Believe me when I tell you that if you have missed watching ‘Tear Down The Wall‘ by Moon Walker, you have missed a lot! Check out my interview below with this electrifying rock duo.
● Moon Walker is an interesting name. When did you start the idea of forming your band?
I and Sean have played together in a band called The Midnight Club for almost a decade now. We live together and have a very close-knit musical bond. When COVID hit and we couldn’t tour, we had ample amounts of free time and started making lots of music so we wouldn’t go insane. At first, we were just writing for fun and didn’t really have any plans to start another project until we had basically finished an entire record. We were both really proud of the material and thought that it would be a shame if it didn’t get released. My girlfriend (who actually lends me lots of ideas that I use) actually came up with the name. It immediately resonated with me. I’m not sure why, but I knew the name had to be Moon Walker. I couldn’t even consider anything else.
● Tear Down The Wall is a great single indeed. I love its vintage vibes, tell me more about its song’s lyrical theme.
Thank you so much for saying so! Tear Down The Wall was the first song we wrote for the project. It was election day and the prospect of a certain someone getting re-elected was deeply troubling to me and Sean. Not just because of the policies, he would implement, but what it actually means that we live in a country where 50% of people are ok with someone who speaks like that and is so blatantly and unapologetically incompetent, inexperienced and so proudly out-of-touch. Something that I learned when I was young is, music is the perfect outlet for any type of unregulated emotion. It’s like getting in a one-sided debate. You can speak as angrily and bluntly as you want and 99% of people won’t even pay close enough attention to know you’re actually criticizing their character to the core. I think that a lot of people in our generation are angry because our country much more closely resembles the America we learned about in history class, rather than the free and fair America that we’re told we live in now. I’m disgusted by many people in this country, particularly the people in power, and music is my only way of confronting them. And it’s really ideal because you can actually get your opinion straight to who needs to hear it. Music is like a trojan horse. It’s loaded with agenda and opinions but people welcome that criticism right into their ears because they like the melody and don’t listen to the lyrics.
● Although the video production isn’t huge, still, your electrifying performance gave it a charm. How did you plan it?
I came up with the initial idea when I found the location online. The motel and money room together seemed to tell the whole story of the song. It perfectly shows the juxtaposition between the self-serving corruption of a shadow-lurking politician vs. the shiny and rehearsed facade that they present on the TV. The band and maid represent the average person who has to deal with the mess that (most) politicians leave us as a result of their utter selfishness. My girlfriend, Madi, and Co-director, Pavel, also really helped develop the idea into what it was. I’m unbelievably grateful for their expertise and creativity.
● I loved the arrangement and mix, was it planned during songwriting, or this came up during the mixing process?
I really appreciate that. This was one of those songs that I wrote as I recorded it, so the production was pretty accidental if that makes sense. Sean sent me a drum track initially, which immediately brought the bass-line into my head. I spent some time crafting out the guitar riffs and lyrics but the spaciousness of the rhythm section, which defines the production of that song, presented itself immediately. It was a badass drum track. The song wrote itself when I heard it.
● Are you aiming to add more members to the band in future releases?
We will definitely have live members, but I think that, creatively, we will stay as a two-piece. Ultimately, it is me and Sean’s vision and creative baby, and I think we really love having the liberty to make things however we want, without other peoples’ input. I also think we will both appreciate the freedom of hiring whatever type of live members we want. Like maybe that show calls for a more acoustic arrangement with backing vocalists and strings. Maybe it requires a more typical rock lineup, with bass and keys. Maybe it’s a White Stripes-ey two-piece. It feels like, so long as it’s just us two, our options are endless. But I couldn’t possibly predict the future.
● So is it a part of an album that is coming up soon?
Absolutely. The record is totally finished!
● Finally, I would like to know more about your upcoming releases, any new albums coming soon this year?
We will be releasing a few singles (including another one very soon), but the record will most definitely be out before the end of the year!
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