Mata Hari

Posted on 29th May 09 by Paddy Murphy | 7

With a back story that could have money hunger movie producers drooling like starved dogs over new found bones, (if they find success of course), Mata Hari have been honing their trade as a covers band up and down the country for the past while. Now, though, the band have realised their full potential and will be hitting crowds with their full force classic rock sound. Drop-d caught up with the frontman Beto Kupper,drummer Johnny Roz and axeman Pat O’ Sullivan, who hail from Brazil, Slovakia and the exotic county of Cork, to hear about their fascinating story and talk about all things Classic Rock,  One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and what’s in store for a band with the most exciting story since Anvil.

Drop-d: Ok, so the band are a three piece from Ireland, Brazil and Slovakia, how did ye all come together?

Beto arrived in September with nowhere to go and found himself walking the streets of Dublin by himself, bass on his back, a bag of clothes and 300euro in his pocket…3 months later Johnny Roz arrived in Ireland as Beto foraged to survive working shitty jobs. The two met in August 2007…at this stage the Mata Hari band was already taking shape as Beto had already found a drummer and guitar player but the drummer didn’t make the grade…Johnny Roz filled the void when Beto saw his horrible hand written ad (only desparation allowed Beto to make the call as the ad was so shabby Beto assumed that the Johnny Roz would be similiar to his ad) in Kilkenny and drafted him..the final piece in the puzzle is the Cork man Pat who had placed an ad in the Buy and Sell looking for an originals band…at the time he was in another band but decided to focus his time and energy on Mata Hari and so moved to Kilkenny – Mata Hari was born.

I came here to see where Thin Lizzy came from and thats why I’m here…and the weather man

Drop-d: Tell us somethings about your previous bands that you we all involved in?

Well, lets focus on Mata Hari as there are too many previous bands (someone will hopefully do a Wiki page for us in a few years). The notion of Mata Hari came to be in 2000 in Brazil when Beto came up with the 3 piece classic rock band idea…during his time in Brazil he went through about 7 guitar players and a similiar amount of drummers…at that time Mata Hari was supposed to be an originals band but Beto wasn’t able to find suitable musicians so went the covers route to keep fed and what not…

Johnny Roz: ..I’ll tell my story..My first real band was when I was 20 it was punk rock band. I made an album and an EP with them. After 3 years I got an offer to join another big punk band. I did another studio album and 3 tours with them. In 2006 I moved to Ireland.

Drop-d: You play up and down the country as a covers band too. Do you ever get bored playing other people’s music? Or does that feeling go when you see people in pubs having a good time?

Beto: Its all about the crowd…the crowd don’t have to be noisy or going apeshit but when they watch you and appreciate what’s going on up on the stage then covers gigs are fine…sometimes though when you are just filling in for a CD player and people don’t even notice you’re playing it’s a bit of a balls…in general good times are had – especially when the beer is free…

Pat: Playing rock is kinda cool…em…I don’t know like, I like it when the crowd is going mad or going a bit crazy…when the crowd have energy its great because I do like playing Enter Sandman and Sweet Child of Mine and stuff…I like cool riffs and shit…

Johnny Roz: I never played cowers before in my life. This is first time but I can’t say it makes me bored. We play differently to other covers bands. I play my style so I enjoing it.

…..my super power is the ability to fly

Drop-d: Right so, onto your own material, who does most of the writing? How do the songs come together, are you a jam band or does somebody come into rehearsal with ideas all the time?

Beto: I start writing if I have a riff in my mind, or a lyric, or a melody – lots of different ways to get a song started..that’s it basically..then I work hard to develop lyrics and get the song…sometime I grab a guitar and play some chords and get a melody, its very random.

Pat: I tend to just lash on some solos and guitar parts as most of the songs were written before I joined the band. For the new songs I just had some riffs lying around and we made a few songs out of them…

Johnny Roz: Most of the song start with me and Beto. Beto brings the ideas and we put it together. And when Pat joined the band we gave him ready songs. Then Pat brought some ideas to the band and we finished it the same way.

Drop-d:It must feel more rewarding when you see people rockin out to songs that have come from your own pen?

Beto: Absolutely, no questions…fuckin’ true..

