Inteview with Mahoney

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INTERVIEW WITH:

MAHONEY


-------------- 

Mahoney was interviewed by Orlando of Brainstorm. 

-  Mahoney, first of all could you tell me why you decided to take this name as your nick~name? What about the names Toot, Ice~cream and Pepper~mint?  

Mahoney is, believe it or not, the weird hero of Police Aca~demy. Lucky me, every~body seems to have for~gotten about him. I used to like those films, last month I just had to check one out and see if I was still fond of them. I wasn't. The other names you've men~tioned, they're NOT mine, I gave them to Kaktus. What would you think about "Mahoney & Ice~cream" or "Mahoney & Pepper~mint". That sounds like a candy-store or some~thing. I'm glad he caught the name Kaktus.  


-  "His Master's Noise ", this was you last pro~duction on the Amiga. Will the scene really never again see a Mahoney & Kaktus pro~duction? Do you think there will be any inno~vative demos in the future? What would your new demo look like, if you did one? Any tips for coders with~out ideas?  

Mahoney & Kaktus will take an ever~lasting vacation, so you won't have to worry about the future. We won't destroy it! If I made a new demo, it'd be with an huge vector-world with hidden lines and surfaces, all with pre-calced coordi~nates. This flight through my own house would show every~thing that I've got, inclu~ding my new stereo! But, as you've already guessed, I won't do such a demo, in fact I won't do another demo at all. If you're a coder without ideas, don't code any~thing. A demo without any imagina~tion isn't a demo at all, it's just a waste of disk~space. 


-  Kaktus told me that he met you for the first time at the Furu~land meeting 87. And one month later you met each~other in your cellar. But Kaktus never wanted to tell me what hap~pened there. Do you remem~ber?  

Hehe. I do, I really do. But, one shall be able to have some private life too, the dirty parts will natur~ally be censored. Then what's left? Nothing! Nothing in the fridge, nothing in my purse, nothing in my mind and abso~lutely nothing to be said about it. 


-  What about the group Mega~klop~parna? What do you think about their mega~demo? It's superb, isn't it?  

You're right, that's really our style. I hope you've all seen this master~piece. The trouble nowa~days days is that there's too much stuff released every day, and normal human beings (spending less than 8 hours a day with computers) have a slight problem straining worth~less stuff off the quality. If you managed to do this, you have never seen Mega~klop~parna's mega~demo. 


-  When you have a look at the North~star & Fair~light mega~demo III. What is your impres~sion? Do you still like it? Do you think the mega~demo would have been so success~ful without your contri~butions, too? What do you think about mega~demos now?  

I love it. That's history, just like world-war II, like Shakes~peare or any~thing else. Many new proud Amiga-owners have missed the history of Amiga, and that's bad! If you remove the Mahoney & Kaktus-stuff from the mega~demo, there would simply be nothing left. It's ugly, it's weird, it's Mahoney & Kaktus. I don't dare to say that these are good demos, but they sure give me a lot of memo~ries. Still, the other parts in the mega~demo were great compa~ring to contem~porary demos. Mega~demos up-to-date are nothing to look forward to. Some years ago, you found new ideas explo~ring new hidden corners of the Amiga. Every~thing you see in a mega~demo (and demos, too) you have seen before, in one way or an~other. 


-  Are you intere~sted whether people like your pro~ductions or not. If every~body had told that your demos are boring and look terribly bad, would you have changed your style?  

What do you think I've been hearing all the time? I've heard millions of times how worth~less I am drawing and design~ing. These three years of practise didn't change much, did it? If you wonder why we are always were "Mahoney & Kaktus" and never single, we have a simple answer: We can blame each~other for every~thing. 


-  Do you like being famous? Do you feel to be a living legend? What do you think about people at parties who just can't imagine that you're the "famous" Mahoney and look at you like you were a star?  

Am I famous? What's the defini~tion of fame any~way? Being famous is not my problem, that's every~body else's. If I like a movie, concert, sports~man or poli~tician I remember him, I don't make him famous. Many people know Mahoney & Kaktus, but they don't know us. Mahoney & Kaktus can be anyone you'll meet any~where, maybe we've already met. I love to get to know people, it might be your turn next. What diffe~rence does it make if I'm Mahoney or not? 


-  What do you think about other computers like C64, Zx Spectrum, Zx 81, Ibm (compa~tibles), Next, Archi~medes? Which is your favou~rite? Do you want to buy other computers in the future?  

