Hair Metal Mansion Interview with Eddie Smith & Scott Banks of Mad Margritt

[Andrew]

I am proud to present to you another EXCLUSIVE Hair Metal Mansion interview!
I got the chance to talk with Mad Margritt frontman, Eddie Smith and guitarist Scott Banks!
If you don't know Mad Margitt...you should! Because they are a great band that is keeping real rock and metal alive! A lot of their influence comes from the rock and metal bands of the 80's. I would compare their sound to Bach-era Skid Row! They've played and toured with a number of bands...such as; KISS, Poison, Cinderella, Queensryche, Skid Row, Ratt and MANY others! They are now signed with Perris Records.

Read the interview to find out more about them!

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Hair Metal Mansion: This is for both of you. Were either of you involved with any other bands/projects prior to Mad Margritt?

Eddie: I played in a few bands down in South Florida before forming Mad Margritt. One was called the Strangles of Bombay. We were kind of a cross between Motley Crue and Twisted Sister. Another band I was in was called Sanction. We were together about three years and then me and the bass player broke off to form Mad Margritt.

Scott: I have been in several other bands/projects over the years, worked as a sound engineer in a few studios, a great learning experience for what we do now.


HMM: Who are some of your major influences?

Scott: I have a variety of influences, that vary from all types of music, but Blue Murder, Kings X, Ozzy, just to name a few.

Eddie: At first I was really into all the classic rock stuff (Zeppelin, Sabbath, Kiss, AC/DC, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith), then I started getting into all the 80’s rock and metal. I wasn’t just into one aspect of the 80’s , I loved all of it. Everything from the glam stuff (Poison, Cinderella, Def Leppard) to the harder stuff (Motley Crue, Skid Row, Guns N Roses) and of course the metal stuff (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy).


HMM: How and when did Mad Margritt first form?

Eddie: The band was formed in the mid 90’s down in South Florida but we relocated to Atlanta, Georgia a few years later. We were sick of all the grunge and alternative crap that was going on at the time. We wanted to put together a band that played high energy, in your face rock and metal.

Eddie Smith on stage with Stevie Rachelle of Tuff

HMM: In July of 1999, you were signed by Delinquent Records...and released your first full-length album, "In the Name of Rock". To go along with that, you guys went on your first U.S. tour and opened for bands like; Ratt, Cinderella, Great White, Warrant, Slaughter, Quiet Riot, BulletBoys, Skid Row, Tesla, Every Mother's Nightmare & Pretty Boy Floyd. Tell me a little bit about that album and what it was like during that time.

Eddie: It was a really exciting time for us. After the cd came out, we received write-ups in all the major magazines including my favorite magazine at the time, Metal Edge. Going out on tour was really cool. I had never been on the road before so it was awesome to go out and play all these places that I had never been to. I can’t even put into words how cool it was to open up shows for bands like Cinderella and Quiet Riot. I think the first big band we ever opened up for was Ratt. My heart was beating out of my chest the whole time. It was such an incredible high and a total adrenaline rush. I still get excited like that every time we do a big show, there’s no better feeling than rocking out in front of thousands of screaming fans!


HMM: Mad Margritt released an album in 2002 called, “New Sensation”. Now, it also featured legendary vocalist, Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent/Michael Schenker) on one track as well. What was it like to work with Derek and how did it come about exactly?

Eddie: He’s really a cool guy and can sing his ass off. He sounds even better now then he did 30 years ago. The Ted Nugent band was one of the first hard rock bands I ever got into so having the guy who sang Stranglehold in the studio with us recording one of our songs was surreal.


HMM: Mad Margritt is now signed with Perris Records...how did that come about?

Eddie: We were playing at a place called Pink E’s in Las Vegas and Tom Mathers (President of Perris Records) pulled me aside after the show. We talked for a few hours and eventually ended up signing a deal with them a few months later.

HMM: The latest Mad Margritt album, "Animal", was released back in 2007. I have to say that I think that it's a pheneomenal disc. I look forward to featuring songs from it on my show! Tell me about that album.

Eddie: I think Animal is definitely the best cd that we have ever put out. It really captures all aspects of the band. There are some real heavy songs, some melodic songs and some straight ahead rockers.

