Dave Monks Releases New Single & Video 'Wild Like Me'

Canadian songwriter Dave Monks released his latest single, "Wild Like Me,"premiering a video via FLOOD. The track will be featured on Monks' upcoming sophomore solo album, I've Always Wanted To Be Me, due out later in 2021. As the album title suggests, I've Always Wanted To Be Me is Dave being open and honest with both himself and his audience, exploring music with wild enthusiasm, unafraid to go in new directions, to previously explored places. The album will arrive on Monks' new label, Ghost Pepper Records, which he launched to not only release his own music, but also look to build a roster of like-minded musicians. Watch + share "Wild Like Me" via YouTube.

Discussing "Wild Like Me" Monks stated, "In my daydreams, I know exactly what I'm doing. When I write a song, it's on a hallowed guitar, on a clear misty morning and I pick out the undeniable tune I've always been destined to sing. And I know exactly what I'm doing when I step into the studio. When I take that step, it is in correctly weathered boots that compliment my correctly vintage outfit. And I know exactly what I'm doing when it shows up in your Instagram feed, via one of those record labels that, when mentioned, elicits a silent nod of approval. My bulletproof image appears on your phone and proclaims: I know exactly who I am!

You probably have your own version of this fantasy. But pretty soon, it doesn't hold up. Whether it's through something beautiful or difficult, we learn that life is too precious to spend it as anyone other than our true, complicated, messy selves. You bare your heart and chase your dreams because this is your one chance and you know it. That's what being "wild" is to me.

"Wild Like Me" was a stab in the dark that took me to a place I wasn't expecting to go. Which, along with making a choreographed dance video, had me flying in the face of that comforting daydream every step of the way. The video was choreographed by my girlfriend and I in my living room and filmed around Toronto on my phone."

Discussing the decision to launch Ghost Pepper Records, Monks continued, "I'm stoked to announce that I'm trading in whatever cool-kids label cred I had and am putting out music on my own, newly founded Ghost Pepper Records. I'm now free to do whatever I want, and whether it's feast or famine, it will be on my own terms. Since it's been clear for a long time that I won't stop putting out records anytime soon, this feels like the right way to buckle down for the long haul. Last Fall I released my side-side-project bandcalledmax's totally uncalled-for party rock record and last month I put out my ever-talented partner and collaborator Alyson McNamara's record 'Let Me Sleep'.

With my own record label, new dance moves, a budding TikTok obsession, and a weirder than ever record on the way, it's a brave new year for your friend Dave. I finally feel like myself and it's funny, you know, because I've always wanted to be me."

Listen here:

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