The 100 Monkeys is getting set to release new material this summer and is hitting the West Coast of the US and Canada to on tour. According to the band’s press release the band has a live CD coming out:

The first disc of a two-disc live CD titled “Live and Kickin’ Part 1.”  The songs on the CD were recorded during the first-half of the band’s fan-picked 100 city tour.  The band also announced the next leg of their 2010 tour which will take them through the far-western States and into BC, Canada, and back.  “Live and Kickin’ Part 1” will be available July 19th, 2010, on all major download sources.  Physical albums will be available on July 21st, 2010, at select record stores and on the band’s website at the Official 100 Monkeys Merchandise page.

The newly announced summer tour, which kicks off on July 20th, 2010, and runs through to August 6th, 2010, includes (in order) stops in:  Hermosa Beach, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Vancouver, BC, Canada; Fresno, CA; Reno, NV; Sacramento, CA; and wraps up again in Los Angeles, CA.

100 Monkeys is comprised of Ben Graupner, Lawrence Abrams, Jerad Anderson, Ben Johnson and Jackson Rathbone (who appears in such movies as The Last Airbender, and the Twilight Saga).

The music of 100 Monkeys is impossible to pigeonhole.  Their honest and catchy lyrics combined with the fusion of Rock, Jazz, Blues, Funk, and even borderline Country, creates a truly eclectic sound; one which the band has coined “onomatopoetic, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll call it funky rock-n-roll.”

Just as unique as the band’s sound, are their live performances, which feature their now patented “Monkey Switcheroo,” in which band members exchange instruments, often during a song.  Additionally, fans attending live shows look forward to the nightly “Improv Song,” where the band takes title suggestions from the audience and turns it into a lyrical masterpiece.

Recently 100 Monkeys was featured in Rolling Stone as one of “Bamboozle 2010’s Five Breakout Bands to Watch.”

Check out 100 Monkeys at their Official website.

Check out the band below performing live at the Martini Ranch. Life on the road means improvising with duct tape when necessary. The music kicks in around the 2:45 mark.

Here’s the band live as New Jersey’s Bamboozle festival one of the best indie band festivals in the country. It’s the East Coast’s answer to Cochella.