Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

How was the band formed? I put out an ad in a local music magazine and was contacted by Manny Centeno who was already jamming with Jose Flores. Things unfortunately didn't work out with Manny but Jose and I decided to start something up so we asked a couple of Jose's ex bandmates to join us.

Can you tell about your band? We are a melodic metal (some like to add death/progressive) band based in Miami, FL and Washington DC.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? I was born in Spain but mostly raised in Sweden. I play guitar and sing/scream: Charles Axel Ekendahl

Jose Flores is from Honduras and plays the drums.

Omar Elesgaray is from Miami and plays guitar.

Although we don't officially have a permanent bassist right now we've been very lucky to have friends fill in for us; most recently Brett Salminen.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? To get signed to a metal based record label. Although thinking back now I'm sure having fun was also part of the equation.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Our early music was inspired by bands like Carcass and Obituary. It was fairly straight forward death metal. We've added more melodic hooks to our music recently so I'd describe our music as a nice balance of melodic hooks with fairly standard structure while still retaining some nice progressive qualities throughout.

Where was your first gig? Our first gig was at a warehouse in Tamiami in late '94 or early '95.

Where was the latest gig? Our last gig was May 9th at The Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale as support for Made of Metal during their Death Tribute show.

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Usually myself or Omar will come up with some ideas and we'll mold it into a song together as a band. Although Jose doesn't write riffs he's very involved in the songwriting aspect and always adds interesting beats and fills that compliment the song very well. We also keep each other on our toes which I think challenges us to always write better.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? That's a good question because we all love to poke fun at each other or laugh at silly things. I suppose Jose wins for delivering the most amount of content but I think Omar and I sometimes come up with some hilarious stuff.

I'd also like to give an honorable mention to Carlos Zek, who although isn't in the band, is a big fan and a good friend and won't hesitate to crack a joke and add his signature laugh the first chance he gets!

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? The good is that we've been around so long and still remained friends and still writing and recording music and still playing from our hearts.

The bad I suppose is that Jose lives in a different state and that we all practically have full time jobs leaving little time for us to work on our music.

I suppose our genre would be something like: progressive/melodic/death metal

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? I personally have always gravitated towards melodic death metal bands like Carcass, Death, At the Gates, old In Flames etc. I think the other guys also have similar tastes so it was a natural and easy choice for us.

Our early material consisted mostly about lies and deceit; hence our name: Mendacity. Lately our material has been more about struggles and perseverance.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? All original material. We dabbled with covers when we were teenagers but we have so little time now that I think working on covers would be counterproductive. We wouldn't rule it out for a tribute theme show however.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We officially have 3 albums as well as 2 demos/promos.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? There are clips of us on there although be warned a couple of other bands have borrowed our name despite us using it since 1994. Our official YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/MendacityOfficial
How old are you?/What got you started in music?  I'm 36. I was always involved in arts, whether it was drawing,building and painting model airplanes/tanks etc so I suppose music was just a natural thing for me to try.

At what age did you start playing?

I think I was 12 when my parents bought me my first classical guitar and signed me up for lessons, but I only managed to bear it for a couple of months I think.

It wasn't until I inherited some money and bought my first electric guitar around 13 that I seriously started practicing and falling in love with playing.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage?

I think I was 13 or 14.

I'm pretty sure Jose was also 14 when he first played his gig.

I was 16 when at my first gig with Mendacity. Omar was 17.

What year was the band started? 1994

Best/worst gig you've played? That's a hard one. We've had many memorable positive shows. I suppose our biggest show was opening for Sevendust to a max capacity Revolution Live a couple of years ago. I also recall having a blast at a small venue in Costa Rica the first time we flew there.

Worst I'm not sure. Probably a gig in Orlando where a friend got drunk and caused us to be asked to leave shortly after our performance.

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Out next gig will likely be a new CD release show. I'm not sure where, most likely Churchill's Pub in Miami but we may also do one up in the DC/VA area or perhaps do a small tour.

Where have you played from then till now? So far we've played throughout all of Florida, the East Coast, and Costa Rica.

Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Opeth.

Is it always the same songs live? Generally we pick about 3 or so songs from our most current release and then choose random songs from previous releases. We like to mix things. We've had occasions were we totally mixed it up and only played old school songs as well. I suppose it depends on the occasion and our mood.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? As mentioned before we've been very lucky to play some nice gigs with big bands. Being selected to play with Bring Me The Horizon for their Taste of Chaos tour stop in Orlando at the Hard Rock Live was a pretty big accomplishment.

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? We haven't had any long big tours so far. Just small regional treks as well as a small east coast tour.

How big crowds do you usually play for? Anywhere from 50-1000. It obviously has a lot to do with the day of the week, the venue, and the other bands performing.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Try to finish recording our next album.

Where do you usually play? Revolution Live, The Culture Room, and Empire.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? I think it just happens naturally.

What are your goals with your music? Keep writing, recording, and performing. Hopefully create some music videos as well.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? I was very serious about music even in my first band back in Spain at 13 years old but I think with Mendacity being formed I took it a step further and then going to college for music and engineering took it yet another step.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Both. I find that a lot of popular bands these days don't really offer anything interesting or original but that doesn't mean there aren't any any new bands that I don't like. There are a few but I often find myself going back to older albums. Not necessarily for inspiration but just overall pleasure.

What are your sources of inspiration? It's a combination of listening to a lot of music and ultimately an idea will just come to me at a random time.