Pat: Ye….it is more rewarding because it is your own stuff – don’t really know what to say but ye…

Johnny Roz: It’s the best.

Drop-d: Beto & Johnny, why come to Ireland? Why not the UK where there’s a far larger classic rock scene?

Beto: I came here to see where Thin Lizzy came from and thats why I’m here…and the weather man.

Johnny Roz: I came to visit a friend and I ended up staying.

Back in the 70s when I was a kid there was a tv show where the actors were monkeys and of course it was about syping

Drop-d: Another one for Johnny, when we seen you last week we all agreed that you’re the best drummer we’ve ever seen…(well, up close anyway and not from like 10 metres away) but before movin here you were in a quite successful punk band. When you joined Mata Hari did you say to the lads that you were gonna keep drumming like a mad punk and beef up the classic rock sound?

Johnny Roz: No man never. Punk rock was how I played that time but it’s gone for me now. Mata Hari it’s more of a kinda challenge for me. I am grooving musically and technically. It’s a different level and I have to give thanks to Beto who is pushing me forward and opening new ways.

Drop-d: Beto….. did you know you look a little like the Chief in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? And Pat…you’re the spit of Rory Gallagher? Do you also have super-human strength Beto? and for Pat, I guess Gallagher’s a hero of yours?

Beto: Sure, I may look like an Indian but thats because I’m a Native South american so fair enough..and my powers, eh, I have double jointed fingers so I can play lots of stuff that others wouldn’t dare dream about…no, my super power is the ability to fly..

Pat: I look like Rory Gallagher? I thought I looked like Michael Jackson…I like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, the usual guitar player stuff…

Drop-d: You’ve been writing material for a while now, and you’re working on a DVD too, when will we get out grubby mits on a record?

Beto: Good question man, we don’t know…could be tomorrow…could be the next day…we hope soon though… We’ve recorded our first single and are just waiting to get that mixed so we’ll let you get your grubby mits on that…

Johnny Roz: Who knows man sooner or later but for sure we’ll make one.

Drop-d: What were each of you listening to when you were younger that first made you want to start/join a band?

Beto: Kiss then Iron Maiden but my all time favourite band is Thin Lizzy

Pat: Guitar got me into music, not bands…I just wanted to play guitar, like. I was in band from the first time I had a guitar…When I first started playing guitar I was listening to a lot of thrash metal – Metallica, Testament…just good thrash metal bands…

Johnny Roz: I was 14 and was listening Sepultura but when I turned 15 in high school my music was 90s dance floor…uaaao.

Drop-d: Obviously, you’re into classic rock bands like Lizzy, Zeppelin, Sabbath but who are you listening to from the current new-skool classic rock band?

Beto: Just the Darkness really…and Stone Gods and Hot Leg….but I keep in touch with the classic stuff…I think Wolf Mother are a great band..

Pat: Chicken Foot….I don’t really listen to any new bands…Velvet Revolver maybe…I like Satriani and Vai like…

Johnny Roz: I hate the blues hehe no… Slipknot, Lamb of God.

Drop-d: You band is named after a “Dutch-Frisian exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by firing squad for espionage during World War I” according to Wikipedia, why?

Beto: Its actually nothing to do with that…back in the 70s when I was a kid there was a tv show where the actors were monkeys and of course it was about syping…a parody of 007…but before the show ended a band called “Mata Hari and the Evolution Revolution” played a song…the band were hippy chimps…I liked the Mata Hari bit and bingo…

Pat: I’ve just found out now…nothing to do with Dutch-Frisian exotic dancer – who would have knew?

Drop-d: Wanna plug your Fibbers gig?

Beto: Ye sure…Go – you will love it…if you don’t like the band you can kick the guitar players ass…even better you can kick our managers ass, it will be his fault…it’s always his fault….

Manager: Its like I’m working with the original Mata Hari the Evolution Revolution so, to make it clear, Friday 29th of May, doors at 9pm…admission is just 3 euro and we have two very special guests: Legion of Ape and Black Eagle Charm.

Mata Hari Myspace

Tags: Brazilain classic rock, classic rock, Fibber MaGee's, Fibbers, Mata Hari, metallica, punk-rock, Slovakian punk, testament, Thin Lizzy