[Mona Wagner]

Hi Rick

The image is supposed to represent what we feel like our MLT Club would look like in real life. It’s not an actual place and like Thomas explained beautifully, it’s simply a whole lot of video editing magic. Green screen and some tweaking in Adobe After Effects. Then we added a bit of background noise and voilá 🙂

We’d love to know where the actual photo (which we edited to fit our vision even more) was taken, looks like a cozy place!

Also about the “who answers questions first” situation. We are working on changing the “Ask MLT” section so that this will no longer be an issue and that only we will be able to answer questions here first. Unfortunately, the forum settings don’t allow us to do that at the moment but we’re on the case. Of course, that’s not because we don’t value everyone’s input but because it would keep this part of the forum a bit neater and easily scannable.

With us concentrating more on the Advent Calendar lately we didn’t have time to get back to all the comments and forum posts yet but we promise to catch up soon and make some useful changes to this part of the forum.

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Howard,

I have to admit, I think I first saw that joke on some silly internet pic and it just stuck with me 😉

We’re happy to hear you’re enjoying the advent calendar! Only 10 days left but we’ve still got a lot of different little surprises in stock(ing).

[Mona Wagner]

You’re the first we’ve heard from who got the card in America so we’re glad they are making their way over the pond!

We appreciate the kind wishes back and all of us say a big thank you!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Mike!

I’m glad you liked our beatboxing addition to Maxwell’s Silver Hammer!

We already had the guitars recorded for that song when we decided to add some “percussion” later on. We were talking through different ideas and “singing” them out loud while listening to the track when we eventually decided to just record them like that. It sounded cool and saved us the hassle of setting up the drum kit too, which was a bonus 😉

Lisa and I do a lot of “describing of musical instrument parts” by singing them when we’re in the studio or practising. “Can you do a boom-da-boom-pagadaga-pow fill there?”

Our first drum teacher might have instilled that in us, he always talked like that.

As to how I/we come up with our ideas? Playing around, listening carefully and trying things out I would say.

Thanks!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Hubert!

We’re so glad came across our music last week and already decided to join us here, that’s amazing! You’ll find a lot of people here that grew up with the Beatles and love them us much as you (and we!) do.

We’ve been hearing more from people in France lately and would absolutely love to visit one day. So far we’ve only camping-traveled Corsica which was absolutely stunning and is technically France but we feel it doesn’t really count. Mainland France (and Paris in particular) are definitely still on our list.

Merci for your message!
A bientôt,
Mona

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Bob!
If we’re talking about the last few weeks, with everything going on, unfortunately “technical” practice time had to take a backseat. That doesn’t mean that we’re not creating or playing music most days because we tend to always be working on some recordings.

But when it comes to a more systematic and technical practicing routine, we seem to go through phases depending on what is going on in our lives and what needs to be prioritised at the time. We try to squeeze in our daily vocal and guitar exercises as often as we can.

When we’re working on a bigger project or more challenging record, we focus more on practising the stuff that we’re working on at the time. Also, when we plan on recording different “unusual” instruments we normally practise song-specifically for that instead of trying to master the instrument from scratch. That certainly would be great and a lot of fun, but we normally lack the time.

So I’m far from becoming a flute expert in any shape or form but if we plan on recording another song with a flute part in it you can trust me to practise the hell out of that part until it sounds convincing 😛

I’d love to become a pro flutist one day but not until I’ve mastered the drums and guitar. A girl gotta prioritise 😉

So it’s all the big ole’ balancing and time management act, and our practicing time ranges from many hours a day to weeks without touching my drumset at all.

[Mona Wagner]

Hallo und Willkommen Frank,

We are glad you’re here and say thanks a lot for joining – have a look around and make yourself at home! 🙂

We’ve got lots of new videos and projects in the pipeline, especially for December!

Groovy greeting and Servus,

Mona

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Rich!

I’m really sorry for not getting back to this sooner. I actually started typing up an answer weeks ago and it turned from a quick overview into quite the lengthy post that I then didn’t have time to finish yet.

I’m thinking of getting the detailed write up done for a blog post one day as there are so many interesting stories and things to talk about and expand on. So for now I will answer them bullet point style 🙂

How young were they when they picked up an instrument to play and which instrument(s) did they start with?
Dad picked up the piano at 8, Michaela learned how to play recorder, melodica and piano in primary and junior high school. Dad learned to play bass and Michaela the saxophone only in 2007 to be able to accompany us for our first live concert where she also played percussion and for one song helped out on the keys while Dad was on the drums. Both of them also learned guitar basics, you can hear them on our Christmas recording from 2009.

