The Final Stretch of an Emotional Tour: "Can I Have Some Mohanik?!?"

Last Sunday night, 150 rock fans shook off their umbrellas and entered the smoky, dark and cavernous Yuyintang with a look of anticipation in their eyes. Purple and red lighting exposed the porthole windows and the splattered paint along the walls. Framed black and white photographs of musicians and two large colorful paintings resembling a god chicken adorned the venue. The dungy, hip atmosphere of Yuyintang gives one the impression of a basement meets submarine, serving as the perfect setting for the final show in the "Can I have Some Mohanik" 2012 tour.

Shanghai's legendary DJ B.O. arranged the Trash A-Go-Go tour that began on January 12th and that spanned four cities in China. Three acts from Shanghai, 'The Horde', 'The Moon Tyrant' and 'Banana Monkey' opened the stage for Mohanik, a garage rock band hailing from Ulaanbataar, Mongolia. The three opening bands greatly differed in sound and style, creating a diverse, euphonically pleasing show. The beat-folk duo, The Horde consisted of a mandolin and guitar player who serenaded the audience with soothing, whimsical sounds. Moon Tyrant took the stage with a shirtless singer and barefoot bassist. Each of their songs varied in style, ranging from screamo to eerie vocals, consistent in its command over the audience.

Ivan Belcic of Moon Tyrant

The last opening act, Banana Monkey, put on a quirky and poppy performance that kept the people dancing. In between The Horde and The Moon Tyrant's set, I had an opportunity to interview Enerelt, the bassist of Mohanik.

Bono of Banana Monkey

It was apparent that the exhaustion of the tour had begun to set in on the young musicians, as one of the members sprawled out on a couch in the back room. Despite the weariness, the band incredulously managed to maintain an extremely personable and laid-back demeanor during the interview and off-stage.

Melissa: Where does the name Mohanik come from? What does it mean?

Enerelt: I misspelled the word 'mechanic' in high school. I spelled it 'mohanik'. It doesn't mean anything. We want to define our name, not have our name define us.

Melissa: You've been described as garage rock or punk rock but there are obviously some folk influences in your music. How would you categorize your band?

Enerelt: Early on we played punk rock covers so we got called punk rock, but at the moment we can do anything. We try to be open and make one unique thing. Our songs are pretty different. We have some Mongolian, western music and rock and roll influences.

Melissa: Who or what are your greatest musical influences?

Enerelt: Michael Jackson, classic rock and roll. When we started to listen to music we went back to what those bands listened to. We get influences from the real countryside in Mongolia and the West. Mongolia is a very open country; we were able to get into anything that's on the radio. Anything new, anything pop: it comes in very easily.

Melissa: Do you think that you have a bigger fan base in Mongolia or in China?

Enerelt: In Mongolia obviously. The point of this tour is to enjoy ourselves. It's our first main tour.

Melissa: You last played in Shanghai in April 2011. What do you like the most about performing in Shanghai?

Enerelt: We loved the crowd over here when we played. We enjoy it the most when the audience is enjoying. Everything is positive.

Melissa: What do you plan on doing in Shanghai when you're not playing music?

Enerelt: DJ B.O. is going to take us around. We'll be here for a couple of days after the show. We talked about a one-kilo burrito that's famous on Mondays. We talked about food really.