I got into this band by accident – A happy, lovely accident. I was searching for new music and these 3 lovelies reached out. I love Bushwick’s Moon Furies. I love them because they have no ego- they don’t care about how their hair looks or who is in the audience. They are in your face at shows. They get out in the crowd. They are knocking down their gear, bleeding, they are in their own mosh pit. They are honing in on their sound and their look, because they have successfully nailed their vibe.
Before Hurricane Sandy, I caught up with Andy of the group for a quick chat. I am really interested in this band and can’t wait to see how they progress in the studio when they lay down more tracks this year. So not to deter from the tragedy, I am releasing it now. Hold your hats….
I just love the band’s energy, and individually they are just some good ol’ boys with such an open end of how their story will end. With that being said, they just released their track called “La Cabeza” . They made a lyric video for it. They do a video blog, and are just adorable to watch geek out and have fun.
Another awesome detail about MoonFuries was their recent challenge to do 100 shows in 100 days. This tour adventure started in May of last year and ended in August. The band was rocking out everywhere- venues, street corners, basically anywhere- to raise money for cancer research at the Kellogg Cancer Center. Learn more about that in the interview below! They’re good guys AND total rock stars. Could we ask for anything more????
MOON FURIES Andy Kiel and Jenna chat about Music, La Cabeza, and avoiding the music business
JENNA:Finally!!! Gimme some background.. How ya’ll get together and who is in the band?
ANDY: Moon Furies basically started at the beginning of time… I met Jim when I was 4, and we have been goofing off ever since.
Sammy on the other hand joined Moon Furies this past February. BEST CRAIGSLIST FIND EVER.
Prior to Sammy joining, we had played out with a couple different drummers between our brief time in Chicago (2/2011 – 9/2011) and New York (10/2011-Present).
JENNA: Tell me about CMJ? How was your show???
ANDY: CMJ was phenomenal as always. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. So many great bands all in one area.
As of late, our shows have been entirely with blacklights and Expo 929 was a perfect place for this type of lighting setup. It was super fun; people were dancing, singing along and just generally appeared to have a great time. Couldn’t ask for much more…
JENNA: So you have a new single… La cabeza? Song title meaning? What is the video like? Most of your videos much like your shows are high energy and like a marathon? Literally you are running. in the streets, in the woods, from people, to people. Half naked… Tebowing.. what is this one? Did you have to draw straws on who was wearing the tux and who was gonna have a rack?
ANDY: Well, to be honest I like to have a lot of hidden meanings or references in our lyrics and song titles; “La Cabeza” is no exception. Since, the song is themed around the topic of a girl who has my “head spinning round” it seemed only fitting that the title should fall in line with this. Unfortunately, “Head, “Head Spinning,” etc… don’t particularly have a good ring to them. So we figured we’d try using that theme in a different language to title it. Spanish seemed only appropriate because Jim loves Taco Bell, especially on the road, (even if he has to hitchhike with people at 4 a.m. yes, that happened) and this is not great for the rest of the band. =[
The video that is being released Oct. 30, and is actually a lyric video for the song. Only it’s a lyric video Moon Furies style… We have a hard time doing things in standard ways; it’s so boring. Anyway, Jim and Sammy dress up like women and since I do lead vocals for most of the song I wear a Tux and point to the lyrics which are handwritten on the wall. As the video progresses they start attacking me with various items such as muffins, soup, and paint. It’s pretty funny and definitely high energy.
JENNA: When does it all come out? How can people find it?
ANDY: October 30, 2012! The song will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud and a bunch of other online retailers. The video will be available on YouTube and Vimeo.
JENNA: Next steps in this music take over? Any shows?
Well, to start we are playing a ’90s themed Halloween show in NYC at The Delancey on October 30 as well. Our next show in the NYC following that will be at Arlene’s Grocery on November 27. We will also be doing a lot of touring in the coming year; Midwest, South, East Coast.
Outside of shows, we’re starting to work out ideas for “La Cabeza’s” music video, but this will probably take a little bit of time. We are also in the process of writing some new material, which is becoming quite a unique evolution of our sound.
JENNA: What is it like to be from Brooklyn and making music? Any advice for the youngins getting off the bus?
ANDY: Brooklyn is one of the most inspiring places in the world. It loves you. It shits on you. It’s so many things. As long as you can survive, I don’t see how it can’t inspire some of your best work.
To youngin’s I would repeat the advice I received when I was a kid; “Work in advertising. Become a consultant… Maybe even a lawyer.” No sane person would choose this line of work unless they simply couldn’t live without it. If you need it to live, you better ask yourself if you are ready to go on welfare, sleep on couches, and learn to pick out chicks at bars who will buy YOU drinks.
JENNA: And what about this 100 shows in 100 days? What charity was this about?
ANDY: Prior to moving to NYC, we did 100 shows in 100 days in the Midwest area and donated all the proceeds to the Kellogg Cancer Center. Our previous drummer’s mother was diagnosed with Throat Cancer, so we wanted to do everything we could to show our support for their family. It was a phenomenal experience, and thankfully, she has beaten cancer and is still around with us today.
Thanks, Moon Furies!