Doomed Confessionary: Mario, Manuel, Karl & Johannes (Purple Roadhouse)
Purple Roadhouse is a stoner/heavy rock band from the countryside of Austria formed in 2016. Played with an addiction for pure rockmusic and inspired by bands from last decades a heavy sound after another haunts through their amplifiers. Proceed for a loud and fuzz-drenched trip…
The band just released their full-length debut album »Smoke & Mirrors« on June 22nd, 2024.
Purple Roadhouse are Mario on vocals, Manuel on guitar, Karl on bass and Johannes on drums.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Manuel: We’re four guys who started to play the kind of heavy rock we love together in 2016. Everyone of us comes from a bit of a different musical background which creates a very interesting mix of influences in our sound that gets tied together by our shared love for doom metal, stoner rock and grunge.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Manuel: Getting back into the minds of people after Covid. In 2019 we’ve already made quite a name for ourselves in the local scene and got many opportunities to do live shows. But as a smaller band you have to stay present or else you’ll be forgotten in no time. I’d say it took until last year for us to get as many opportunities as we had before 2020.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Manuel: Our new album »Smoke & Mirrors«. It took longer than we liked to finally release it, but we love what came out of it. We had some great collaborators for that album, Alex Lausch and Martin Scheer did incredible work getting the production to sound as good as it does and our close friend Inkustrator created a wonderful artwork for the release.
What was your biggest regret?
Manuel: None at all. I think we’re all pretty happy how things worked out until now.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Manuel: I’d have to say our last one which was our album release show at Café Carina. The venue was filled to the brim and the atmosphere was great.
We also played as openers for international bands like Lucifer and The Re-Stoned which was amazing as well.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Manuel: The love and support within the scene. We’ve met so many great people doing shows.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Manuel: I just recently discovered Downfall Of Gaia and at the moment they’re probably my most played band. Apart from that I’m lately listening to a lot of harcore punk (Propagandhi, Funeral Diner, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedy, etc.) again.
Johannes: Jojo Mayer’s Nerve, Tool, Metallica and because I’ve recently been to Ireland, U2 and Thin Lizzy!
Karl: A lot of psychedelic rock (at the moment: The Confederate Dead) and hardcore punk (at the moment: BIB).
Mario: A lot of Metallica and german punk music. But also Electric Wizard, Monolord, Stoned Jesus, 1000mods, Dopelord, Sleep and High On Fire.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Manuel: I started out as a self-taught guitar player and formed some bad habits – some I still haven’t got rid of. But after a few years I took some lessons from a fantastic jazz guitarist who was very focused on improving the technique of my strumming hand. And it’s incredible how much your playing improves when you’ve got that figured out.
Johannes: There are actually two great pieces of advice I’ve taken to heart concerning drums in rock music:
• Hit them hard and loud!
• Less is more!
Karl: Be patient and don’t be a dick.
Mario: A good advice that was given to me was to do more clean singing which is definitely worth a try…
What are your guilty pleasures?
Manuel: There are definitely some pop and hip-hop artists I like that many people within the scene would consider ‘guilty pleasures’. But I don’t really think it’s a bad thing to have a broad musical horizon.
Johannes: I do like some songs of Mötley Crüe and I’m a huge fan of Phil Collins. 😀
Karl: Free Bird.
Mario: Billy Talent, Evanescence, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Can you say something more about the music scene in your part of Austria?
Manuel: We’re from a pretty rural area in Austria and sadly the scene get’s smaller and smaller over time. Since we’ve started out in 2016 a lot of bands decided to quit and the opportunities to play shows at home are few and far between.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Manuel: Our next show is at Kramladen in Vienna on August 30th and we’ll be playing our first Open Air show in September or October in Krems.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Manuel: In the near future we probably will focus on playing shows and writing new songs. And in a few years there will be hopefully another Purple Roadhouse LP.
How can people best support your band?
Manuel: Visit our shows, tell people about us, buy our releases.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Johannes: Celebrate music, whether you’re listening or playing. Give it time, listen to albums, be open for new genres and most importantly: visit concerts and support bands you enjoy, no matter how famous they are!
Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well