MonaLisa Twins

Last updated

MonaLisa Twins
Born Vienna, Austria
OriginAustria
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriters
Instrument(s)
Years active2007–present
Website monalisa-twins.com

MonaLisa Twins are a pop rock band, fronted by twin-sister singer-songwriters Mona Wagner (vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, harmonica, flute, recorder) and Lisa Wagner (vocals, lead guitar, ukulele, cello).

Contents

Biography

The twins were born in Vienna, Austria and are based in Liverpool, in the United Kingdom. Known for their YouTube video covers of songs by the Beatles and other 1960s bands, many of which have been issued on a series of albums, they also have released three albums of original songs, inspired by the music of the 1960s. They have toured with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, performed at the Glastonbury Festival, collaborated with American musician John Sebastian, and held a two-year residency at the Cavern Club. [1]

The band's producer is the twins' father, Rudolf Wagner, who also plays the bass and piano, and co-writes and arranges their music, which is recorded in the Wagner family's own music studio. [2] Rudolf's wife and the twins' stepmother, Michaela Wagner, is the band's manager and assistant. The family lived in a small village in the Groß-Enzersdorf municipality near Vienna until 2014, when they moved to a suburb of Liverpool.

The band typically has a four-person line-up for live concerts, with Mona and Lisa Wagner mostly playing guitars, and some harmonica and ukulele, respectively, on stage, while being backed by different bassists and drummers. In 2012 and 2013, while they were still based in Austria, those musicians were usually Michael Mozeth (bass) and Philipp Wolf (drums). Since 2014, including the two-year residency at the Cavern Club, they have been backed by several local British musicians.

Musical style and development

Genres

The Twins started interpreting rock and roll hits from the 1960s and 1970s, including some folk songs. Throughout their career, they have created their original songs in the style of rock & roll and rock pop, but also ballads, paired with quality video clips. Both work symbiotically as a team in their audio and video recordings.

Influences

The MonaLisa Twins have been particularly influenced by the Beatles. [3] They are known for their covers of Beatles hits, but are also influenced and inspired by rock and pop from other artists and bands of the time. Their original music has also been primarily moved by rock and pop from the 1960s and 1970s, usually having the presence of an electric guitar in both their covers and original songs.

The Beatles' press officer Tony Barrow has praised the duo, particularly their vocal harmonies. [3]

Discography

Albums

EP

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Quarrymen</span> British skiffle/rock and roll band

The Quarrymen are a British skiffle/rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the Quarrymen took their name from a line in the school song of their school, the Quarry Bank High School. Lennon's mother, Julia, taught her son to play the banjo, showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars in a similar way to the banjo, and taught them simple chords and songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lovin' Spoonful</span> American folk-rock band (1964–1968)

The Lovin' Spoonful is an American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band was among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influenced many of the contemporary rock acts of their era. Beginning in July 1965 with their debut single "Do You Believe in Magic", the band had seven consecutive singles reach the Top Ten of the U.S. charts in the eighteen months that followed, including the number-two hits "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping "Summer in the City".

Power pop is a subgenre of rock music and a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and cheerful sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment. The sound is primarily rooted in pop and rock traditions of the early-to-mid 1960s, although some artists have occasionally drawn from later styles such as punk, new wave, glam rock, pub rock, college rock, and neo-psychedelia.

The Merseybeats are an English band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other similar artists.

Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, traditional pop and music hall. It rose to mainstream popularity in the UK and Europe by 1963 before spreading to North America in 1964 with the British Invasion. The beat style had a significant impact on popular music and youth culture, from 1960s movements such as garage rock, folk rock and psychedelic music.

