Interview with Marco Marouco Guitars with On The Loose and Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
MM: I’m just a simple guy that loves Heavy Metal, with the years the fingers got slower so now I play what I can in a good way, love photography, did all the artwork photos and all the music I just do what I feel in the moment no much thinking, that would destroy the spontaneous feelings that you are living in that writing mode.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
MM: I’m from Portugal my first recording was back in 95 with a Death Doom metal band called Extreme Unction it was the explosion of the Portuguese underground with bands like Moonspell, Deacayed, Sacred Sin…
After I moved to Madrid and played with satanicspeed thrash metallers Omission, recorded 2 demos and 3 albums, 10 years later I returned to Portugal and recorded 2 records for Perpetrator a thrash metal band, Decayed asked me if I could help recording some solos in one recordand ended up recording solos for 3 records.
Then life changed and stopped playing guitar for like 3 years due to some dirty ongoings in the scene.
After that I picked up the guitar and couldn’t play like before so decided to start a new project that nobody else would interfere
No more fast solos or Thrash Metal, I could only play slow stuff with quality, decided to create On The loose Epic Doom Metal something that I always loved.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences?
MM: To tell you the truth both On The Loose albums we’re made in one week each, I take one week off work pick the guitar and start playing, with 49 years I have a good music background from hard rock to Black Metal…but what I really like are those dark bands from the NWOBHM and some stuff from the US like Manilla Road Cirith Ungol or Omen.
I write all the music like 16 songs than I ask João the drummer what he likes from all that music and we start the pre production until we have only the good riffs in a maximum of 50 minutes of music than recordings and all that.
PD: What do you like to write about in your songs?
MM: I have a very good friend Rick Thor from Rage and Fire and Filii Nigrantium infernalium that possess a very good English lexicon I tell him what I really want and he has total freedom to write the lyrics, until now I’m amazed of ALL lyrics
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
MM: As I told you previously just a drum beat and a guitar than everything flows, alone in my darkened room just me and the guitar.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
MM: My proudest moment in my music career is this album Dark Emotions, everything is has I wanted to be, wanted the rhythm session sounding like old days Metal bands in the vein of DIO, Thin Lizzy, guitars sounding a bit more modern Scorpions even Paradise Lost and vocals from the depths of hell.
It was a very difficult situation when I decided to change singer, Flávio Lino who recorded the first record is always on tour with Airforce and couldn’t manage to help on this record so João Ventura the drummer already knew Pedro Fialho a great singer that plays in bars doing cover songs, I passed the songs to him, asked him if he liked it, he said yes and here
we are with the best vocals that I could have for this album. Pedro really did a perfect job, to put the cherry on the top I asked Diana Silveira to do a duet with Pedro and the first time I heard the song I almost cried, Diana is one of the top world soul/rock singers, great expression and feeling.
Finally the producer Paulão nailed it.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
MM: I’m one of those guys from the bedrooms hahaha it’s difficult but when you know how to move in the scene with the connections that I have after all this years playing live and recording, people in Portugal and Spain know me from all my past hard work so tend to help because some quality is produced.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
MM: No performing, it’s impossible the drummer plays with other 4 bands apart from bars, the singer is a professional cover bars singer me with my daily work don’t have the availability for that so I stick on deliver just good music…but we never know the future.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
MM: I like it so much that I uploaded the album not with the final mix and in low quality.
The only site that will have the final mix and high quality will be Bandcamp where you can purchase the cd starting on the 7th of April
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
MM: Simple man by Lynyrd Skynyrd that’s the song that I always play when I pick up the guitar to warm my fingers it is a fantastic song and If I could have the rights I wouldn’t need to work more and could more music hahahahaha
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
MM: The music industry is what it is, if there is demand for shity copypaste bands the big labels will release those bands, I don’t know why because the sales are nothing compared like 20 years ago, before a label would give you a budget for an album and a tour now they only produce the record and do the online distribution…some of the small labels are even worst you do everything, music, artwork, promotion and they release the record giving you 10% of the records…in the 
best you’ll get 30% that’s a good deal nowadays
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
MM: Right now I’m promoting the record doing interviews, managing everything online waiting for the cds to arrive and than going to the mail office to send the cds.
Prefer to do everything myself I invest my own money and get it all, no shares for the industry.
Already have holidays booked for April so I will write the third On the Loose album to be released next year
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
MM: You can listen to On the Loose in all streaming platforms in low quality but you can go to bandcamp and listen to the real thing buying the record.
https://ontheloose2.bandcamp.com/
Many thnxs for supporting On the Loose
WE ARE ALL DEVILS ON THE LOOSE
On the Loose links:
Band/Artist location – Tavira, Portugal
Facebook – You Tube – Bandcamp –
Check our page for On The Loose
