Doomed Confessionary: Mario, Olli & Stefan (Eleanore)
Eleanore is a stoner/grunge/hard rock trio from Emden, Germany.
They started in late 2022 when Olli (bass, vocals), Stefan (drums) and Mario (guitar, vocals) tried to combine influences from different rock music genres into their own sound. It’s all about creating a wall of sound, one you can dive into, that surrounds you with heavy riffs, catchy beats and honest lyrics.
Eleanore have just released their debut full-length album »Full Throttle In All Directions« on April 14th, 2024.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Eleanore is a three piece stoner/hard rock band from northern Germany. It was founded in late 2022. I started the whole thing by posting an ad on one of the major online trading platforms. It didn’t take long and I received a reply from Olli (bass) and Stefan (drums), so we met and wanted to figure out if we were able to be in tune – and we were! Some time later, we were just talking about cars, Stefan came up with the name Elenor – which is the nickname of a 69 Ford Mustang GT and we immediately thought – that’s it! I mean, what screams more rock than this car? When we first started, we thought about searching for a vocalist for the band. But keeping things between the three of us certainly has many advantages, and Olli and I somehow managed to play our instruments and sing at the same time. Eleanore has always been about the joy of making music together, not about being super professional. Since we first met in 2022, we enjoy every rehearsal, because we think that our individual styles blend in very well.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
I think, our biggest challenge was, and still is, time. We all have families and full time jobs which makes it hard to find free time to come together for band practice or recording sessions. Olli also occasionally has to work weekends which even makes it more challenging. We are already happy if we manage to come together once every two weeks.
What can you be most proud of so far?
We are extremely grateful and also proud that there are really people who like our music und who support us. When you start out as a band you are, of course, convinced of your own music, but you do not know if other people share your perception. We are happy that there are people who do. This way we were also able to make some new friends from all around the world. It’s always nice when your work is appreciated.
What was your biggest regret?
There are many things which worked quite well for us so far. If there was something to regret, then I would say, that we could have founded the band earlier. But then again, we started after the Covid pandemic, which maybe was the perfect time, because we didn’t have to deal with concert venues being closed or not being able to practice due to contact restrictions.
What was the best concert so far and why?
Our best concert so far was at a small rock bar in Emden, it’s called Bourbon. It is special because the stage is connected to the bar, meaning you can walk on the bar and play our songs directly in between the audience. This way there is always a great atmosphere.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Mario: Kyuss, Cowboys&Aliens, Slo Burn, Fire Down Below, and I have just downloaded EPs from our friends, Fuser and Black Sunrise. There are certainly lots of smaller bands worth checking out.
Olli: Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Alice In Chains, Mastodon, Stone Temple Pilots, Gnomes and an unmanagable amount of classical and jazz albums
Stefan: Rival Sons, Mr. Big, The Gaslight Anthem, but also some classic rock/blues rock bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin etc.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
When we published our demo EP on YouTube someone wrote in the comments that we should not try to fix anything that is not broken. He was referring to our rough recordings and mixes and the simplicity, if you can call it like that, of our songs. I often hear songs of bands in our genre with many different layers of guitars, organs and other effects in the background, which certainly can sound massive, but which will be very hard for the band to reproduce live. What you hear on our recordings is pretty much what you can expect on an Eleanore concert. This way people won’t be disappointed.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Well…I don’t know whether you can really call it guilty or not, but all three of us have serious GAS. Olli collects bass guitars, Stefan drum parts, and I like to try out different guitars and amps. We also like to work on the gear, like replacing pickups and pots, different paint jobs and all that stuff. As a musician, these are your tools and the better these tools fit to your expectations the more comfortable you feel when playing them, I guess.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Emden area?
In the East Frisian region of Germany there is a vivid metal and punk rock scene. There are also some festivals which primarily feature punk and metal acts, like the Black Tides Fest, Let The Bad Times Roll or the ApenAir. Unfortunately, the hard rock/stoner scene is rather underrepresented in our area. Just recently, however, a new venue opened its doors which is just about 30 minutes from our rehearsal room, the Seker Huus. It’s a great location with friendly and easy-going people and although primarily punk rock bands play there, there are occasionally concerts of stoner bands too.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We are playing one more gig in May this year. We are already looking forward to this one because it is a private festival with many other bands which also rather tend to the alternative/hard rock genre. That is always a good opportunity to make new friends and people say the atmosphere there is always great.
Next, we are going to have some kind of “summer break” due to family obligations. But in October we would like to start again playing a few shows until the end of the year. One gig is already set for November 16th in Jever.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Nothing special really, play some gigs and record a few songs. We certainly hope to get the opportunity to play on one or two of the smaller festivals here in Germany next year. Furthermore, we have already been working on some new songs. Maybe, if we have the money, we will be able to record them in a studio and to give our songs a better sound quality than on our previous EPs.
How can people best support your band?
Enjoy our music, like our music, share our music. Honestly, we are happy about every new “like”, every new follower and everyone who just listens to our music and enjoys it. It’s always nice to hear that people like what we are doing, this also encourages us to go on.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Enjoy and always rock hard!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well