Monalisa Twins
Interview conducted on Msy 4, 2020
by Dan Locke
The MonaLisa Twins are 25-year-old twin girls named Mona and Lisa who are the core of the band. Originally from Austria, they have moved from Vienna to Merseyside in 2014, following their audiences and the industry’s interest in their music. They write original songs in the 60s Beat music tradition, reviving the genre with a fresh twist without sounding pop-ish or trivial. They present the finest Rock ‘n’ Roll and Beat music, skillfully venturing out in Psychedelic, Folk, Funk and even Latin genres, inspired by the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. Their signature features are polyphonic harmonies and a wiry, bright guitar sound.
What is your upbringing?
M: We grew up in a small village in the countryside of Austria, just outside of Vienna. Surrounded by nature and music. Our parents always nurtured the inquisitive, creative, adventurous side in us, which is something we are endlessly thankful for.
How did you discover music?
L: Our Dad ran a very successful recording studio attached to our home so the process of making and recording music was something we basically grew up with. We were always surrounded by musicians and instruments and developed an interest in all things music very early on.
What was the first instrument that you started to play?
L: Besides a few piano lessons in preschool years, Mona picked up the drums and myself the bass when we were about 11. I switched to guitar soon afterwards and Mona started joining my lessons a couple of years later, too.
How did you get your first guitar? And do you still have it?
L: I got my first electric guitar for Christmas at the age of 12. It was a cheap Stratocaster copy from the Austrian version of Aldi or Lidl. The brand is called “Golden Tone”. I loved that thing and remember polishing the heck out of its fretboard. I still have it! In fact, it really wasn’t a bad guitar considering the price and I even used it on many of our early recordings.
What is your favorite current guitar (year, make and model) and does it have a name?
M: When we play live as a band, I always play my Rickenbacker 360V63 as an electric guitar. I just call her “Ricky” … not very inventive but she doesn’t listen to any other name, so there’s nothing I can do about it! I have several acoustic guitars that I love dearly but the one closest to my heart is my Epiphone E-J160.
L: My go-to guitar is a Gretsch Duo Jet. The exact model name is “G6128T-DSV” but I can never remember that. It’s the one with the Dynasonic pick-ups. I made some changes to it over the years, like swapping the bridge and tremolo and I’d say that soundwise, to me, it now is as perfect as it gets.
Do you feel your music has moved to a truer 60s beat, because you have moved to the Liverpool area?
M: I wouldn’t say the move has impacted our sound in a direct sense, at least not consciously. But since we’ve relocated to the UK 6 years ago, we have definitely improved as musicians so we’re better able to get the sound we’re aiming for now. The 2-year residency at the Cavern Club and intense live playing phase we did when we first came here taught us some tricks to get that more “raw” Rock’n’Roll/60ies sound.
How do you see live music in Vienna different from Liverpool?
L: For the type of music we make … RocknRoll-y, folky, bluesy, 60’s inspired things … there is definitely a much more active scene here in Liverpool. Of course, it’s a whole different story if you’re looking for classical music – then you’re spot on in Vienna!
How was it to record your first recording?
M: It’s hard to actually pinpoint our first ever recording. Since we practically grew up in our dad’s recording studio, we have recorded Mother’s Day audio greetings, Birthday songs for relatives, and songs for music class as early as three or four years old. They obviously got much more elaborative as the years went on. But we’ve always enjoyed goofing around in the studio and doing so at home with our own family always made us feel very uninhibited and free to be creative and curious.
The first time you played at the Cavern Club was for IPO (International Pop Overthrow). How did David find you? And what was it like to play in the Cavern Club the first time?
L: We love the idea behind the IPO festival and it always shakes things up at the Cavern Club. They stop the usual schedule and bring in a ton of new bands for the festival! And you are right, that’s how we played our first show there and we absolutely loved it! We kept wanting to pinch ourselves on stage. David invited us back the next year so we assume he must have liked the performance. He was always very complimentary and we have stayed in touch since.
What was your residency at the Cavern Club like?
M: Sweaty. Mostly that, but also incredibly fun, challenging at times and rewarding as a whole. We learned a lot on that stage when it comes to live performing, handling crowds, having fun on stage, adapting and improvising on the spot, staying tight and precise even when your surroundings are chaotic and wild. We felt like after playing there every Saturday night for two whole years, 100 shows in total, we got as much out of it as we possibly could. Of course, there has come the time to move on but we will always treasure that chapter.
You have many great songs. John Sebastian joined you on your single “Waiting for the Waiter”. How did this happen?
L: Thank you! We used to work with an agent a few years ago who sent John some of our material. We have always been big Lovin Spoonful fans (John Sebastian’s band) so he thought he would ask John for some feedback on our music and surprise us with it. Well, what he got back was much better. John wrote back that he would love to play on our next project!
Of course, we took him up on that and the rest is history. To have John on our original album ORANGE is a big honor and we’re very grateful for the friendship that has developed since.
You have recorded three volumes of Beatles music. Have you ever gotten any feedback from either Paul or Ringo on your take of their music?
