In a break from our standard Past, Present, Future format, I present to you an interview with Malnack. Interview is below the break.

TwoGroove: We’re here today with a new band from Omaha called Malnack.

TwoGroove: Tell us about your background.
Brent and Mars: We’re a cyber band that has become a real band. Back in the 1980’s we were in a popular Omaha band called the Modern Day Scenics. We took 20 years off to raise a family and have careers. We’re back.

TwoGroove: Cyber band?
Brent: I had started recording in our home studio and finally had a track that had potential. I had Mars sing on it and we played it for friends. The response was really good, so we started over again. After about 10 times we played it for our friend Steve Horner, www.hornermusic.com who’s in the industry. He really liked the track and said he wanted to mix it, and by the way, start over again. He added some keyboards and did a great job with the mix. He had replaced our drum part with one of his own which I liked, but it was still missing something. I found an unbelievable session drummer named Tony Morra online at www.esession.com. We hired him and he laid down a great track.

Since I had more songs in development, we decided to record some more. Beyond using Tony again, we found some other great players including Scot Alexander (bassist Dishwalla), David Rainger (guitarist Annie Lennox), Bones Hillman (bassist Midnight Oil) and a great producer Chris Manning. We put together 4 songs last year and released them on iTunes. One of the songs made it into the top 50 of Clear Channel’s alternative charts (One Man’s Ghost).

Mars: We decided to dust off the gear and support the tracks with some live performances. We found a talented lineup of local musicians and began performing in September of 2008. Since then, we’ve had rehearsals every Thursday night and perform about once a month. It’s been so much fun. For one gig I baked cookies for the audience. At the next gig the crowd was looking for their cookies.

TwoGroove: What kind of cookies?
Mars: It’s a recipe I’ve perfected – Mars’ Hi N-R-G Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

TwoGroove: So where are you now?
Brent: Sitting at the computer answering these questions.

TwoGroove: No, I mean where is the band Malnack?
Brent: We’ve been extending our set list. While we play mostly originals, we have mixed in a couple of covers that are strange choices for our style. We play a couple of old AC/DC songs. There is something primal about their stuff that makes it fun to play – especially having a female sing them.

TwoGroove: What’s next?
Mars: We just finished a new single called Last Night. If you hit the PLAY button, that’s me singing on it…Anyway, we decided to take the singles from last year, the new single and even an unreleased song of ours back from 1988 and put them on a CD, for people who buy their music on CD. It is called Metempsychosis.

Brent: As far as the music business goes, we are in an interesting position this time around. Back in the ‘80’s, we were trying to make a career out of the band. As any band can attest, it is a difficult living for most. Now, we all have good careers, so we’re not driven by trying to make money or a career out of this band. We have the freedom to do what pleases us as a band and it has been a great experience.

Mars: We can play when we want to play. We can take months getting a single song dialed in for release and we can write and play whatever style we like.

Brent: Although we want to travel out a bit further in the future, there is a great club in Omaha called the Slowdown (owned by Saddle Creek Records) that we’re dying to play at. We thought we’d get a pile of shows under our belt before we contact them. We took our kids to see Buckethead there last fall and it is a fantastic venue.

TwoGroove: Thanks for your time.
Other band members Tom Larkin (guitar), Bill Naidenovich (drums), Matt McCahill (bass): Hey guys how’s it going?

TwoGroove: We just finished the interview.
Other band members: Hey, what’s up with that? Didn’t you guys say 3:30?
Brent and Mars: We said 3:00.
Tom: Did you tell them about my wicked guitar solo in “You Know She Did”?
Brent and Mars: As far as you know. Really though, you guys are a great band and we are having a great time.

Cheers!