Monica LaPlante has spent the last year expanding the love and support of the Minneapolis music scene. It’s easy to believe Chris Riemenschneider of The Minneapolis Star Tribune crowned LaPlante the “Quarantine Rock Queen.” Unlike most people, when Monica LaPlante was laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic, she saw an opportunity. Finally, she had the uninterrupted creative time she’d previously thought possible only for rich kids and artists in movies. It was only a few hours after dusting off her vintage drum machine, that she realized the magnitude of the situation.
“My apartment turned more into a concrete cell with every thought.” LaPlante recalls. With nothing else to do but sit and squirm, she grabbed a microphone and spouted her thoughts and fears out in a sing-songy manner:

At first I was fine / No trouble spending my time / watching movies, drinking smoothies, doing yoga online.

The result was Compression, an encapsulation of bottled-up anxiousness and uncertainty, set to vintage drum machines, 70s Funk bass lines, and whacked-out synthesizers. And like any other creative would do, Monica LaPlante bounced the track, put it in a folder on her desktop and moved on.

At the urging of her friends and bandmates, Monica revisited Compression. It had become very clear that those feelings of isolation and paranoia were still relatable. Studio engineer Zachary Hollander of The Pearl Recording studio helped Monica dust off the tracks and mixed them to be radio ready. After premiering the track on Minnesota Public Radio and performing remotely from her bathtub, Monica’s song captivated Minneapolis and captured attention of her peers nationally.
LaPlante can’t sit still for long. Between writing and recording her own music, she also has been collaborating and supporting her fellow her bandmates in their own creative endeavors. Monica has been contributing bass and vocals with the up and coming powerhouse solo project of Christy Costello and synth-laden space rock band Extraterrestrials (fronted by guitarist Orion Treon) while human drum machine Austin Cecil holds down the fort.
While the world is forever uncertain, Monica LaPlante remains optimistic about her future. Whatever the next move will be, LaPlante will be skulking in the shadows, ready to deal the next musical punch to gut.