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MSJ: This interview is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Can you catch the readers up a bit on the history of the band? |
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Mörglbl is a ten year old band. We started with Ivan on bass and Jean-pierre on drums after I had been drafted for a guitarist compilation. I was looking for a band to perform the songs I had written at that time, and it quickly became obvious we would fit together quite well. We recorded two CD’s in 1998 and 1999, and after five intense years of touring, we needed a little break to focus on personal projects. But three years ago, we were asked to do a small reunion tour in France, and started to write some material together that ended up on our newest release, Grötesk.
Now the band is back on track to promote this CD with a new drummer, Aurélien Ouzoulias, and we are about to invade the world!
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MSJ: I know artists are not crazy about having their music pigeon-holed, but how would you describe your sound? |
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I like to call it jazz music for deaf people, or humoristic metal jazz, or music hall funny non sense structured noise... Well, I don't really know how to describe it ...
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MSJ: Who do you see as musical influences, both personally and as a band? |
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Pantera, Primus and Allan Holdsworth! But, of course, there are so many things going on around us musically, that the range is much wider than this! Let's say we are influenced by the groove of dirty funk, with a punk metal energy, covered with layers of chords that require more than one finger to be played...
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MSJ: Where did the name come from? |
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The first group of letters that came to my mind when I was asked for a band's name...
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MSJ: What’s ahead for you guys? |
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Touring wherever we can to promote the release by LaserCD of our new CD! We have quite a lot of things going on all around the world. We will also work on new material, as well as reissuing our first CDs. I will personally work on an instructional DVD called “Kartoon Guitar.”
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MSJ: Are there musicians you’d like to play with in the future? |
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I think I would die to trade some guitar lines with Jeff Beck, but I guess my whole body would shake without control if I proposed to do it!
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MSJ: Do you think that downloading of music is a help or hindrance to the careers of musicians? It’s been said by the major labels that it’s essentially the heart of all the problems they are having in terms of lower sales – would you agree? |
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I think the way people listen to music has changed, and internet has helped unknown artists to spread the news about their existence and has changed the rules of the business. But still, I think the real music fans still like the idea of having a "real” CD in their hands. I guess big record companies are in it for the money, and they feel like their share is going down because the audience they are looking for just listens to music the way they would eat a burger in a fast food. Independent labels, like LaserCD are music supporters, and they bet on quality rather than quantity, so they keep providing their customers with top quality stuff, which helps keeping their sales at a very decent level.
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MSJ: In a related question how do you feel about fans recording shows and trading them? |
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I'm OK with it when the artist has been asked before. And the least someone who records one of our shows can do is to provide us with a copy so we can give our approval to the use of that recording. Anyway, I guess we can't have control on this, and it gives us a good reason to try to perform at our best each time!
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MSJ: What was the last CD you bought, or what have you been listening to lately? |
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Dillinger Escape Plan latest release.
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MSJ: What about the last concert you attended for your enjoyment? |
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It was Sleepytime Gorilla Museum! Actually, I was playing in the same festival in Holland, but they were performing after us, so I guess I transformed myself from musician into fan, and just watched them as a regular guy in the audience!
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MSJ: What has been your biggest Spinal Tap moment? |
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Running from one side of the stage to the other side, and forgetting that that night I had a very short cable… The amps came with me, but stopped all of a sudden reminding me that amps have no feet…
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MSJ: Finally, are there any closing thoughts you’d like to get out there? |
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Well, I guess we are very lucky that some people like those at LaserCD or at Blue Mouth Promotions (our US management) and Mmad Management (our French management) support us and believe that you can still come up with strange non commercial music and I am full of gratitude to them! Being a musician is a dream, but without those people, it can turn into a real nightmare!
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