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Interview: Moonroof
Moonroof is constantly being selected to play festivals, and has just been selected to play a live session at iHeartRadio. They just released a track "Trojans", and have an upcoming track called "Magazine" that refines their new sound.
Responses from: Dave the lead Singer
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? I got into being a part of the band thanks to Dan our drummer. Dan had a band in high school, and wanted to make one in college. I never thought I personally would be in a band. If I never got into music I probably would have tried many things until I found something I loved. Honestly, I was a pretty lazy person until I took music very seriously.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity? When I am not playing music, I love to play and watch basketball. I also try to watch movies and anime when I have the free time lol. It's funny when I do those things, I think about what the next song is going to be like. I am a pretty competitive person so I use that drive towards the band's success.
How long has your band been around?
I tell people our band has been around since we first moved to Conshohocken. Moonroof was officially established in August 2017.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We're based out of Philadelphia, specifically, an area called Conshohocken. The location never really influenced our music, but many great bands do come out of Philly.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you. We actually got the band name from our old bassist Kevin Randolph.
He told us his cousin said, "if you're ever in a band, Moonroof would be a cool name". We all enjoyed it! I think of it as watching the Moon while you're on a Roof.
Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played. The best experience we had as a band was opening up for our local radio station's show at the BB&T Pavilion. We got to open up for a bunch of amazing bands like the Lumineers, Grouplove, and The Interrupters. We've also had lovely crowds and support at places like the Sellersville Theater, The Barbary, Voltage Lounge, and The Trocadero. We've never had the "worst experience" but we've played a couple of bad shows. It's probably a little unprofessional to name the places lol. Let's just say some bars were not as fun because of the low energy.
Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
Our favorite venue we've played was BB&T Pavilion, but honestly, we love playing festivals that are outside. There are so many venues that we would love to play. Some examples are Theater of the Living Arts, Union Transfer, and The Foundry.
If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?
My dream show would be at The Met and the line up would be Moonroof, Last Dinosaurs, Two Door Cinema Club, and the headliners would be The 1975.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?
9. My advice for anyone starting in a band is be true to yourself and be proud of the songs you write. If you don't enjoy your music, then how do you expect anyone else to enjoy it? Also, have fun :)
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
If I could go back in time I would change my lazy lifestyle. No one is going to give you anything, you have to fight for it and work hard. Do not waste time on what people think, you can only control what you can control.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
The newest one Magazine is my favorite sound cause I've always wanted to capture songs that I love from my favorite bands like The 1975 and The Band Camino. Magazine is very soothing and easy to listen to. Honey Honey means the most to me cause that one had a lot of success within the music community. It really helped others find our band. It was the start of people checking us out and listening to our songs on repeat.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Be Somebody and Honey Honey are my favorite to play because they sound different from our recordings and wake up the crowd. The choruses are catchy and many people try to sing them back, which makes the experience a lot better. Out of our songs those two get requested the most.
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
I love listening to my favorite bands and seeing what they mean in their songs. I try to think of stories and past relationship and then I start writing and coming up with melodies. Once we have those melodies we try to figure out what the instruments can do to support and wah-lah... a Moonroof song is born! Danny our guitarist is really good at following my vocals. He can play them back pretty easily to lay down the foundation of the song. Julian our bassist can make anything sound better with the help of our drummer Dan.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
The messages that I try to get across are usually stories that people can relate to from dealing with past relationships. We want to make songs that people understand and enjoy. We usually make the tone sound happy, but sometimes the story could be dark. Basically I love singing and making songs that people can relate to.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
Honestly, we really do not have disagreements, we try to talk out our feelings to one another and understand the situation better. To write these songs we always try to clear our heads so we can just focus on the music.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
Our plans for the future are to make more music like our newest song Magazine and share them to as many people as possible. I would love a bigger online fanbase/presence. Also we would love to open for bigger acts in our hometown or the Philly area. Coming up we have shows every weekend in March, so come out and see Moonroof!