Artist Info

Perhaps the first hint that a solo career following Evil Superstars and Mitsoobishy Jacson (amongst others) was planned was Mauro's acoustic set at De Nachten in 2000. This gig demonstrated some of the songs he had in mind for his solo career, but he then looked for a band to compliment the songs and to provide more of a rock sound.

At this point, enter Herman Houbrechts (drums), Jan Wygers (Bass), Anton Janssens (keyboards), and later Steven Janssens (guitar). The band line-up was ready, and after a series of band name choices including The Golden Ass Rangers and Mauro & The Inferno's, the final decision was just simply Mauro.

A tour in Spring of 2000 kicked off with a few try-out gigs, where they had the opportunity to test out the new material. Later in June 2000, The first single "A Faint Smile" was released. However the debut album "Songs from a Bad Hat" on PIAS did not reach all good record stores until April 2001. Although the 70's theme of the album seemed to be a major departure from the craziness of the Evil Superstars, reviews in the media were consistently positive. A second single "Let Me Know" quickly followed the album release, and two more singles, "Finish it all off with Love", and "Everybody's friend followed during the summer of 2001.