with anyone alive or dead who would it be?

Robbie: I’m cheating again, I have two. It would either have to be The Replacements or Tom Petty. Paul Westerberg from The Replacements is one of my favorite writers of all time, but they were also the most insane people on the road. They purposely sabotaged their SNL show live because they didn’t want to be famous and I feel like it would’ve been amazing to hang around with them. And then Tom Petty… enough said. It’s Tom Petty. 

Eric: This is difficult. There’s a lot. See, because I could go with what everybody thinks I’m going to go with… [laughter from the guys]. Honestly, anybody that wants us to tour with them, we would probably do it.

Josh: Give us a call! 1-800-ACE-MONROE

Eric: [Leans in closer to the phone] Rolling Stones, if you’re going back on tour, give us a call at 1-256-… [laughter]. I mean, The Stones would be awesome, Lynyrd Skynyrd, back in the early 70s would be so sick. 

Jonathan: Weird Al. [laughter]

Robbie: He’s half serious.

Jonathan: No, but seriously, The Cadillac Three, Tyler Bryant.

Josh: I’m going to say the one that we’ll never get to do because they’re on their farewell tour this year… Aerosmith. I mean to be on their farewell tour, Aerosmith AND The Black Crowes together, would be incredible. 

Jack: The Foo Fighters would be so sick. I just feel like everyone in that band has such different stories, great stories, and that would just be so cool. 

What is your go-to karaoke song?

Josh: Rich Girl is definitely mine

Robbie: Piano Man or Hold On Loosely

Eric: Tequila by The Champs. I could kill that one. 

Jack: Timber by Pitbull

Jonathan: Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan 

What is one song that you believe to be flawless?

Josh: Free Bird.

Eric: I mean yeah, but I was going to try and be more original than that.

Robbie: The Weight by The Band

Jack: I’m going to go out on a limb and say Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N Roses because every time it comes on it's just so hype.

Jonathan: Hard Out Here For A Country Boy by The Cadillac Three

Josh: Runnin’ Down A Dream by Tom Petty

Eric: Somebody Like You by Keith Urban. And every Toby Keith song. 

If you were stranded on an island and could only take three albums with you, which albums would you take?

Robbie: Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones, Definitely Maybe by Oasis, and Let It Be by The Replacements.

Jonathan: A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, Revolver by The Beatles, and Them Crooked Vultures by Them Crooked Vultures.

Eric: Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith, Huey Lewis & The News Greatest Hits, and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles

Josh: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & the Dominoes, Pump by Aerosmith, and Otis Redding Live at the Whiskey A Go Go.

Jack: Boston by Boston, Life & Times by Jim Croce, and since I’m on an island, I’m going to need to get hype, so I’m going to say the self- titled Slipknot album. 

Go-to gas station order when on the road?

Jonathan: Oh, Jack and I have got this…

Jack and Jonathan: Larry’s!

Jack: We’re not vegan, but it’s a plant based cookie and it’s so good. 

Jonathan: It’s really Lenny and Larry’s, but we just call it Larry’s.

Eric: Mine is going to have to be chocolate milk and it depends on how I’m feeling as far as food goes. We got some Lunchables a week ago and that was pretty sick.

Jonathan: I got a Dum Dum.

Eric: Oh yeah, he got a free Dum Dum last night because he tried to buy a beer and they wouldn’t let him. 

Robbie: Well, I drive a lot, so most of the time I get some sort of energy drink, a Liquid Death, and a Slim Jim.

Josh: Mine is just a Coke and Nutter Butters.

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to? The worst?

Josh: The Rolling Stones were incredible. I don’t know if I’ve seen my worst concert yet, I’ve played some bad shows back in high school, but I don’t think I’ve seen my worst concert yet. Honestly, any show that is in a cramped basement is just not a good time. 

Robbie: When I was 10, I got to see The Who. That was pretty cool. I’m also not going to name drop my worst concerts, I have to keep my karma good. 

Jack: The best concert I’ve ever been to has to be The Foo Fighters. I saw them with Jonathan. We waited like 12 hours at a festival right on the barricade just to see them. It was so much fun. I agree with Josh, the worst concert I’ve ever heard has to be one of the ones my high school band played. 

Jonathan: This is such a tough question, I feel like I haven’t seen my best concert yet. I’ve seen a lot of good concerts, but I haven’t been to one that I’ve said “That was the best concert that I’ve ever been to.” I’m not going to name drop my worst concert. 

Eric: I’m kinda with Jonathan, I don’t think I’ve seen my best concert yet. I got to see Electric Light Orchestra and that was really cool. My worst concert was Fall Out Boy in Memphis. It was not simply because it was Fall Out Boy, it’s because our seats were so high up and in just the right spot that there was a slap- back delay. We ended up playing a game to see who could guess what song they were playing because you could not tell what was happening at all. 

What can we expect next from Ace Monroe? Take a minute to plug and promote yourselves here!

Josh: We have a lot of new music coming out this year. We have the rest of the Summer Heat Tour. We’re working on a lot of cool stuff right now!

Ace Monroe’s newest song, Don’t Mind, just released on June 30. Check it out on all streaming platforms and go check them out in concert if you have the chance!