A cover band is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the format marketable for smaller venues, such as pubs, clubs or parks. The bands also perform at private events, for example, weddings and birthday parties, and may be known as a wedding band, party band, function band or band-for-hire. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is often called a top 40 band. Some bands, however, start as cover bands, then grow to perform original material. For example, the Rolling Stones released three albums consisting primarily of covers and then recorded one with their own original material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhythm section</span> Group of musicians within a music ensemble or band

A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm section is often contrasted with the roles of other musicians in the band, such as the lead guitarist or lead vocals whose primary job is to carry the melody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Best</span> English club owner

Alice Mona Best was a British music club proprietor, best known as the owner of The Casbah Coffee Club, a club in Liverpool which served as a venue for rock and roll music during the late 1950s and 1960s. Among the bands to play at The Casbah was the Beatles, for whom her son Pete Best was a drummer at the time. Mona Best also had two other sons, John Rory, and Vincent "Roag" Best. It was later confirmed that Roag's father was Beatles' associate, music executive Neil Aspinall, although he was not registered as the father on Roag's birth certificate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Storm</span> English musician (1938–1972)

Rory Storm was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contemporaries of The Beatles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Hurricanes before joining the Beatles in August 1962.

"Chains" is a rhythm and blues song written by husband-and-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was a hit for the American girl group the Cookies in 1962 and for the English rock band the Beatles, who recorded the song for their debut album in 1963. King recorded a solo version of "Chains" for her 1980 album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf School</span> English art rock/new wave band

Deaf School is an English art rock/new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty Flight Rock</span> 1957 single by Eddie Cochran

"Twenty Flight Rock" is a song originally performed by Eddie Cochran in the 1956 film comedy The Girl Can't Help It, and released as a single the following year. The song was published in 1957 as written by Ned Fairchild and Eddie Cochran, by American Music Incorporated and Campbell, Connelly and Company. Cochran's contribution was primarily on the music. His version is rockabilly-flavored, but artists of a variety of genres have covered the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Audreys</span> Australian blues and roots band

The Audreys are an Australian blues and roots band which formed in Adelaide, in 2004 by founding mainstay, Taasha Coates on lead vocals, melodica, harmonica and ukulele. They have released four studio albums, Between Last Night and Us, When the Flood Comes, Sometimes the Stars and 'Til My Tears Roll Away. Founding guitarist, Tristan Goodall, died on 2 July 2022, aged 48, of an unspecified illness.

The Big Three were a Merseybeat group from Liverpool. They are best known for their 1963 recording of "Some Other Guy" and their close connection to The Beatles.

Liverpool Express are a British pop rock band formed in 1975. They are best known for charting hit songs such as "You Are My Love", "Every Man Must Have a Dream", "Hold Tight" and "Dreamin'".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casbah Coffee Club</span> Rock and roll music venue in Liverpool, England

The Casbah Coffee Club, officially Casbah Club, was a rock and roll music venue in the West Derby area of Liverpool, England, that operated from 1959 to 1962. Started by Mona Best, mother of early Beatles drummer Pete Best, in the cellar of the family home, the Casbah was planned as a members-only club for her sons Pete and Rory and their friends, to meet and listen to the popular music of the day. Mona came up with the idea of the club after watching a TV report about the 2i's Coffee Bar in London's Soho where several singers had been discovered.

The Hideaways are a rock group that flourished in the mid-1960s as part of the Merseybeat era, and played at The Cavern Club over 250 times, more frequently than The Beatles; they are also noted for their connection to the Timex Watches advertising campaign of the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cavern Club</span> Music venue in Liverpool, England

The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Adler (rock musician)</span> American singer-songwriter

Jerry Adler is an American rock musician, singer and record producer based in New York City. He is best known as frontman and guitarist of former New York indie rock group The Blam, who wrote three albums before disbanding in 2005. He founded the solo folk project Flugente (pronounced FLOOG-en-teh) in 2006, and released two minimalist albums under the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Band (rock and pop)</span> Musical ensemble which performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre

A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. Another common formation is a vocalist who does not play an instrument, electric guitarist, bass guitarist, and a drummer. Instrumentally, these bands can be considered as trios. Sometimes, in addition to electric guitars, electric bass, and drums, also a keyboardist plays.

References

  1. "MonaLisa Twins Biography", MonaLisa Twins, retrieved August 30, 2019
  2. UK band MonaLisa Twins talk background, '60s style songwriting, and new album 'ORANGE', Guitar Girl Magazine, November 24, 2017, retrieved August 30, 2019
  3. 1 2 "Mona Lisa Twins take the music world by storm". Liverpool Echo. September 6, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2023.