The Marvins - New punk'n'rollers on the block!

By Jens

I was bitchin', as usual, about when my fuckin' Rose Tattoo special edition CD would arrive in Rockuglen, and Kim told me to shut the hell up, as usual, and the old timer (who's as cranky as me!) put this "Come On!!!" 3 track CD fucker on the stereo with a new band called The Marvins. And I'm like, this is some cool r'n'r shit, where they're from, Texas or Detroit? No, you moron, they're from Copenhagen! Say what? And later JT told me he'd seen'em live and they rocked, so of course I got in contact with drummer Don Vivid (aka Mikkel) as fast as I could, to fill me in on the r'n'r world according to The Marvins. Other members are Clauser (bass), Kenny Wodgers (guitar) and Don Vivid on drums.

LC: How did The Marvins start, it must've been a bit hard to find four youngsters who wanted to play punk'n'roll in the crybaby indierock scene in Copenhagen?

Don Vivid: When my old band, Kentucky Luckies, broke up I really felt like playing some rock'n'roll. I've always listened to punk and rock'n'roll, so the transition felt quite natural. All I had to, when I had made the decision, was to find some people who also wanted to play rock'n'roll. Kenneth is my colleague, and he plays the guitar like he was born with it, so he was the obvious first choice. The day after I had recruited Kenneth I asked Mads from Kentucky Luckies if he wanted to play second guitar, and he was positive. Then we auditioned Michael for the position of lead singer, and we all liked him, so he was in.. Our previous bass player, Kim O., was only going to play with us temporarily. We knew that to begin with. So, when he decided to leave the band, it didn't come as a big surprise. What happened then was the best thing that could happen to a Cph-band, really - we got a RICKENBACKER playing jyde (of Jutland), Claus, to join the band. That's what the youngsters want! A while ago Mads left the band, so now we are a four man punk'n'roll band, and it works really well.

LC: What do you think of the rockscene in Denmark?

DV: I guess it's alright. Rock'n'roll is fashionable these days, so there is a general interest for the scene, all bands aren't equally lucky though. The punk scene, on the other hand, pretty much consists of fifteen or twenty bands. The bands are really good. It's just that the scene isn't quite dynamic enough. I would like to see more new faces on the scene, along with more foreign appearances.

LC: What are your inspirations, I'd imagine you like Supersuckers and New Bomb Turks?

DV: I absolutely love Supersuckers, New Bomb, Turbonegro, The Vandals, The Meteors and several other bands within the genre, but I also still listen to a lot of ska, old stuff mainly, and that definitely has some impact on the songs that I write. The other members of the band all like different stuff, so we get inputs from a variety of styles. Kenneth, for example, is more into melodic rock, like Muse, Kashmir and Metallica, and Claus likes Iron Maiden, Sparks, Cockney Rebel and Siousie and the Banshees. Michael is crazy about Smiths and Roxy Music and pretty much digs anything vinyl.

LC: "Come On!!!" is recorded in just four days, but it has a superb ballsy production. I reckon you are very pleased with the result?

DV: Definitely! Niels B. from Wank Biscuit lo-fi studios is GOD! He has somehow managed to turn 2500 Danish kroner, four crazy rock'n'rollers and a hell of a lot of cigarettes into a million. Of course, we knew what sound we were after, but we had never expected it would turn out this good.

LC: "Ken's Song" sounds like a 'novelty' party tune?

DV: Well, I guess it is. Normally the song doesn't feature trombone or banjo, but we thought we might as well go all the way on the recording. And, you know, the song is about Kenneth and seeing he is a strange character, that's the only way the song could turn out, really.

LC: The Marvins? Is the name inspired by the great late toughguy actor Lee Marvin?

DV: No it isn't. It's actually quite a boring story. We started out as plain "Marvin". That was when it was cool to name your band after some fun sounding character name. Then we changed it to "Mr. Wolffhechel and the Marvins", that's actually Michael's last name, and it would be a shame to waste a name like that. It's still our name, but, you know, it's easier just saying "THE MARVINS". And its not quite as difficult to fit onto the ladies breast´s right?

LC: You're wearing black shirts and white ties live, ain't you afraid people'll think of The Hives?

DV: Yeah, maybe... But we aren't wearing it every time we play live, and it's actually been a while since we've worn it. And, being compared to The Hives is not the worst thing that could happen. As long as people can HEAR the difference - and they can!

LC: Favorite movie, book and drink?

DV: Movie: "CASINO ROYALE" the FIRST james bond movie. unofficial though, and NOT the comedy-remake from ´67. It's the older version in b/w. Book: "OPERATION JB" by Christopher Creighton. Drink: BACARDI LEMÓN on the rocks.

LC: Your plans for rest of 2004?

DV: We want to promote "Come On", and as soon as my ankle heels up we will be out playing again. We have quite a few shows lined up in Denmark and Germany. On top of that, we want to write a lot of new songs and, maybe, do another recording later on.

LC: Anything to add?

DV: Yeah…thanks for a cool website……ohh …and check out http://www.themarvins.dk for concert info, pics, movies, audio and more from this fucked up band. ROKKK !!!