Moronique was started in early 1995 with a different name and a different lineup. We all came from the same neighborhood, and had a similar taste of music and therefore it was quite natural that we ended up playing in a band together.
In the "early years" we more of less tried to figure out how to write songs and play our instruments. That took us about 3-4 years. We made lots of mistakes, just imagine, we played our third show with Good Riddance. Why didnt someone tell us that we were out of our minds?
In 1999 we released a self titled 7 inch single, which was the band's first "real" release. We sent a demo tape of the songs to JC at Tank Records, an American Punk and Indie label, and he seemed to like it.
Things picked up from there. Tank Records distributed the 7 inch in the US and also included one of our songs on the successfull "songs about chicks" compilation. We recoreded a bunch of new songs, which we initially wanted to put out on a 7 inch or something, and ended up doing a Split CD with two awesome bands Smackin' Isaiah from Massachusetts and Merrick from California.
In support of that release, Moronique went on tour in the US!!! That was probably the greatest experience in the band's history so far. Although it must be said that we regarded it more as a vacation than a tour. It turned out to be an excellent trip, and we had the best time hanging out in New Bedford. It also taught us to take our performances more seriously. Cause needless to say, every little band in the US puts on a hell of a show.
In the Winter of 2000 we went on a a small European tour the "5 shows in 5 countries tour" with the Atlantic Monthly. The tour was pretty cool and we met a lot of nice people. It was there that we met the guys from Yo Yo records who were in the midst of booking a tour for I FARM (NYC) and asked us to join the tour. So we did.
The tour however turned out to be a disaster. The first couple of shows went quite smoothly, but then things started to get a bit rough. Zoza lost his voice, and each member of the band seemed to be getting sick. It was in Berlin that we threw in the towel and told Yo Yo Records that we were going to abandon the tour. Meanwhile, the guys from I FARM had a car accident, and thus had to rent a car for the rest of the tour. Luckily they found another band to replace us for the rest of the shows.
After a well deserved break, but still sick we went on tour in Hungary with two excellent bands, Alvin es a Mokusok and Falcongate. We have released another three band split CD titled "3 Slices of a Dragon Pizza" that features these bands and therefore booked the shows to promote the CD. We really had no expectations whatsoever, but these shows really made up for the mishaps of the past. Every show was well attended usually about 250 kids showed up, and we had a great time with Alvin and Falcongate.
This summer will mostly be playing festivals and writing songs for our first full length album that we will be recording in the fall. |
