Thundermonkey Remembered by Gaalen Engen.
There is a tight-knit committed group of musicians in Vancouver who have made melodic expression their life, regardless of the hardship. They are tireless warriors frequenting the shadowed hollows where true independent music is born taking the world and returning it to us in ways that effect real emotion and inner change. Recently, the unseen hand of fate has swept across their rank and file and plucked away portions of their numbers before they were able to register in the collective memory of those not fortunate enough to have heard their music and understood their message.

For instance, and this is the reason for this article, Tarja Ridgewell aka Thundermonkey, integral creative partner and powerfully resplendent vocal front for The Electric Demons, passed away April 14th, 2010, three days before the release party of their debut CD, Rip Your Heart Out!. Her death not only left a gigantic hole in the hearts of her family, band mates and friends, but there is also now a void in the Vancouver independent creative stream of an unknown depth and volume. The average citizen may never know what it has missed and Thundermonkey may be relegated to the memory of those within her circle of influence and a few footnotes in some local musical reference journals. We lose so much in this MTV world of quick-serve-throw-away ideals. Personally, I've had enough of this so prepare for Tarja and the wildly wonderful world that made her Thundermonkey. It's time we remember.

But what is it that we remember? Perhaps I could begin by describing Tarja as she became known to the census bureau – Born 1974, City of North Vancouver, Sex Female. From the day she made her first public appearance in a North Van hospital delivery room, Tarja was determined to sing. This determination combined with her unfaltering individuality expressed itself as early as age six when Tarja would wither some of her relatives by belting out entirely accurate renditions of the Rodeo Song. Yes, Tarja was never afraid to carve her own trail. In 1996, Tarja started her musical career as the lead singer for All Saint's Day. One year later Tarja formed the Liplickers, releasing an 5-song ep. By the time Tarja had begun singing for Fuckmobile in 1999, her voice had matured and was flavoured with Joan Jett, Janis Joplin and Ozzy Osbourne. In 2003, Tarja started a seven year journey with
Murray Howes aka Metal Murr and the Electric Demons were born. Then in April 2010, when seven years of hard work had turned into a debut cd showing tremendous potential, that dream or at least Tarja's vision for it, came to an end. The reason to celebrate and remember Tarja is not because of what she might have done in the future, but because of her dogged dedication to her craft. It is because of Tarja and others like her in the trenches of unrecognized creativity that we have “new” music in the first place. So haul your ass out to a venue and take in some shows. See the magic and the wonder first hand. You can start by attending the Thundermonkey Tribute Show at the Bourbon on July 9th. The Electric Demons will be playing with a tour de force of guest vocals. Special guests for the evening are Kill Matilda and Mystery Point. It's a Facebook event, you can check out the details there. Support your local independent artists! Posted: Jul 7, 2010
In this Article Artist(s) the electric demons, Tarja Ridgewell, Thundermonkey