How Monsters Calling Home went from making a video in a Honda to playing on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

Kevin Bronson on
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It started last spring, when L.A. folk ensemble Monsters Calling Home made a video for their song “Fight to Keep” inside their Hondas (a Fit and a CRV). It was clever and sweet and DIY. And it got the attention of Honda’s marketing minds, who saw an opportunity and drove off with it.

Under the pretense of thanking Monsters, the company invited the band – which is unsigned and with only a demo CD to its credit – to perform a concert last Wednesday in Hollywood for 600 Honda executives. Seemed like a nice break for the San Fernando Valley-bred kids, whom we introduced here in March. Except it was a ruse. When the band showed up for the gig, they were informed there had been a mistake. There would be no executives, but … cue the uplifting music now, please … Monsters Calling Home would instead play across the street, as the musical guest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” [Video after the jump.]

“It was a shock – they totally, completely flipped it on us,” says singer-guitarist Alex Hwang, who with bandmates Daniel Chae, John Chong, Jennifer Rim, Sally Kang and Joe Chun were guided across the street to tape the session for Kimmel, which aired Tuesday night. “It still feels surreal, a week later. … Jennifer really did cry on camera.”

The whole episode (which Adweek rightfully compared to a “Candid Camera” moment) made for a warm-and-fuzzy commercial for Honda, who facilitated the booking. It also meant a week of nail-biting for the band, who had to keep secret their good fortune between the time of the taping and when it aired.

Hwang points out that Monsters Calling Home don’t want to be known as the “commercial” band. “After our video, Honda came out to our show at the Bootleg and approached us about doing something for us,” he says. “I feel the way everything was handled, it felt very natural and very organic. The people at Kimmel were so good to us. And, after all, we do need to do things to pay bills.”

Releasing music will be one of them. Since their initial gigs around L.A., Monsters have done a two-week acoustic tour with Christian rockers Anberlin and have signed on with a heavyweight manager. “This has put a fire under our butts, to be sure,” Hwang says. “Right now we’ve been busy writing songs, rehearsing in our church, trying to get ready to record. It’s exciting.”

Here’s the episode of the Honda Loves You Back campaign titled “Surprising Monsters Calling Home”: