LES MONSTRES SACRÉS

Following one of our “Top Monsters” features—and Kai Danzberg’s strong showing in it—we thought it would be interesting to get to know him better. Thanks to Kai and Jean-Jacques, who arranged this interview, we’ve now done just that. Thanks to both of them! Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and what examples can you tell us about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you? My biggest influences are The Beatles, Jellyfish, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen & Michael Jackson. They completely changed the way I think about music. A lot of their songs rely on more complex arrangements and rich vocal harmonies, which really inspires me. That said, I don’t think a song always needs to be complex to be good. I tend to layer and harmonize my vocals in almost every song I write — it’s just something that feels natural to me. I wouldn’t say there’s a specific artist I dislike. What I do find frustrating is when everyone follow...

Photo by Morten Strøm Aujourd'hui est un grand jour pour les Monstres Sacrés, nous avons l'honneur de vous proposer une interview des Dahlmanns qui, il ne faut pas l'oublier, ont écrit selon Little Steven "the coolest song in the world". Merci à eux et Jean-Jacques pour avoir goupillé cette interview. Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and can you tell us examples about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you? “There are many artists who have influenced me, both in the past and still today. But if we’re talking about the one who has meant the most and truly shaped me and my music, we have to go back to when I was nine years old. That’s when I bought Ramones – Leave Home , and after that there was no turning back. Everything I did as a kid and teenager revolved around the Ramones. When I was 14, I even made a chart based on It’s Alive , where I noted every drum and cymbal hit, tried to calculate...

ODD MARSHALL, do you remember him? He was number 5 in one of our latest Top Monstres . Jean-Jacques was very eager for him to answer our questions. Here it is, done! Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and what examples can you tell us about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you? Early on it was Oldies... pre-Beatles rock. We had an old truck that only had an AM radio that only played that kind of music. I had no choice. It was the only station available. But I remember hearing things that perked my interest, like Andy Kim. Or even little lyrical patterns in songs like ‘Book of Love’. Learning without really understanding what’s happening. Some childhood friends tried to rope me into a lip-sync contest for New Kids on the Block and I remember thinking I don’t like this music and I don’t want to learn dance moves. So, somehow, my taste had already been formed. Pearl Jam’s Ten a...

  Jean-Jacques, who is a huge blues fan, had the brilliant idea of reaching out to Omar Coleman and Igor Prado following our Top Monsters feature. Here’s the result—thanks to all three of you. Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and what examples can you tell us about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you? OC: Honestly, the artists who’ve influenced me the most are Junior Wells, Johnny Taylor, Marvin Sease, Al Green, Sugar Blue, and Rico McFarland. Their music taught me how to put real emotion into every note and tell a story with sound. On the flip side, I don’t really like artists who rely just on image or gimmicks to influence me—I respect dedication, learning your craft, and showing up every day. IP: I’d say the masters of Blues music have influenced me the most—legendary figures like T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Albert Collins, and Albert King. I’m also deeply influenced by some of the lesser-known greats lik...

At Les Monstres Sacrés, we love Australian bands. It just so happens that The Volcanics are one of them. Bobbie B. answers our questions. Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and can you tell us examples about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you? 90’s grunge and alternative bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey and The Vines got me into music as a teenager but all the classics like Sabbath, Bowie, the Stones inspired me to start playing guitar and start a band. Great rock and blues guitarists like Hound Dog Taylor and Rory Gallagher inspired me to take my playing and singing to a more rocking level. I like most styles of music however I’m not into Kpop or boy bands or any of that sort of fabricated Top 40 rubbish, I will never be influenced by any music that’s really commercial and conservative or basic in the lyrics. Intellectual question: Which non-musical artist (fil...

Il existe une multitude de groupes français. Il existe une multitude de groupes marseillais. Par contre, il n'existe qu'un seul groupe nommé Flathead, du moins en France 😉. Le seul et unique Téo de Flathead a bien voulu nous parler de tout cela ! All star band" from Marseille " : vous vous définissez comme cela dans votre bio. Il est vrai que la liste de vos anciennes aventures fait figure de bottin (Tomy & the Cougars, Sergent Peppers, Calvitie, Sunsick, Pogy & les Kefars, Technopolice, Seppuku, Hofmann Family Blues Experience, La Flingue...) qu'est-ce qui a fait la réunion de tous les acteurs (5) du groupe actuel ? David Hofmann et moi on est amis depuis les années lycée, mais on avait jamais joué ensemble. On s’est rapproché après la fin de mon groupe Tomy & The Cougars vers 2018/2019 et on a commencé à jouer de la guitare comme ça sans trop d’idées. Au final on a écrit pas mal de bons morceaux (ou réécrit des morceaux de nos anciens groupes qui n’...

      Mick Clarke fréquente avec sa guitare les scènes britanniques et mondiales depuis les années 60 et continue à sortir des disques portant haut la flamme du blues. Il fait partie de ses musiciens qui font la gloire de la scène blues et rock du Royaume Uni. Il a accepté avec enthousiasme et modestie de répondre à nos questions. Dire que nous en sommes honorés est un euphémisme.   Mick Clarke Web   Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and what examples can you tell us about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you?  When I was first starting as a musician I was lucky because it was the 1960s in London and I was able to see some of the great British blues guitarists in small clubs.. Clapton, Green and Jeff Beck. And then I got to tour with the great Freddie King, so I learned the American blues first hand. And I also loved the playing of BB King, Albert King and particularly Otis Rush. Tho...

  Space Jaguar (en fait Marc Grassick) bénéficie de la complicité amicale d'Andrew Taylor (Dropkick ...) pour nous proposer un rock foisonnant de guitares affutées et bénéficiant de mélodies prenantes. Ils se placent ainsi dans la brillante lignée des grands anciens de la scène indie des années 90 que cite d'ailleurs Mark dans son interview (Fountains Of Wayne, Connells, Teenage Fan Club, Matthew Sweet..) Nous sommes donc ravis que Mark ait accepté avec enthousiasme de répondre en nos questions. Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and can you tell us examples about this influence? Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you?
 A friend once said that your music taste stops developing when you leave university. I’m living proof of this. Most of the bands I love either existed in the 90s or sound like they did. The records that I was listening to most while I wrote and recorded our debut were Teenage Fanclub’s Grand Prix, Gin Bloss...