Once again it´s time that we introduce you to a band with a female vocalist. This month belongs to the young rockers Marhold from Switzerland. Rock-Prog Metal needs a voice that doesn´t sound like a fairy and with frontlady Alex the band certainly found the right person for the job. Alex was nice enough to answer some questions for and tells us what´s the deal with a primitive good-for-nothing.
Hello, guys! Please introduce the band to our readers, who are you and what are you doing in the band?
We are three guys and a girl who besides beer have another passion in common, which is music and we also have a common goal. Samuel Nydegger works the bass, Phil Feller the drums, Mark Gertsch is on guitar and I, Alexandra Poraszka, do the vocals.
What kind of music do you play?
As usual it´s always hard to describe your own musical style. For us every song has its own influences and facets. But generally spoken, we do rocky metal with progressive elements.
How did the band come together, how did you meet? For how long have you already worked together?
First Mark, Phil and Sam worked together in a melodic metal band called Etherial. They, however, wanted to go a more rocky and commercial way and so they formed the new project MARHOLD in 2008. When you add all pre-projects together then it´s already 5 years that those three guys make music together. In March 08 I joined the band as a singer.
How did you come up with the band name MARHOLD?
In Poland people used to call an ugly, disfigured, unattractive and primitive good-for-nothing a Marhold. You can find this name in the same context also in Renaissance literature. But we also chose the name because of the way it sounds.
You already have a couple of songs which can be listened to on your website (www.marhold.ch) and your Myspace (www.myspace.com/marholdch). Tell us a bit more about how your songs come about, do you write together or is there one person who does all the songwriting?
It´s different and it depends on the brand of the beer and its supply :) There´s something about this comment. But we can´t get a good result just by jamming. In most cases it´s one of the instrumentalists who makes a song and records it roughly in his own studio. Then the song is judged by everyone. The better it is the faster I (Alex) write a melody and lyrics. Every song matures with time still. The inspiration comes from bands who we have just seen live or from the latest CDs that just came to the market.
Do you think that in Switzerland it´s harder for new bands to establish themselves or do you think it´s hard no matter from where you are?
We don´t know if it´s any harder. But Switzerland is small and when you´re known in one region, those are simply other dimensions and scales than when you´re known in a region for example in Germany. And also, when you don´t have a big marketing machinery behind you no one gives a shit about you in Switzerland. In Switzerland music isn´t supported, in Switzerland only sport is supported.
Who are your musical idols? Who inspires you when you play, sing?
We admire Nightwish for their compositions, Dream Theater for their “complexity”, the Amott brothers from Arch Enemy for their precision, playing speed and versatility and many other musicians like Alterbridge, Avenged Sevenfold, Scar Symmetry… etc. It´s important that you´re not stuck to only one genre but that your open to other musical styles as well.
What do you do when you´re not in the band (studying, working)?
We had enough know-how and experience in our band to built a house plus legal advice service on top of it :)
Besides Marhold, do you have other musical projects?
We quit our side projects to be able to focus totally on MARHOLD. Sam plays only temporarily with Grey Monday and I play electrical violin in House clubs.
What´s cool/crap about being a musician?
It´s crap that you´re sometimes not taken seriously with what you do. The second crappy point is maybe also the reason for it: you rarely can live on it and you don´t have the chance to concentrate on music wholeheartedly. The cool thing about it is …erm…just to make music. It feels great to make music that you like.
Would you sell your souls to the devil to become famous? Or even worse, would you participate in Eurovision/ Musicstar/ Big Brother?
Yes!!! We would be game. At least for Eurovision. It´s a great advertising platform. And that´s what we still miss. Musicstar and Big Brother are, however, a bit below the belt for us.
With what band would you like to tour?
Alterbridge. We all really love this band and this band would, regarding our favorite bands, be the one that would fit the best to us.
What are your plans fort his year and where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
We want to establish ourselves in our region this year and play many gigs. In five years…let´s see how it goes. Certainly playing a tour with a cool band. The Greenfield festival would be a dream for us.
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