Hey George, great to have you along.
Just checked out your bands video nice work, it looks the early 90's are back with a vengence.
You're letting the side down hairwise though, the rule is grow it out or shave it off
Can't say much about in ear monitoring as I've never used it, but I can say it's a great idea along with the earplugs to protect your ears. Your young and the better you preserve those tools the better.
Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your success.