Deep, deep down in my ward~robe there's an old Zx-80. Every~time you press a key, the whole screen went -bzztr! because the computer couldn't handle both the screen and the key~board at once. That's like being inca~pable of walking and chewing a gum at the same time! Zx Spectrum, why not? You could use it for any~thing: Computer, table - leg - adjuster, rubber, foot - scraper, ruler and pillow! C64: I've seen incredible things on the C64 lately. Being spoiled with an Amiga, I still can't figure out what makes these dedica~ted persons continue. But I love it! Ibm: PC is just a waste of feelings. If you want to go mad, fight your parents instead. 


-  Exceller 8 was the magazine by North~star & Fair~light. Why did the groups stop publi~shing it? Did you like it? What do you think about disk-maga~zines at the moment?  

We had some fun with Exceller 8, nothing more. We made some intros (Did you miss 'Hallon~saft' with all those fish?) and enjoyed our~selves. The mag died because we had no reason to continue. Although you're doing a great job with Zine, you ought to take a vacation sometimes too, Orlando!









Continues...
...continued. 


-  Thanks! I probably MUST take vacations soon, because I'll finish school soon and then I MUST join the army. But let's continue the interview. Did the hours in front of the computer change your personality? Tell us about the longest nonstop computer session...  

Yes, being a swimmer for seven years as well as an addict to computers has given me a lot. Concentration is one of most useful qualities, patience another. I loved swimming because it always gave me a distance to what I was doing with the computer. And when you are in the water, you don't have to concentrate how to swim fast or how to improve your movements, you can use your mind going through the day in school or thinking of what to do next week, etc.. This made me a very organized person, sometimes too organized. I knew who I was, I knew my reactions, my body and myself. But time is, as you might know, in painfully short supply. I managed through school (well, I'm not really finished, I've got a long way ahead) very well, and had time for computers and swimming, too. But I forgot my life. A life which I found just a few years ago, and made me quit swimming, worry less about computers, and get alive. I'm happy now, and I don't regret the past years, they gave me, as mentioned, patience, self-confidence and much more. I'm now replacing my computer to keep up with school-work. I hope most of you will do the same thing soon, because there is a life without computers, which cannot be turned off or programmed, with far more bugs and guru-meditations than you ever can imagine. There is love, pain, joy and friendship, which doesn't flicker 50 Hz. The best part of life isn't electric. (Hey Orlando!, sorry for this little essay, I just had to!) 


-  You don't have to be sorry. I like you essay and I almost have the same opinion. Read my article in this issue about that topic. Enough personal small-talk. More questions are coming up. Delta of Trsi coded a demomaker, what do you think about it and generally about demomaker programs?  

It's nice for everybody. Now even jerks like me make good-looking demos with high-quality standard. 


-  You almost coded all Mahoney & Kaktus productions, but never mentionned you alone as coder of them? You seem not to be self-centred at all. Is that true? What about arrogance and egoism?  

Yes, I have coded most of our stuff, but, and this is important, I would never do without Kaktus. Without him I would only be member of Phenomena or Razor working as someone else's slave. Now I'm his slave, and he's mine. Together we are a team, until death do us apart. In the beginning (on the 64) we created about the same amount of demos, but later, when Kaktus went into higher education, he didn't have much time. Quite naturally, we were still "Mahoney & Kaktus", we never made any difference like "I've done this, he's done that", what would that be good for? Now I'm in the same situation, a lack of time makes computing close to impossible. People asked me why I still wrote Kaktus name on my works, and I had no answer. It had always been like that. Egoism is a crime, believe me! 


-  What is your opinion towards sysops and modem-traders. Do you understand modem-traders who up- and download the whole day without having a look at the programs they are dealing with? Do you have a modem?  

I haven't got a modem, and I will never get one either. The demos worth looking at I get from my closest friends (Hi Flex!), thereby saving a lot of time. I think the modem-scene is crazy. Common sense is eliminated and left is upload-credits and speed. I don't see the joy of spending hours with a telephone talking to somebody you don't even know. 


-  What do you think about my PRIMUS demo? (Write your opinion also if you think it's pure sh**!)  

It really is pure sh**, and I love it! 


-  Why did you start using computers. Was it a way to be creative or did you just want to become famous? If yes, do you think you succeeded?  

My brother bought one when I was six years old, and I was stuck. At the age of six you have absolutely no thoughts of getting famous or to be creative. It was just one of my toys, nothing more. I'll say it once more: I don't care if I'm famous or not. You don't know me anyway! 


-  Do you prefer drawing graphics, composing sounds or coding?  

No, I don't, not any longer. 


-  Why do you think, Kaktus is so crazy?  

He's not only crazy, he's also insane, lunatic, dearanged, goofy, bananas, loco, queer and hell of a friend to deal with. I like him, and I hope I will catch the infection from him some day! 