Scott: This record was something different for all of us, we each brought something different to it, that's why it's such a departure from anything else we have done. The entire record is self-written, self-produced, and we recorded it ourselves, so we had 100% control of the sound! We are very proud of this new direction.


HMM: What's your favorite Mad Margritt song to play live?

Eddie: I love every song on the cd so picking only one song is really hard. My adrenaline is usually pumping pretty hard when were onstage so I’ll have to go with one of the more aggressive ones like Animal or Loaded Gun.

Scott: Each song brings out a different emotion for me to play, like Ruling Me is fun and party-like, whereas Time or Animal are heavy and aggressive, so I can't say that I have a favorite.


HMM: Out of all the bands you guys have toured & played with, who were the coolest?

Eddie: We’ve always gotten along really well with all the bands we’ve played with. Some of them like to hang out and socialize a little more then others but they all have been really cool with us.


HMM: Scott, word has it that you actually travelled with the band Stryper back in the day....tell me about that.

Scott: Ok, It wasn't the yellow/black Stryper that everyone thinks of. It was called King James with Robert Sweet and Oz Fox, but Oz couldn't make the tour to Norway/Sweeden, so they asked me to fill in. I was pretty young, it was a chance to see a part of the world that I hadn't seen before, and a great opportunity to play with those guys.


HMM: Eddie, you are also Rocknation TV's latest VJ. Rocknation TV is a weekly hard rock/metal video show that airs in over 234 cities nationwide. Tell me about that.

Eddie: Rocknation TV is a 30 minute hard rock / heavy metal video show. It’s kind of like the old Headbangers Ball on MTV. They started playing our video for the song Loaded Gun about a year ago and apparently it got a lot of positive feedback. The producer of the show contacted me and said people were really responding to the video. He asked if I would like to shoot a few promo spots to help promote the show. After I finished the shoot, he told me that he liked the way I came across on camera and asked if I wanted to be a VJ on the show. I stay really busy with Mad Margritt but I thought it would be a really cool thing to do so I’m trying to fit it into my schedule whenever I can. So far I’ve done an interview with Buckcherry and a few intro’s and id’s. It’s been pretty cool so far, I’m looking forward to doing some more stuff with them.


HMM: Mad Margritt performed at the South Texas Rock Fest last year....alongside bands like; Queensryche, Dokken, Skid Row, Tesla and many more! How did that go and what was it like?

Eddie: It was insane! We had such a blast out there and the crowd was incredible. The Texas heat was pretty brutal but other than that it was awesome!!


HMM: What has been the most memorable highlight of your career so far?

Eddie: I just feel really fortunate to be able to play to play music for a living. Every night that we perform is a highlight!

Scott: I can't talk about my favorite highlights, they're on film!!!


HMM: What's on the horizon for Mad Margritt?

Eddie: We’re gonna start working on a new cd after the summer is over. We’ve already started working on a few songs and so far it’s coming along great. I’m real excited about the direction we are going with the songwriting. It’s gonna be similar to the Animal cd but a lot more intense. We’re gonna turn everything up a notch and put out a cd that will melt your speakers!!

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I just want to thank both Eddie and Scott for taking the time out to do the interview! It was a real honor for me. I want to wish them & all of Mad Margritt nothing but the best!

For more on Mad Margritt, check out these links;

www.madmargritt.com
www.myspace.com/madmargritt
www.hairbangersradio.ning.com/group/madmargritt

Courtesy of www.hairbangersradio.ning.com

[CKSTANFORD87]

These guys of MAD MARGRITT are def. true to their own hearts, this is the type of music they love, they are more than a band of musicians, they are like brothers, they are in sinc with each other, they compliment each other, while they are all individuals with a real handle on what their vision is for the future of MAD MARGRITT...They are very nice, humble and fan friendly. They deserve all the good fortune that streams thier way. Good job on the interview. Also-ROCKLAHOMA-Hell-Yeah...That's what I'm talking about...Check them out Yall, Get your 2 free Mad Margritt music downloads @ www.reverbnation.com/madmargritt
~limited availability~

[Motleymike87]

really cool interview Andrew! Nice Job!