I should have known better by the way she had approached her piano bench on High Risk’s stage last August, she was bringing something different to the classical scene from Ann Arbor. Bent over her instrument slightly and speeding her fingers over the keys to display a sparkling array of reflective ivory as she sang over her shoulder, Moon gave by-the-way
you-hurt-me airs to an audience who knew we’d met the general of the next undeniable
vanguard in emo music.
Lumino: What is the driving force behind your music?
Moon: Half of it is figuring myself out. The other half is catharsis. It’s difficult to talk
about an emotional performance. All I can tell you is home is a dark room with a
piano.
Lumino: Who are your influences? Personal? Professional?
Moon: Musically. Carrie Noble. She was a friend of mine who moved to Dearborn,
Minnesota. Her seats are selling $35 a piece. But ever since she signed up with a
label, her style has changed. It’s not as honest as her older stuff. My friends have
influenced me lyrically.
Lumino: What do you feel is most important in your life?
Moon: Money, a solid community, and to always be moving.
Lumino: How long have you been playing?
Moon:
Piano since age 5. Guitar since 1999. Flute since 5th grade.
Lumino: What is your advice for those beginning their music careers?
Moon: I find the practical hysterical and tend to be very impractical about practical
things. This business is 20% music and about 80% marketing. Learn the business.
Learn how to write a press release and it wouldn’t hurt to know how to design.
Lumino: What do you work to achieve in your music?
Moon: I want something real and organic without a lot of studio polish or mechanical strings. It lasts longer and it’s much cooler than any electronic thing people come up with. I guess intimacy.
Lumino: Who do you think is the most influential musician of our generation?
Moon: Britney Spears. Not a musician really. More like a Vaudeville entertainer, but look at all the imitators she’s created and the little girls who dress like her.
Lumino: What do you love about people? What do you say to reach them?
Moon: I enjoy finding out what makes people tick, what motivates them, what they share
in common., what resonates and speaks to all of us. I listen. As a culture we wait
to talk, and I like to talk, but I find I get good responses with general questions and
just hearing what they have to say.
Lumino: To whom do you owe your personal success?
Moon: It’s not any one person. Just all the people who let me borrow their cars when I
lived in Michigan. And their sound equipment. Can’t forget the friend who just
bought me this guitar. That’s pretty amazing.
Lumino: Are you constantly learning, being a classical musician? What are your favorite
Instruments?
Moon: Definitely. Cello, string bass, French horn, piano, and writing the next album in
all different time signatures to challenge myself.
Lumino: Any musician or musical goals you fear you could never touch?
Moon:
I’ll never be classical pianist, Evengy Kissin, but for all that isn’t probable in
music, things like that are always possible.
Lumino: Who are you listening to right now?
Moon: Tater, Josh Allen, Etta James, B.B. King, a smattering of jazz, Vienna Teng, and
Asian flip flop pianists/singers/songwriters.
Lumino: If the opportunity presented itself, would you play with a full band? Any in
band or musician in mind?
Moon: Yes. I would love to play with Over the Rhine and I would love to tour with
Vienna Teng.
Lumino: How would you like to be remembered?
Moon: Passionate. With substance. Intelligent. A talented person who made a difference.
Someone who had an effect on people.
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