What's the first step when making a new song? Having a musical idea of some sort. Whether it's a theme or a riff.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I don't do it. I always buy albums. It's just what I'm used to but there are other reasons: I like supporting the music that I enjoy, I like the intimacy of holding a cd and reading the liner notes, and since I'm also a recording engineer I enjoy the extra fidelity in the audio vs a compressed mp3.

What would be your dreams for the band? I'm perfectly content with our accomplishments and with how things are going. I'm wouldn't mind performing a little more or going on a long tour but I am happy with my job and would find just as much pleasure writing and recording another album or filming a music video.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I love Metal, Rock, Pop, Classical music, Renaissance music, and Baroque.

My current favourite metal bands are At The Gates, Avatar, Opeth, Nothing More, and Helltrain.

What do you hold most dear? Love, respect, and non-judgement.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Suffering an injury that would stop me from doing what I'm doing. I've already injured my wrist once and had to stop playing guitar for a year. I also had a bad case of GERD last year which severely affect my voice. Not being able to sing/scream and play guitar for about a year was not fun at all.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? I don't have any fears when I'm on stage. Perhaps that Omar won't come in on a certain part on time? Lol

Have you been part of any other projects? I've filled in as guitarist for At Odds With God during a show in Puerto Rico.

Have you been in any other bands? Most people know me from Aghora. I played guitar on their first album. I was also bassist in a rock project called Para which Omar and Jose were also involved in. I also filled in on bass for a death band called InHumanForm. My first band back in Spain was called Peti Qui Peti.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I'm a guitar teacher. I also do odd gigs every once in a while: like playing guitar at weddings, doing live sound for bands, recording/mixing, and I've also recently dabbled with photography and videography.

What would you do if there was no music? I would probably draw or find another form of artistical outlet.

How important are your fans? They are everything. Despite the fact that I would continue writing and recording music even if no one came to our shows and bought our music, it means much more when there are people out there appreciating what we do. It also helps us land better and bigger gigs when we have their support.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? One time a guy at the front row demanded that I drink beer. He literally took my water bottle and brought me a couple of beers on stage. I don't think he realized that I prefer to drink after the show and the water helps me so I can give my best performance haha.

How often do you rehearse? We used to rehearse about twice a week but that was back when we all lived close by and didn't work full time. Now we practice once before a show, twice if we're lucky.

Where do you rehearse? Choice Blend Multimedia for a South Florida show, Crashbox Rehearsal and Recording studios for a show in the DC/VA area.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Cannot Be A Way and Forget.

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Rammstein

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? I have no idea! I guess they've latched on to the dream too tight. I don't think there's anything wrong with that; they're passionate, but I truly believe it's possible to turn music into a serious hobby while still maintaining a decent job. 

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there?

Do what brings you joy. Hopefully that involves rehearsing, writing and recording, and spending time with your bandmates. 

Take your music seriously, but not too seriously.

Describe your show, visually and musically I guess minimalistic would be it. We are straight forward and don't use any fancy equipment or stage props. We get consumed by the music and hope it spreads to the audience.

How do you view the musicindurty of today? Very different from what it was 20 years ago. Things have changed very drastically. I like the idea that there are more musical outlets but it also has the unfortunate side effect of devaluing music. There are also good bands that get unnoticed but I suppose that has always been the case.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Make sure that you find joy in what you do. Set short term and long term goals. Take your music seriously.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? I think they change as bands grow. First they have to find members, then a place to practice, then write appropriate material. Then get their foot in the door at venues and network with bands/promoters etc. Then it's landing better gigs, getting transportation for shows and tours etc. Finding the right recording studio, funding releases. Promoting their work. etc etc

What is best/worst with playing the clubs?

The best is being able to share your music with other people. Talking to fans after shows is also really rewarding. Seeing friends/fans in good spirits is great, especially if you manage to be part of lifting their spirits. It's also great when the club has a great sound system and and overall nice ambience.

The worst is the stress of loading the gear on time and sometimes having to deal with bands that go over their set time limit, are slow to set up and tear down and push back the band slot times.

Sometimes coming across scam promoters is also not very fun.

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them?

Our next gig will likely be our CD release show for our upcoming album.

People should come because: we'll likely play the entire new CD live, we'll play old songs too so it will be a fairly long set as opposed to our short 20-25min slots we're allotted  most of the time. We may even throw in some brand new songs that are not yet recorded. We'll try our best to get some really good supporting bands and will keep the amount of bands at a bare minimum so people can enjoy them all without getting burned out like people do at local "festival" shows.

Of course you'll also be able to purchase our CD :)

How would you describe your sound in one sentence A sound that is both ambient and catchy.

What is your favorite crappy instrument? My favourite "crappy" instrument is my Yamaha Flamenco guitar. It only cost me around $200 but it's very comfortable to play and has lasted me several years so far. It's one of my primary guitars when teaching as it's light, doesn't require an amp, and doesn't physically hurt me when student's accidentally stab it with their guitars.

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band?

Showing up to a gig that I had booked for the band only to be told by the rest of the band that they would be playing without me. It was about a year after our full length CD and they were all about the hardcore craze and had been rehearsing some more hardcore oriented songs without me and decided to go that route.

I on the other hand was writing faster and more melodic tunes and they wanted no part of it at the time.

I was eventually asked to come back to the band shortly before they were going to hit the studio. Although I helped polish up the songs with arrangements and a lot of harmonies and counterpoint etc I never truly felt part of that album. It was recorded live except one song that I never had a chance to learn so the other guitarist just punched in the second guitar on another take.

Whats your Pre-show ritual? I don't think we have one. Although with the issues I've had lately with my voice I've been trying to do small warmups.

Do you have anything to add? I want to thank you for the interview and to everyone that took the time to read it