Tuesday 26 July 2016

A Beatles Fans Interview with The Mona Lisa Twins

Its been a while since we have had an interview here but i am glad
to bring this interview to you all with the fabulous Mona Lisa Twins.
How did you first get into playing music?
We grew up in a small village in Austria just outside of Vienna 
where our Dad was running a professional recording 
studios, and we were always surrounded by musicians, 
instruments, sound and music. The radio was always on, 
our Dad was singing and making music with us ever since 
we can remember, so growing up it was a very natural 
thing for us to pick up instruments ourselves at one point. 
When I was 11 I started taking bass and shortly after 
that guitar lessons and Mona started off on the drums. Soon 
we were both visiting each other’s classes too and started 
jamming together. Or at least we tried. It sounded exactly 
like you imagine two 11 years old little kids “jamming” 
would sound like. But the wobbly musical mess soon turned
 into a lifelong obsession.
At what age did you first get into beatles music?
M: Our personal Beatlemania probably really kicked 
off at the age of 13. We happened to come across the 
remastered album collection on Dad’s computer and 
that’s when it really hit us for the first time. Like REALLY
 hit us when we clicked from song to song, from album 
to album in complete utter disbelief on how it was
 possible to consistently write such fantastic, diverse, 
mesmerizing songs. In comparison to THAT even the
 best of music aimed at our generation sounded like a
 sad attempt to come close to what the Beatles created. 
We wanted to find out how they did that, what made those 
songs so special, so meaningful and so uplifting to so many people.
What has been your favorite song to cover?
L: In the studio I have great memories of doing “This Boy” 
because of those gorgeous 3-part harmonies. 
We love these sort of tricky songs where you really 
pick the original to pieces to find out how it’s done.
M: There are loads of songs we love covering 
for our live performances. Especially at the Cavern Club, 
where we play every Saturday night. Closing our sets with 
“Revolution” (The Beatles) and “My Generation” (The Who) 
is always a thrill, or giving our everything at songs like 
“Paint It Black” (The Rolling Stones) or “People Are 
Strange” (The Doors).
Where was the best gig you ever played?
That’s a hard one. We’ve played some absolutely cracking 
shows at the Cavern with an insane audience and a 
real buzz in the air. Some of the shows we did on tour 
with “Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel” last year were 
unforgettable and the one at the Symphony Hall in 
Birmingham will always stand out for me. We were
 part of his touring band while also performing our
 own songs within Steve Harley’s set. Together we
 played a couple of really moving, emotional shows in 
some of UK’s most stunning venues.
Were you surprised by your popularity when 
you first started?
L: We never had any overnight success. Even 
when we started out on YouTube it was a very 
steady and natural build-up and we grew with it 
very organically. So no actually, I wouldn’t say 
we were surprised in a sense that we didn’t expect it 
but it was simply great to see that the more work, 
effort and love we poured into our music the more 
it resonated with people listening. We were however 
very positively surprised by the way people welcomed 
us in Liverpool when we first moved here two 
years ago. It felt like coming home.
If you could pick from The Beatles, who would you 
say you were most like in personality?
L: If you compare yourself to god you set yourself 
up for failure, right? 
Is there anywhere you would like to play, 
where you haven't yet?
M: We’d like to play some more shows in the States. 
We absolutely loved our time in California but there 
are so many more cities and states we’d be thrilled 
to perform in. And playing in South America sounds like
 an absolute blast too. We’ve got many fans there but 
we’ve never had a chance to go over. We promise, 
we will make it there one day!
Who is your favorite Beatle? 
L: George and the other 3

What is your favorite Beatle era? was it the moptop 
era or the psychedelic or what?
M: Musically I preferred the “in-between era” so my
 favorite albums are “Rubber Soul” or “Revolver” but
 what made the Beatles the Beatles is their entire development, 
their ever changing style while never losing the essential magic
 that binds all their music and albums together.  

5 comments:

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  2. Fabulous insight into your upbringing..you are a true inspiration to anyone who can see how far you have come already with all you hard work....Having been inspired yourselves not too many years ago by one of the greatest bands of the last century...some might say history has a habit of repeating itself...you girls are living proof this is happening as we speak..keep on rocking M&L.....love and peace

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  3. Thankyou for the music

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  4. At this point in your careers you're probably better known for your cover songs. I first ran across you on YouTube when I noticed one of your Beatle covers. That opened the door for me, but it is your original songs that really blew me away. You really capture the fun times that 60s beat music expresses like no one else. Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne has done some great songs with a touch of early beat music in several of his songs especially when he worked with Tom Hanks on That Thing you Do. But I personally think your original music on your debut album When We're Together tops anything else I've heard that has been described as Beatlesque. Looking forward to buying your new album When it's released.

    ReplyDelete
  5. At this point in your careers you're probably better known for your cover songs. I first ran across you on YouTube when I noticed one of your Beatle covers. That opened the door for me, but it is your original songs that really blew me away. You really capture the fun times that 60s beat music expresses like no one else. Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne has done some great songs with a touch of early beat music in several of his songs especially when he worked with Tom Hanks on That Thing you Do. But I personally think your original music on your debut album When We're Together tops anything else I've heard that has been described as Beatlesque. Looking forward to buying your new album When it's released.

    ReplyDelete