| hogfeldt: How long have you guys played together? And how did it all start?
Tomas: It started in 96 with Micke and Lala, the drummer from Mickes former band, they asked me if I wanted to join them, so we started ZERO. Later on Lala quit, and then, thru a mutual friend, we got in touch with Martin, he joined us in October �97 and that was really what we needed, I will say it was first then we really became a group and a unit, we were really made for each other, we rehearsed like 6-7 hours every day and we just loved it. In December of �97 we recorded our first demo, it was a 7 track demo which we released on CD-R and called it "No less than ...", by that time we got our first gig as well. With our second demo rec. in May �98 we changed our name to Maurfahr because there already was, I think, two bands called ZERO and it was our first demo where we had done the music together and it had nothing to do with the old band. Unfortunately Martin has left us, he have other things he wants to try out, it�s a great loss, no doubt about that, but now we have an old friend of the band, Yuma, on drums, he�s been playing percussion on some of our gigs before so it�s rather natural he�s behind the kit now.
hogfeldt: I really dig your "GoodDirt" CD-R, were all the tunes recorded in one studio session or done over a longer period of time?
Micke: No it�s a conclusion of four separate recordings over two years, �98 - �00. At first it wasn�t meant to be a full length CD, but at the same time we wanted to put all the demos on one CD and see how it turned out in the whole.
hogfeldt: This shit is too good to not have an �official� release, in my opinion... Have you had any offers from labels yet?
Micke: The whole CD has never been sent to any labels but some of the songs has been sent as demotapes to different labels. The demo with Sunpaled and Blueroom Amigos was sent to Waterdragon records, they found it interesting and we were offered a release with these two songs on their compilation Greatest hits vol. 1.
Tomas: That comp has really helped us, because no one has really cared before when we sent them our demos. Most of the answers been the standard phrase: "You sound too much like Kyuss " or "We have too many projects right now so come back later". I guess that�s the way it is, but we have always gotten great response after our gigs and that�s what really counts for us.
hogfeldt: What kinda influences do you guys have in common?
Micke: The main influence as we started out was Kyuss, but since then we�ve played and got influenced by many different styles as the 60�s psychedelia, the 70�s hardrock, different rhythms as funk and reggae and other trios as The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Mot�rhead.
hogfeldt: The stonerrock (or whatever you wanna call it) scene is growing at a rapid pace, which bands are your favorites?
Tomas: Nowadays we don�t listen to that much stonerrock so I have to say the bands we listened to when we started out, and I think like most of the bands in this genre, Kyuss and Fu Manchu are still our favorites, but also Atomic Bitchwax, Nebula and Spiritual Beggars. Beggars, much because I like Spice�s vocals, he has one hell of a voice.
hogfeldt: Any band you dislike?
Tomas: If I don�t like a band I don�t pay much attention to remember them, (haha), and maybe that�s good because next time I hear something else with that band I don�t have a preconceived opinion.
hogfeldt: What do you think about the Swedish scene? Any bands you`ve played with?
Tomas: We haven�t played with that many stoner bands. 454 is one band we played with in Uppsala and they sound good. I think it�s a good thing that the scene is growing and in that way it gets more attention, in the long run the bands that got something, will survive and the rest, will probably fade away. Just to hope we are among the survivors (ha ha).
hogfeldt: When it comes to songwriting, is it done in collaboration or do you have a main songwriter?
Tomas: We do most of the music together. Someone gets, or have an idea and then we jam it together, in that way everyone is involved and get their niche to it, at the same time we can jam for hours on something and when we stop we don�t really know where we are or how to get it into a song that isn�t 45min long, so lotsa great stuff gets lost along that way. We all write lyrics, individually and together, sometimes we write especially for a tune and sometimes we take some lyrics, put it into a jam, to get some kind of arrangement and then we adjust the lyrics or the music after that.
hogfeldt: What�s the best gig you`ve ever done? and worst?
Micke: The best gig isn�t done yet, but so far it�s a gig at R�da Kvarn ("Red Mill") October �98, it contained everything, we played for almost 90 min, a real show with cool scene decorations, actors on stage and a rehearsed light show. The worst gig, hopefully done! Must be here in our hometown at "the Pier". Halfway through the second song the drums that Martin borrowed collapsed!
hogfeldt: What�s your goal for Maurfahr? How high do you aim?
Tomas: Basically, to live of the music but I think our dreams are set much higher. Musically, it�s to do music that we like whatever that might be for the moment, and if people like it, it�s great, if not, hopefully some day they will, the main thing for us is that we have fun and are pleased with the stuff we do.
hogfeldt: Any words of wisdom for bands just starting out?
Tomas: Rehearse as much and often as you can when it�s fun, then rehearse some more and try to get a gig or a demorecording because when hard times are coming, you have solid ground to stand on.
Micke: As above, play �til you bleed, rest and hit it again! It�s also very important to be openminded to all ideas and of course to each other.
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