-  Noisetracker is another successful M&K production. Did you earn a lot of money by selling it? What was the most difficult thing to code for Noisetracker? What do you think about Protracker and other music programs? What do you think about the Noisepacker utility by Twins/Phenomena?  

We didn't get anything making the Noisetracker, except for a lot of head-aches, lost sleep and also a lot of fun. Not a single piece of money. Explaining why would be too difficult here, but it all ended up "don't worry, be happy!". Making the NT was great, I hated system-programming more than anything until I started with NT, then I hated it even more. Protracker is nice, they're doing a great job. But Protracker has got all the limits Soundtracker had in the beginning. A worthless song-format, f ex. This can be eliminated by Noisepacker, but still the noisepacker-replay won't handle Protracker-modules. I like Twins, they're good friends of mine.


Continues...
...continued. 


-  Please comment the following words & expressions. Just write what strikes you right away... 

-- Bananas, apples and oranges. 
Yum yum! They are fruits, aren't they? 

-- I love you. 
I love you too, Orlando. But I don't need another one, I've in fact already got a honey. (Orlando: Burp!) 

-- Crazy, weird and insane. 
Life working with computers. 

-- I hate you. 
I haven't used this phrase once. I don't want to hear it, so why should I say it? 

-- McDonalds. 
That's a lovely place to be, maybe just because SHE is working there? 

-- Discos & Hip Hop 
I love to dance, Hip-hop and techno is what I like best to dance to. Right now I love the Swedish guy Mauro Scocco and his remix of "Ingen vinner". Play that for me, and I go wild! 

-- Fast inconvex vectors & blenkvectors 
Sounds like a nightmare for Photon/Scoopex. 

-- Smoking and drinking 
Is a habit of everybody else, it seems. This I've avoided for 17 years, and I'll manage without them a few years more... Thanks to my swimming, I suppose! 

-- Kraftwerk & Roxette 
YES! My favourites! The bigger, the better, here we come! 

-- Beautiful girls... 
In Sweden they are both beautiful AND girls. At the same time! 


- What differences are there between the Amiga and the C64 scene? 

The hackers use different machines. 


-  Do you like cactuses? Did you ever give Kaktus a cactus as a gift? What was his reaction?  

Yes, every single birthday of his he's got and will get a cactus from me. Lucky him has got fireworks on his birthday (1st of January, every year!). Sob, sob! Giving him a cactus is my revenge. Please! Next year, save some fireworks until the 11th of January and fire them for me instead! 


-  How many disks did you insert in your external floppy since you got your Amiga?  

Stupid question, the next one, please! 


-  Tell us something about your relationship to pacmans! 

I'm a pacmaniac, these yellow creatures have been running around in my brain all the time. Have you noticed all these yellow acid-smiles everywhere? They are just bad pacman-copies. If the Japanese inventor of Pacman wanted to, he could sue everybody and get an awful lot of money. 


-  What is your favourite M&K production? 

Hard question! I think it is our last 64-demo "Skruv!". It is nothing compared to the demos produced these days, but I still love it. The loading-part of "His Master's Noise" is rather nice too.  


-  What did you do yesterday? 

Yesterday? I got up at 6:21 and jumped into a chilly cold shower. Swallowing a breakfast and brushing my teeth with my nice yellow toothbrush was nothing compared to how fast I ran to the bus. School started with four hours with a maths-test. Derive the expression "1/(1+3x)" with the definition of derivate. With my small handwriting that takes about one sheet of paper. Not strange they have to cut down the rain-forest! Anyway, after the test I went to my girlfriend's school to visit her. I met most of her classmates, but not her. Sob! Going back to my own school this time to cheer up our teachers. They're so happy when we occasionally visit the class. Then, once more, I went to my girlfriend's (by the way, her name is Helene, and she is lovely!) school, and this time I didn't miss her. We went around in town until darkness embraced us. Then, I went home by bus and got this very nice letter from Orlando/Brainstorm. Can you guess what it was? I glanced through my homework and finally made for my bed at some minutes past midnight.  


-  There are a lot of secret modes in M&K productions (Kaktus told me most of them!). Do you want to publish all your secret modes here...  

The first hidden keycodes we made on the 64, in the demo "Skruv!". Describing all hidden features in all our demos would take too much place. I'll give you a hint for "His Master's Noise". If you've got a working clock in your fastmem, try looking at the musicdisk when it's some minutes to midnight. Anyway, I am a pacmaniac!








Continues...
...continued. 


-  There is a secret mode in "His Masters Noise" that shows a picture on which a boy and a girl are obviously making love... Is that you and your girl-friend on the picture?  

