k i m • b i r k l a n d
M
onica Metzler, stage name Moniker,
gravitated to music early. From
banging on pots and pans to
singing and recording songs with her Fisher-Price®
microphone, she was born with a talent she couldn’t
ignore.
It began in earnest with piano lessons inspired by
her mother, but she hated all the practice. She then
turned to guitar and took voice lessons before she
picked up the ukelele, bass, percussion, and sound
engineering. Each new interest didn’t start with
tutelage though.
“I’ve always been more of an autodidactic. I’ll
teach myself first and when I get to a certain
point, I’ll seek out help; some structure. I studied.
I got a music minor in college. I did a lot of theory
and ensembles.”
Her newest album, The Cruelest Month, is set for
a June release. The Cruelest Month showcases her
new folktronica sound.
“I started out playing rock and folk, as you d