Interview: Luna Kiss

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Like most rock fans, we all got into music because we heard the lions raw or distorted guitar and that pump of kick and snare that we all get hooked on. We pretty much started out the same; chose our instrument and the rest is history. We’ve all been to music college as teenagers, and Wil chris and Tommy went to study music at uni. We’re not a full time band so chris ajd will still teach guitar on the side, james runs a burger chain and Tommy welds mclaren cars.

done.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I’m really into anything DIY. Doing skirting, building shed, hanging doors. That kind of super rock star stuff haha. It gets me in my muse and I actually come up with a lot of lyrics when I’m in that headspace.

Tommy and chris are big gamers, particularly Tommy. He tells us about regular journeys he’s had on truck simulator .

How long has your band been around?

We’ve been around since 2013 and released various EP. We dropped our debut LP in 2018 called following shadows.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We’re based in Coventry city, U.K. the home of the Special and lady Godiva. The Coventry scene has always been a hard graft, so in the early days it was hard to find our musical identity. For better or worse, it forced us to have to find a sound that we really loved and hoped when we got further a field it would resonate with people. Today the Cov scene is much stronger for rock music.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Luna Kiss is a name that we felt represented the music we wanted to write. Moody and dark but a little bit sexy.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Loreley Germany 2015. We opened a festival at 12am in Germany at an amphitheater. It was 40 degrees and we thought no one would show that early. As soon as we went on the place filled and it was just a super crazy moment. More recently we had the pleasure of playing a bbc stage at the Peaky blinders festival. As big fans of the show that was such a great gig.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already? We will always love the sticky floor rock clubs. It’s where you cut your teeth as a hand, give us one of those any day! Obviously you have aspirations for festivals like reading and Leeds but you just stay focused on the path and hope the rock gods are in your favour.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Queens of the Stone Age, idles, David Bowie

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Practice your instrument and write songs every day. Get as much time playing with as many different people as possible. Find some friends and just jam all the time. Don’t worry about the rest. Music is at its core just meant to be fun!

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Good question. Practice more, write songs every day, don’t worry about the rest. Music is meant to be fun haha! As teenagers it’s super easy to be so serious and try to make your way.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

God that’s a hard question. We’re all bias of loving our latest music. We probably would all agree that our latest single Lust For Blood bangs the mail on the head as to what we want to sound like as a band. Tommy our bass player joined last than a year before lockdowns. Bringing in influences and changing direction as a band was a big journey. This song really hit the sound we want to be known for.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

My favorite track to play live is probably you are from our 2018 album Following Shadows. It’s got a middle eight that we change live and really tease it out. Our track Gravity gets requested basically every show.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

As mentioned early, Tommy joining us pre lockdown really changed the way we jelled as a band. We had penciled songs that year together but being forced to stay at home changed the way we wrote. Now all that craps been lifted we still use those techniques. Chris and I write the initial riffs that spark inspiration. Tommy will usually write a few computer-generated drum grooves, we will all chip in on the lyrics and then we start to play it live. James will bring the drums to life at that stage.

For this new record we really want to write about a full start middle and end story. We’re influenced always by our own struggles and demons, it’s where you find the most relatable stuff.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Our songs at the core really are about picking yourself up from the dirt when someone’s beat you down. Growing up is musos are always on the outside of the cool gang, you kind of take the beatings as they come. When you get into your late teens and you find your tribe you start to fit in and it feels good. Love, heartache and jobs might kick you down along the way though. We write music to help pick us up from shitty times, give us something positive to focus on, and help us find our tribe. If our songs do that for other people than we are stoked.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Musically all the time, but we all appreciate that the common goal for the band and the identity of our sound comes from being patient and letting the song run its own course. Outside the music, we are always bickering. Mostly about the food stops during tours, toilet stops on the road, someone wanting to sleep whilst James has gone out to party and come back with his knob head hat on. That kind of thing haha. It’s true for most musicians though, as soon as you play that first note of a show, all that crap disappears and the we all love each other again.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We’re currently mid-cycle of a set of song releases we are dropping throughout 2022. Operate our first single dropped in February, our latest single Lust For Blood came out at the start of April, and we’ve got three more on the way. So I guess, to your readers, just please go check us out and if you dig our sound then follow us and join the party.