Bandmembers
Click or scroll down for bio and further information.



Andreas
Eklund

Mats
Hallstensson

Anders
Lundström

Per
Schelander

Tony
Andersson



© House Of Shakira Music

























Andreas Eklund
Vocals

Growing up in a family where music, theater and almost anything that had to do with performing of some kind, was a favorite passtime, standards were set high for young Andreas.

At age two, when other kids were waiting for the sandman, Andreas took his fathers headphones, plugged them into the stereo system and really cranked up the classic "Made in Japan" - album by Deep Purple. All through his school years Andreas took every chance he could find to sing, play guitar or just show off in anyway he could. Sometimes charging the other kids a small fee, just enough for pizza, to see his preformances.

At age 16 he started his first band Double Douce (yes, that's the way they spell it) and the band still occasionally get together, just for the heck of it.

As a solo artist, Andreas has been offered to work as a field artist and has also been featured on several TV- shows in Sweden. Andreas and his brother regularly work together at weddings, funerals and all kinds of engagements.

During a two year period he toured in Sweden with glam rock parody act "The Poodles", playing the best and/ or the worst songs from the eighties rockscene.

Andreas does not want to label himself as a rock singer, but rather as an entertainer with an open mind, willing to take on any challenge and musical styles that come along. He listens to all kinds of music and his main goal is to entertain through his musicianship.




Mats Hallstensson
Guitars and vocals


At the age of fourteen, Mats got his first electric guitar from his parents, a crappy Italian semi-acoustic Elite that really sounded and performed badly. Guitarists like Uli Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Bostons Tom Scholtz had made him dream of Gibson, Fender and Marshall stacks for a long time, so even a crappy Elité was like striking gold at the time..

Mats started his first band together with friends from school and a few months later they performed on stage for the first time, playing a show for high school kids. It was after this experience that Mats realized that this was something he wouldn't mind doing for the rest of his life..

In the early eightees, Mats played in a local band called Vision and the drummer had just left the band. He went to see a local band in wich, at the time, the future original H.O.S guitarist Anders Lundström and original drummer Henrik Andreasson played.

Mats was blown away with the way Henrik handeled the drums and decided to recruit him to his own band. A couple of years later, Anders also joined Vision. Vision released a swedish pop music EP in 1983 that never made it to the charts...

In 1985, Mats, Anders and Henrik formed a melodic rock band called "The Avenue" and started touring the northern parts of Sweden. Demo-tapes were recorded but being a small band from the north, there were not many record companies that were interested. The Avenue realized that it was time to move to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

In 1986 they packed their bags and moved to Stockholm to become rockstars.. After spending a few years searching for suitable bandmembers, the birth of "The Station" was a fact in 1989.

During the first years in Stockholm, Mats also played guitars and keyboards in a band called "MacBeth" that included, Lars Johansson (Candlemass) and Tobbe Larsson (Glory and John Norum Band). A demo with the band were recorded but Mats left the band, needing to be fully concentrated with The Station.

Today, Mats owns a small record studio, Room Of Doom, together with Torbjörn Weinesjö (Veni Domine), where bands like House Of Shakira, Veni Domine and Mercury Fang have recorded.

Mats also like to build and collect guitars so the guitar family is
growing all the time...



Anders Lundström
Guitars


Anders Lundström was 14 years old when he discovered that it was easier to pick up girls in school as a musician than as a hockeyplayer. So he quickly changed his hockey stick in for a Hagström electric guitar and started to learn songs from AC/DC records.

He soon joined his first band named SPRAY, in which HoS original drummer Henrik Andreasson was behind the kit. After been playing in different combos for some years, Anders and Henrik finally joined the band VISION, in which they teamed up with HoS guitarist Mats Hallstensson. The musicstyle in this band was better described as 80s hardrock meets pop. The mullet hairs were of course jaw dropping.

After years of hard work and playing extensively in the north of Sweden, the guys made a big decision and moved their musical activities to Stockholm in 1986 - the city of fame and fortune…at least they thought so… During the three first years in Stockholm, the guys searched with a torch after similar minded musicians to
work with.


