Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels hope the release of their new self-described Americana-soul album “Until the Stars Came Out” will be the boost they need to get noticed. LaMonaca, 33, grew up near Philadelphia, where he began taking guitar lessons at age 12 from a man at church. Soon after, his grandmother started teaching him piano. By age 16, he was writing songs. LaMonaca eventually moved to New York City where he was lead singer for the band Elroy. Next, music and a relationship drew him to Sweden. He lived there for one year, playing with different bands until he and the woman he lived with broke up. “I asked my ex if there was anything left,” LaMonaca said. “She looked away and I looked at the clock and it was 11:11 p.m.” He knew the relationship was over at that moment. This was the first time he noted the significance of the time 11:11 in his life. “I packed up my bag of clothes and took my guitar,” LaMonaca said. He didn’t know where to go or what to do, so he decided to move in with his brother in Pacific Beach in May 2008. “I sat around for a couple months smoking cigarettes and staring at the walls,” LaMonaca said. He began looking for musicians to play with on Craigslist, hoping to find a band that needed a singer. In the meantime, he was working in the restaurant industry and playing solo gigs at local venues including 710 beach Club and Hennessey’s in Pacific Beach. He credits Pacific Beach with helping him get through his break-up. LaMonaca started surfing and writing music. He arrived home one night and noticed the address on his neighbor’s house lit up. It read 1111. LaMonaca heard the band Maddox Revolution play and liked it. He invited the band to play with him one night on stage. They played “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.” “It was like a blind date where you just meet someone and it works out,” said LaMonaca of his sudden melding with the band. One of the band member’s watched stopped and the time it stopped on was 11:11. LaMonaca took it as a sign that the band was meant to play together. LaMonaca now has the Roman numerals XIXI tattooed on the inside of each wrist, certain that it represents something significant for himself and for the band. The other band members (Brandon Conway, guitar, pedal steel, vocals; Ed Kornhauser, keyboards; Matt Thompson, bass, vocals; James Conway, drums, harmonica) live in La Mesa. LaMonaca, who sings lead vocals and plays guitar, lives on Law Street. Together, they founded Law Street Records, under which they co-produced their new album with Sven-Erik Seaholm. “I feel like I am part of something bigger,” said La Monaca. “You’ve got to get through the journey to tell the story.” The last song on the new CD is, “Eleven Eleven.” The band’s song, “Left Coast Sunshine,” was played two weeks in a row on 103.7 FM and debuted last Sunday on 102.1 KPRI’s “The Homegrown Hour” at 8 p.m. “I really believe in the album,” LaMonaca said. The band hopes to go on tour one day. The album release party is Friday, June 4, at 9:30 p.m. at Marble Room, 535 Fifth Ave. It is a 21 and up event and is open to the public.








