Here is a snippet from the full article in the C’ville newspaper .

Zen and the art of Monkeyclaus maintenance

Or how to record music in the new century
Issue #19.21 :: 05/22/2007 – 05/28/2007

In 1995, on a couch in Boston, Peter Agelasto sat up suddenly and said, “Monkeyclaus! That’s what I’m going to do with the rest of my life!” He then went to India to try and figure out what that meant.

Going bananas: Matthew Clark (left) and Abel Okugawa (right) behind the boards for a recording session at Monkeyclaus. Bands occasionally let their inner animals out to participate in a live recording/interview/social event, dubbed a “Monkey Session” by founder Peter Agelasto.

“Monkey” refers to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, and “Claus” refers to Jolly ol’ Saint Nick. Peter tells me that his Greek surname means “One who doesn’t smile,” and this is the worst misnomer I can imagine. Right now Peter Agelasto, founder and CEO of Monkeyclaus, is doing nothing but smiling as he tries to explain to me just what it is he’s doing out here.

Let’s be more specific. By “now” I mean April 30, 2007, and by “here” I mean in Nelson County, past Nellysford, down the road from where Agelasto spent much of his childhood. Ten years ago, with the help of 100-plus volunteers, he built the small, wooden, barn-like structure that is Monkeyclaus Recording Studio. With at least one-quarter of it made from recycled material, it’s all golden wood and carved sculptural details. The area where the band plays has translucent plastic panels that let in sunlight and make you feel like you’re in the open air. The recording equipment is awesomely complicated; with high-tech mixing boards and brand new computers, all encased in unfinished wood and adorned with monkey statues.

Already a recording studio, Monkeyclaus will soon be a record label, too. It also calls itself a “music distributor and social movement.” Since its birth in 1998, hundreds of bands have been through to record, from Portland, Oregon’s Jackie-O Mother Fucker, to Charlottesville’s own Sarah White. There are plans for expansion; a covered loading dock, a concert stage and an outdoor movie screen. Not unexpectedly, Monkeyclaus want to develop wind and solar power and eventually get “off the grid.”

BY J. TOBIAS BEARD

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