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Coming to America
Hi boys and girls .  The other night I listen to the  Robert Rodriguez podcast .  And basically was able to learn about Mona Lisa and the family and how they got started .  First of all having your main language as German and then having to learn English in order  to start recording… it seems to me was a hardship to begin with .  But that was the cards they were dealt and have overcome that obstacle .  Amazing !  And let me see if I have this right living in Austria was really not conducive to help their career .  And I think I heard them say Australia could be a little confining also music wise .  Now I’m going from memory guys so bear with me but when they got to the USA/California it opened up a new world for them musical.ly . My question club members how do we get MLT and company to the USA . Obviously they would not move here and I obviously it must be pretty expensive to come here and try and find venues to play their music.  My guess boys and girls it probably boils down to the almighty dollar .  Those of you that have been around longer than I have probably have asked these questions before but if somebody could give me a short explanation I certainly would appreciate it .
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7 Replies
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I think as fans the key is doing whatever we can do to help spread their music through, word of mouth, posting their youtube videos everywhere, referring them to local radio stations , gifting friends and family with MLT music (two latest albums should make perfect Christmas gifts for everyone) etc…Â The greatness of their music will do the rest.
Their Youtube views look to be rapidly accelerating, 25 Million and rising the last I checked, and the fan base is growing all over the world just based on the diversity right here in the MLT club: UK, Austria, Germany, Australia, India, Japan, France, Brazil, Mexico etc…In the USA, it seems to be coast to coast from Seattle to Florida, and in Canada from Vancouver BC to Ontario and further possibly. Hope I didn’t leave anyone out.
If MLT continue on their current rapidly snowballing trajectory, with more new music and all the creative projects the MLT team are embarking on, I don’t think those days are too far off when it will easily make economic sense based on fan base everywhere for the MLT to start touring globally.
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Well cost would be a huge factor obviously but I would think they’d have to build up lots of radio play in the states first. Youtube is a great way for them to get out world wide of coarse and as I type this they have over 68,000 subscribers and rising! In time they may be able to pop over to America, I’d love to see them live and meet them to say thanks in person. But I’m sure they’ve thought about this before so we’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds…..
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MLT are a small family business that has total control over their product. While this is great for artistic and quality control, it means that all their projects take much longer than groups that are supported by record companies with their plethora of managers, marketers, producers, engineers, roadies and tour managers etcetera.
Touring for an extended period of time would not allow them to effectively write new material for revenue raising albums or to produce new videos that are important for marketing purposes. Touring for them would also be expensive in terms of the travel and accommodation costs involved and they would need to be sure they could fill enough venues to pay the bills and generate some profit.
Their home country didn’t provide the opportunities for them to perform in public as Austria didn’t have a pub scene where live performances of their preferred music was possible. No open mike or busking opportunities. They chose Adelaide for a school exchange to improve their English as they would be forced to speak English as they were living with different foster families and initially attending separate schools. There was simply no opportunities to speak German.
In Australia they spent weekends busking in Rundle Mall and it was here they first realised they could make money out of what they liked doing. I don’t think they found Adelaide confining musically. On the contrary, Adelaide has always been a big live music city in Australia and is where the likes of the EasyBeats and AC/DC emerged from the immigration centres there. Mona has addressed their Australia visit in the Topic ‘MLT Adelaide Visit Downunder 2009’. Use the search function to find it.
As for California, they first visited there when they were 14 as it provided an opportunity for busking and also some open mike opportunities. They returned later the same year for a month during their school holidays and this time recorded three videos for their ‘California Dreaming’ EP. It didn’t necessarily open up a new world to them musically but what they observed was how liberal and open California was compared to the conservative environment they were used to at home.
When they were 15 they told their parents they wanted to leave school and concentrate full time on their music. They were able to convince their father they had a viable plan and the family then supported them. Often when playing live, people told them they needed to go to Ireland as it provided good opportunities for busking and for it’s pub scene provided for live music opportunities. While they were in Dublin they received a call from Liverpool with an oppportunity there and hopped on a ferry across the Irish Sea to Liverpool, where they met their parents. Things started happening for them and so they moved there permanently. And as they say, the rest is history.
This information is all available in their many interview and Q&A videos. Also, there is now quite a lot of information documented in this club forum, which as I have indicated, you just need to use the search.
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Hi  Thomas … I agree with you about having substantial airtime on the radio in the US.  On occasion I’ve heard Mona and Lisa do podcasts throughout the US and manage to get on a few college station/underground station .  And I don’t know about you but what I hear from the twins I really like can’t understand why nobody else would like them or play their music on Main Stream radio.  And really don’t want to go down this venue but it Has to be money it has to be if you’re not sponsored by a record label of sorts… just thinking out loud because it’s not that they’re not talent .
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Hi Maxhouse,
Well with the kind of so called “talents” being touted as great today it’s no wonder great stuff like the MLTs don’t get much of a shot. Granted I’m 60 and can’t stand the music from the 80’s up to today. The girls would have to start writing and playing the type of garbage being played today to get anywhere. I sure hope they never do that.
Team MLT may very well be perfectly happy sticking with what they’re doing and have been doing and that’s fine! Time will tell what their future plans are. They know better that us what ‘s best for them.
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Hi Howard.  I certainly understand what you’re saying and maybe I have not done enough research, but I’ll do some more .  You read and hear about the horror stories of the 60s about record companies labels downright extorting the  Artist/bands .  Pretty much you were using their money so you did what they said they wanted you to do .  Even the Beatles or not I mean the tactics of back in the day .  I’ve heard stories after their first couple albums they had a week to produce a new album practice and record that had to be pressure .  Brian Epstein says we will not go to America until we have a number one hit .  I think the  December of 63 “Please Please Me” hit number one in France and as we all know February of next year they arrived.  Sorry didn’t mean to get off on a story that everyone knows I’m just worried if the twins are waiting for that to happen and or will it ever happen .  You mentioned that they were in Dublin and they got a call from Liverpool .  There must have been someone that saw something in them to make that call not sure .  I’m sure there are more  stories to the overall scope but I still think it’s a monetary issue .  Independent funding would be the only way I see for them to be able to come to America for short periods of time for us to see them play live . …. I know I bought Powerball tickets and mega million tickets last week but it didn’t work out  lol…  anyhow Howard enjoyed talking to you we just have to keep pushing and pushing
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Hi;
I’ve tried to contact acts I know in the US to get feedback on their music. Some have replied the obligatory “Nice!” and some have not replied at all. I have also only heard them once on the air over here. It was on Peter Asher’s Sirius program called From Me to You. It is an hour program on the Beatles channel and that particular night it was either songs about females or covers by females. I think he played MLT’s “If I Fell”. After that nothing.
So, I keep sharing on FB their videos and hope that friends and musician friends pick up on it, but it has been quiet so far.
Mike
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