M: Not directly. We have some common acquaintances and know that Ringo has heard and really enjoyed our Beatles covers but we’ve never been in touch with either directly. Then again, we also never reached out specifically to get some feedback or reaction. We have, however, gotten incredibly lovely feedback from some of the other artists we have covered over the years, including Graham Gouldman (10CC), Peter Asher, Donovan, Melanie, Steve Lukather, or Pete Townshend. It’s very encouraging to hear from your musical idols and we feel very fortunate.
What song do you feel is the greatest song that you have recorded so far?
M: That’s a tough one. We are the proudest of our last original album ORANGE, and for me the closing track “Still A Friend of Mine” is the most meaningful one.
Why did you dedicate the song “Till There Was You” to Steve from Miami?
L: Steve was our greatest supporter before he, unfortunately, passed away last year. For many years he was sort of a guardian angel watching over us. His support enabled many of the bigger productions we’ve done as he provided much of the video equipment and amazing guitars we used. Through his help, we’ve been able to bring some of our more ambitious projects to life without having to sacrifice our creative freedom or sign dubious contracts. There were never any strings attached to his support which is rare these days. So, to give something back we had made it a tradition to record one of his favorite songs for his birthday every year. After his passing we wanted to keep that tradition up, so for this year, we decided on “Till There Was You”, a song we know he loved.
If someone wants to see the true you. What 5 songs shows the real you?
M: The Wide Wide Land – For our thoughts on Family. It was written for the funeral of our dear grandma.
No More Worries Company – For our sense of humor/sarcasm.
In It For Love – For our thoughts on love.
That’s Life – For our philosophy on life.
I’ll Follow The Sun – For our love for the Beatles, without whom we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing.
How was your visit to Abbey Road Studio? And did you do the walk across the street?
L: Yes! How could we not! Barefoot and all (it’s on our Instagram page somewhere)! We actually took that photo when we visited Abbey Road as tourists in 2013. Little did we know that we would record there together with Steve Harley a few years later. We did an acoustic version of “Here Comes The Sun” on exactly the same spot where the legendary “Love Is All You Need” sessions were recorded and filmed – that’s a personal “Life highlight” for me.
Digital vs. vinyl?
M: Write a great song and what you play or record becomes comparatively irrelevant 😉
They both have their merits and we enjoy music both ways on a daily basis. We have never been vintage purists and don’t shy away from innovative technologies but on the other hand, we like to honor tradition, the greats of the past, and quality craftsmanship.
That philosophy applies to all sorts of things – the way we write and record music and also the old vinyl vs. digital debate. We think good music transcends all that, it will move you no matter the device you play it on 🙂
How do you feel about the pop music of today?
L: Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot out of today’s mainstream Pop music. Most of the time, turning on the radio leaves me feeling more down than not. I’m certainly not saying that about current music in general but definitely about most radio pop. I would love there to be more inquisitiveness and musicianship instead of perfectly produced but ultimately soulless cookie cutter music that dominates the mainstream. Music that shakes things up, ideas that let you see things in a new light, art that feels daring, invigorating, freeing, and inspiring. That makes you feel alive. A lot of today’s pop music makes me feel the opposite of that.
How do you feel that the Coronavirus is going to affect the music world?
M: The global lockdown has certainly shaken up the live event industry which has practically come to a standstill, and all of us will have to reconfigure.
In a crisis, there’s always the danger of structures becoming monopolized and more regulated but there’s also the opportunity for people to bypass the system and think outside the box, and I hope that we will see more of that in the future. Artists will find a creative way to make things work. That has always been part of the job description.
We especially hope that the independent stages, venues, clubs, bars, and cafes, and artists will come out well. It will be important that artists and audiences support each other in the future, and we are glad that we have seen a lot of that already.
If artists have the backup of their fans, that will inspire the uniqueness and diversity in music enormously, too, which we think is a very positive outlook.
Are you going to start doing live YouTube concerts like many other artists are doing now?
L: So far, we have mainly been focusing on getting the ball rolling for our next album and creating new videos for the MLT Club, our virtual fan club, and for YouTube. That is keeping us enormously busy at the moment but we’ll see what else we will do down the road.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song means to you?
M: Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’”. I checked out his new single this morning and then went back to his back catalog for the rest of the day. That song always gets me and feels more relevant than ever before.
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
L: If 2020 has proven anything so far, it’s that life can take the most unexpected turns when you least expect it. We have goals of what we want to have accomplished in 5 years’ time. About the kind of songs we want to have written, the amount of albums we want to have released, the amount of people we want to have reached, and connected with, the amount of subscribers/MLT Club members we want to have gathered by then ….
But really, the goal we set above everything else is that each year we want to grow, learn and adapt to new challenges and situations and keep finding new ways we can provide something beneficial to this crazy, amazing planet. There is so much to know and so much to think and sing about. We’ve been saying this for years, but even after a decade of making music and sharing it with people who want to listen, it still feels like we’ve only just started.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
Stay curious, inventive and most of all – groovy!
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