I'm glad you see it as "making love" and not as "having sex". These are two totally different things. Having sex with eachother can be fun in only one way. Love is much more than that. That's not my girlfriend on the picture, so you can dream of her if you want to, guys! She's free! 


-  What do you think about the following coders and their demos?  

--- Azatoth/Phenomena 
Yes, he's great. I've met him quite a lot and he's a good friend of mine. I like you best with your hair cut, Olle! Mathemaniac, I love it! 

--- Slayer/Scoopex 
Who's he? Oh! Mental Hangover! Do all Finns booze like that? 

--- Rush/Anarchy 
Sorry, I haven't heard of you. But you're alright, I suppose! 

--- Tec/Cryptoburners 
I must have missed something! Where have I been, sleeping? 

--- Wild Copper 
I never knew there were computers in France until Wild Copper proved it. They are wonderful! 

--- Buddha/Spreadpoint 
I never liked the MasterSeka. Too many versions, too many bugs and a lot of trouble made me hate it. I'm sorry! 

--- Chaos/Sanity 
Yeah! He's cool and has made great demos! But, I've never heard of him... 

--- Celebrandil/Phenomena 
Hi Maarten! Getting your girlfriend a swimsuit? Yes, he's lovely, both as a friend and as a coder. 

--- Myggtasken/Megaklopparna (?) 
Blipp, blopp, this is my new demus. 

-  Who is the best coder at the moment? Why?  

I never say someone to be the best. I can give you the names of 10-15 good coders, but I can never say who is the best. I hate charts and rankings, here you find the so called "famous" coders, worried of retaining their place as number one as fast as possible. I don't care if I'm number 9 in some chart (which I hopefully never will be!), the sun won't smile wider to me if I am. We never wanted to be the best, we never wanted to be better than anyone. We wanted to have fun, if you liked it or not, that's not our problem. 


-  Who or what is or would be your favourite: 

Gfx artist: 
None 

Musician: 
Mantronix/Phenomena (Hi!) 

Demo: 
None 

Music-disk: 
Delicate Sounds of Razor 

Game: 
Love 

Food: 
Pancakes with ice-cream 

Computer: 
None 

Job: 
Student 

Clothes: 
Nice and warm sweaters! 

Music group: 
The Art of Noise! 

Girl-friend: 
Helene, who else? 


-  What was the most astonishing event in your life?  

Friday the 7th of June at 23:00, at a disco called "Chrougen" here in Lund, the place where I met Helene. We went around chatting the whole night through, and we got together the same night. 


-  Do you want to marry and become father of children? When?  

Yes, I will get married some lovely day, and I'd like to have three kids, two girls and one boy. Their names should be "Paulina", "Lisette" and "Pontus". I want to get married when I'm about 24-25 years old, so I'll probably have to wait another seven years! 


-  If you had to possibility to make a trip through all cities you wanted, which would you choose?  

I'd go to Iceland in the summer and nowhere else. I'm not very fond of travelling, but I'd like to see Iceland. 


-  What do you think about the slogan "Live fast and die young".  
That's wrong. If you say that "live fast" means screw around and get drunk in the weekends, then I don't agree.









Continues...
...continued. 


-  Which proverb in your "His Master's Noise" do you like most?  

There are lots of true proverbs in the musicdisk that I like. An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. Nothing is ever so bad it can't get worse. The best part of life isn't electric. 


-  By the way, do you want to ask yourself some questions and answer them?  

Yes, I want to, but these are questions on which I cannot answer: Will we have peace on earth some day? Will I be rich? Will Sweden one day enter the EC? Will I go to Denmark this weekend? Will I have my driving-license before summer? Will we finish this interview soon? Will I be happy without my Amiga? This last question I will answer: - Yes, I will be happy, I am already happy. There will be one less problem left in the world for me. 


-  Do you like being interviewed?  

Do you think I would have answered your questions if I didn't want to? Of course I like it, I even love it! 


-  Here is some free space for anything you want to write.  

So, where are we going now? I'm planning to sell my dear Amiga and buy a water-bed for the money. Just imagine an advertisement reading "I want to swap an Amiga 500 for a water-bed". Not good at all! Anyway, I will keep my computer for a few months more. Eventually I want to write the things I'm looking forward to, like and really care about: Helene, skiing in February, Christmas, school, friends, playing the piano and making the school-magazine! Sorry, but I've to go now (there has to be something else in this magazine not written by me, or what do you think Orlando?). I can't really imagine you still reading this. Go to bed, or do something else. You are worth it: The best part of life isn't electric! 


Last words: Thanks for nice answers, Mahoney. As you said, this interview became really long. But it was interesting and funny to read your answers. Goodbye and good luck for future (non) computer aspirations... 

Mahoney and Orlando/Brainstorm