When did Rudi get involved with becoming a professional musician, producer and studio owner?
He formed a prog-rock band in his late teens with which he wanted to build a studio together in order to record their own music. Under the workload of actually building an entire studio from scratch, the band kind of scattered, some got married, moved away etc. So Dad ended up building and finishing it himself which he then turned into one of Austria’s most successful recording studios.

What kind of bands did he play in and what instruments did he specialize on and when did he start writing his own original music?
In his main band he played the keys and was the singer. He also wrote most of the tunes. Back then they were very into Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd and he’d describe what they were going for as progressive rock. During his studio days he worked on some solo projects (when he wrote “No More Worries Company” – back then titled “No More Working Company” for example). It was quite conceptual, sociocritical with a rather big and electronic sound. He signed some major label contracts as artist as well as a producer and gained some experience of working in the industry from both point of views.

Did Michaela study music or mainly play in school band?
Michaela played music in her youth and teens but was more into dance and art (she painted a lot and had her own exhibitions) later on in life. She also worked as a graphic designer for many years.

 

Has she written original music of her own and play a part in the Twins original songs?We often come to her when we’re stuck or struggling with lyrics and to get an opinion on songs we’re working on. She helps us shape and refine and points out blind spots we develop in the songwriting process 🙂

Thanks for the questions!

[Mona Wagner]

That’s a good question and something I don’t think we’ve ever talked about much because business and structured workflow is not what many people think of in regards to musicians and art in general.

Like in any successful business or organisation we, too, have to approach our musical endeavours in a structured and organised way, otherwise we wouldn’t get much done on time and feel stressed-out constantly.

Planning and goal setting is key, and we regularly get together to discuss or readjust our plans for the upcoming months/year(s). This is much like you described your work at ad agencies.

Michaela used to work as a project manager in one as well, so she maps everything out into a visual timeline, with sub-projects and deadlines for each of us, from which we then create our personal to-do lists. This gets followed and adjusted along the way.

We all have our own tasks, chores and duties, and over the years we have developed a tried and tested workflow for business and creative projects. Having optimised workspaces and equipment we’ve become quite efficient with the technical and mechanical side of music, photo and video production too.

None of that sounds particularly sexy and artsy but that’s the stuff going on in the background which allows us to make music for you directly and to stay independent and morally uncompromised.

Thanks for the question 🙂

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Jerry,

Thanks a lot for thinking of ways to help us, that’s awesome!

We know about RadioAirPlay/Jango as we had looked into that about 6 years ago, and back then it was a simple pay-to-play (payola) and one of the many “promise everything under the sun” music marketing sites that are addressing independent bands. Unfortunately, in the end they’re nearly always just taking advantage of the millions of independent bands that are looking for that one thing to “make it”.

From our experience in the past, and friends who have paid a lot of money for nothing to similar sites, we don’t think they can do anything noteworthy for us.

But like I said – we always appreciate you guys wanting to help us, and if you ever stumble over something you think that might be of interest for us, just let us know anyway, so we can check it out. There are certainly many things, especially in America, that we’ve never heard about, and we’re always eager to learn something new.

[Mona Wagner]

We shall be looking forward to your questions, Mike! 🙂

Christmas preparations are running high right now but we love going through all the new forum posts at the end of a long day and reading everyone’s questions.

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Rick,

The clock in the corner of the screen probably helped! 😉
I didn’t help Lisa with the editing. Other than a single “more blood” I don’t think I even spoke to Lisa in those four hours. I prefer to let the wizard do her work quietly.
Glad you enjoyed the video!

[Mona Wagner]

We both drive and enjoy it. I just happen to take more photos of Lisa behind the wheel it seems 🙂

And the yellow and red car we posted on instagram a while ago weren’t ours, though that would be pretty cool! We just spotted them parked in front of a park one day and had to take a picture!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Lior!

Thanks a whole lot, we’re glad you’re enjoying the new song and appreciate the nice words!!

We’re happy to answer most questions but some things you’ve got to figure out yourselves. 😉

Hint: It’s not German.

Stay groovy!

[Mona Wagner]

Since San Francisco? Wow, that truly is a long time ago, thanks for sticking with us for all these years. We’ve got some exciting things coming up for the future 🙂
See you around the Club!