[Mona Wagner]

Hi Paul!

Haha, yes it is a neat little addition to our duo sessions that I came across a while ago. Here is a link to one of them: https://www.thomann.de/gb/lp_lp188_foot_tambourine.htm

I’ve also stepped/tapped on a regular tambourine on the ground before but they tend to slip around that way. I can recommend the little foot tambourines (there is a shaker, too) for acoustic settings, and if you’re playing around with a looper I’m sure they can come in really handy (if you find a good way to mic them up)! Let me know if you end up getting one!

Good luck with your recordings 🙂

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Darryl!

As far as we know only one of our current neighbours knows who we are and we asked them to help us maintain a low profile. God knows what the others must be thinking about our strange sleeping hours and noises coming from the studio!

So far we haven’t had any real issues, touch wood!

The noise complaint came in during the first few months of living in the UK during a hot summer. We hadn’t had an air conditioner installed yet and had to rehearse in a hot conservatory for an upcoming show …. with the windows open. ????

Since then it has been a peaceful coexistence with our neighbours!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Jung!

Thanks! As with most things we do, our getting-in-shape these past few years was basically a DIY project, initially fuelled by blind enthusiasm.

We’ve never had a personal trainer or customised training program but after buying some weights, running shoes, etc. we have done a lot of research over the years and learnt a lot about training and nutrition. By now we have a basic understanding of these things and have stuck with regular exercise for at least 4 or 5 years.

For the marathon we followed one of the many free training programs on the internet (this one) and now we just run a few times a week for “fun” whenever we find the time.

We often do the split training weight lifting routines from Fitness Blender, some Yoga with Adriene and we also do weekly HIIT training with a fitness group called Metafit.

While we can recommend all of that, I think it’s just most important to do something, even if it’s just a walk around the block, every day. Just to build a habit of looking at daily movement as something that’s non-negotiable 🙂

I started off with little challenges like 30 days of yoga or learning to do a handstand etc. And if you’re the type of person that likes group activities, I think finding a fitness class that you enjoy or a running buddy can be huge.

All the good things they say about exercising – mental clarity, focus, happiness … we can absolutely vouch for that and I think it has made us more confident, balanced and productive. 🙂 I’m not sure if it made us more creative but it’s easier to channel creativity into actual projects.

I’m so glad we started this journey and I think it made everything else in our lives easier and more enjoyable!

[Mona Wagner]

I’m not growing any vegetables this year but there are loads of flowers which make me excited every time I look outside.

We tried a few new things like growing Astilbes from bulbs and loads of Begonias, and it all worked surprisingly well. I just wish we’d get a little more sun until the end of summer but apparently a sunny stretch is around the corner, so fingers crossed 🙂

[Mona Wagner]

The guitar gauge Stevie Ray Vaughn used was 13, which sounds insane to most guitarists as they are extremely hard to play but reward you with a very full tone. I couldn’t play them well, as I usually play 9s and Lisa plays 10s. But we are not overly picky.

We talked about our favourite types of strings and gauges in the Q&A video at minute 5:30: https://test4.monalisa-twins.com/gear-q-a/

Have a groovy day!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Tom,

Thank you so much for the question and the interest in a Duo Session DVD. We get a lot of requests to make DVDs for our live shows, duo sessions, music videos etc. but unfortunately the answer is always the same: Likely not.

Unfortunately, it is very complicated (and expensive) to get the rights for video productions (unlike for CDs) when using cover songs. It is also a dying medium which wouldn’t allow us to produce and sell a lot of them. So all in all it would be very hard for us to make any profit from releasing more DVDs on top of being very complicated to produce.

Which is part of the reason we’re posting so many videos to the Club instead.

We hope that makes sense ♥

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Walter,

I think it adds a lot in an acoustic setting. A little bit of amplified foot tapping can make quite the difference, I was surprised too! 😉

When you play with a drummer or percussionist it’s redundant but I’ve seen a stomp box being used quite effectively for a lot of solo artists and duos that only use guitars.

I bought it online here in the UK a few years ago. The Wazinator I’ve got is quite large so if you want to travel light it’s probably not the best choice of stompbox, and it takes some heavy equalisation to make it sound decent 🙂

Let me know your experience if you end up getting one!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Jeffery!

Our signatures are on the wall of the backstage area and we also signed the ceiling of the front room during our first gig there! I found this photo of Lisa and our drummer Phillip lifting up Lisa to do it.

It’s a fun tradition, and the place is covered in hundreds if not thousands of them. If someone ever goes looking for them, good luck! 😉

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Bill, hi Maddie,

We just had that song playing a couple of days ago, it’s such a standout track!

Covering someone as unique as Janis Joplin is always a challenge and I’m not sure if we’ll ever give “Piece Of My Heart” a go … but it’s an interesting idea and I’ll let it bounce around my head for a few days!

All the best to both of you!

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Bert and welcome to the MLT Club!

We thank you for supporting our work by being here and send lots of peace & love to Rotterdam …. Or anywhere, Liverpool or Rome … 😉

Stay groovy,

Mona & Lisa

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Dale!

You’re right, we filmed the video outside of our own four walls for once, at a country house we rented for several days. It was perfect! We’ll talk more about the location in posts and videos to come but it was great being “out & about” again. The editing is complete now and we just released the video in the MLT Club.

We hadn’t shot a video “on location” since “All I Want Christmas To Be” and it was so fun to experiment with all these new backdrops! The house looked surreal and every room was unique and perfect for what we needed. We’ll be sharing loads of photos soon!

There’s pros and cons to filming in a place so far away but luckily we didn’t forget anything important so we could work there in peace for several days and nights in a row 😉

Have a great week!

[Mona Wagner]

WELCOME Graham!!

We thank you for deciding to stop by here 🙂 We played The Dome in Doncaster back in 2015 during our tour with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and remember it being a really fun show. Perhaps we will be back one day!

We hope you’ll enjoy it here and send all the best to Conisbrough!

Mona & Lisa

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Rick,

Thank you so much for the kind words and introduction! ‘These ladies’ say a big hello – and thank you for being here! 🙂

We’re grateful YouTube sent you this way and we hope you’ll enjoy this groovy community here in the MLT Club! Believe us when we say we also wish we could put out new music on a daily basis … that would be amazing!

Unfortunately, with there only being 8 days a week (????) and 24 hours in a day we have to limit new MLT Club content to twice a week but you will find a lot of exclusive music here ready to catch up on while we keep working on the new album.

We send all the best to Michigan and hope to make it there for a gig one day!

Mona & Lisa

[Mona Wagner]

Sorry guys, it’s fixed now! We overlooked this at the time but just found out what the error was and updated the audio file. It should all be playing fine now 🙂

[Mona Wagner]

Hi Bill, Hi Maddie,

We both love a good amusement park, although maybe I enjoy them a slight bit more than Lisa. When we visited California for the first time we had the chance to go to “Six Flags” in LA which had by far the best roller coasters from anywhere we had visited. It’s one of the things Americans do really well! ???? We also went to Universal Studios and Disneyland, and they all had really unique and fun rides.

I found this clip from “Six Flags” in 2007 when we went on the “Goliath” ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwJWucFf5kI

I love all types of thrill rides … the more scared you are while queuing the better 😉

I remember bumper cars from the local fairs from where we grew up – If you could evade all other cars for a full round you would get to go again for free which became my mission for the entirety of the evening!

If we ever make it to Pittsburgh we’ll have to try and stop by at Kennywood Park!

All the best to you both, I hope Maddie’s softball playing is going well!