And finally in 1989 THE STATION was formed. The embryo what was to become HOUSE OF SHAKIRA of today. Anders has never had any side projects while playing in HOUSE OF SHAKIRA, but has always given the band "the best of what he´s got".

His biggest influences in guitar playing and song writing is Malcolm Young and Jimmy Page.

Anders plays Gibson Les Paul guitars because
he wants the best…








Per Schelander
Bass and vocals

Music in all shapes and forms has been Per Schelanders style since he picked up the bassguitar when he was fifteen. A local band that Per really liked lost their bass player, so he approached them and said that he could play bass. They said ok and Per went home to practice. The name of the band is forgotten but the guitar player was called Andreas Möller (more about him later).

In almost the same way he joined House of Shakira six years later. They asked him if he was used to sing in harmony. Per said "yes" and went home to practice as a maniac since he'd never actually done that before…

Today Per sings the highest or the lowest part in
House of Shakiras big harmony vocals.

Around 1988 Per discovered Billy Sheehan and thought that his playing was the coolest thing he had ever heard. He started studying music seriously at
the age of 18. Two years in Sweden after wich he moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musicians Institute. During the years of studying in L.A., he started to enjoy listening to and becoming influenced by bassplayers like Jeff Berlin and Rocco Prestia.

Back in Sweden he worked as an ensemble teacher in various musicschools and also began writing music together with
House of Shakira.

Pers list is never ending when it comes to side projects. Starting out playing with various party bands, things became serious with the band Spyke (1998-2002).The debut " Divine Decadence " was released on Future Sounds and the sound and image of the band was quite far from House of Shakira.

During the Spyke years Per got his nickname Per$y due to the
fact that he was always broke for money, but relentlessly showed up in style to all the shows.

In 2005 Per made contact with the great Danes in Royal Hunt (www.royalhunt.com) and he joined the band where he took bassplayer Steen Mogensens place.

Other projects are The Furillos (www.furillos.com), a nine-man strong latin party band that plays at big parties around Sweden, and Speedy Magnus (www.sanden.ws/speedymagnus) where you also find Andreas Möller (from the early years) and Anders Norberg (who played drums in Spyke).

So basically Pers 24 hours are occupied with music but he also looks forward to his first baby that will arrive in early 2006 - new challenges will always come your way if you're open for a change.

Per use the following equipment:
www.ebs.bass.se www.taurus-amp.pl www.mayones.com

 


Tony Andersson
Drums


In 1989 Tony felt he had had enough of forklifting around the sausage factory where he worked, and called it quits.
Never again.

He took his life savings (about $ 1000) and went to Tinseltown because that's what everybody (well maybe not everybody) back
in Örebro was doing at the time.

Tony lived just north of Los Angeles at a ranch called The Elk
Horn Ranch for about two months, playing with a part swedish
part american band called Sin City. The band featured two monstrous guitar players straight out of Musicians Institute, shredders. No show just shred, period. Practice man!!!

Well, a thousand dollars only lasts for a short time so he had
to go back home to Sweden even if he cried like a baby because L.A. is, or at least was the place to be.

Back in Örebro he joined the hair band Big Blue and messed around for about three years really getting nothing done.
In 1992 his longing for Los Angeles and the urge to become a rock star à la grande, took him overseas again. This time Tony enrolled and graduated as a student of Percussion Institute Of Technology at Musicians Institute.

Life was good, on studentloans...

Once again, passing around his promo pack in the L.A. area along side of millions of other wannabees, really got him nowhere.
He felt pretty good though, knowing that Ozzy Ozbourne and Richard Marx might have listened to those tapes at the time.

Broke for money, once again Sweden was to be honoured by
Tonys prescence, only this time the capital, Stockholm. At Musicians Institute Tony met swedish bass player Per Schelander
( whom you all know by now ), and Per was the man who got him into House Of Shakira.


Right now House Of Shakira is the only project that Tony is
involved in, and when he's not playing drums with the band he spends time with his family.

Tony is not endorsed by any brand and plays whatever he can
find for a dollar, but hey!!! That all can change, right!?






 

© House Of Shakira Music