Editor’s Note: The band Moonwalker is making noise with their latest video entitled “Level Up”, which combines dance-rock vibes that is seen in groups such as Imagine Dragons and Night Riots with modern synths that certainly drive the band. Moonwalker has a few East Coast shows coming up in September in support of “Level Up” and their other music. In the meantime, fans can check out Moonwalker at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/MoonwalkerBand
Evan: Like the Phoenix, Moonwalker rose from the ashes of your previous band, Reckless Serenade. How is Moonwalker different from your previous project? How do you feel that you’ve evolved?
Mark: Aside from being different musically the creative process is also different from our last band. Coming from a band with 5 people in it sometimes when a writing a song it could lose it’s original personality or direction because it was tweaked by 4 other people. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s not. With this band I write all of the music and Rob writes all of the vocals. I think when you write something by yourself you’re able to stick to the original emotion that came when you first started writing the song.
I’ve evolved as a person and a songwriter since being in Reckless Serenade. I’m grateful for all the experiences I had in that band because it led to me to where I am now. Coming from just writing riffs on a guitar in my garage a couple years ago I would’ve never imagined that I’d be making electronic music and creating full compositions on my own. It’s been the most liberating experience as an artist and has completely changed my perspective on song writing and music in general.
Evan: ‘Level Up’ is a goddamn hit that makes me want to get up and dance. It has a very triumphant feeling to it. Do you feel that you’ve found a sound that is a triumph for you guys?
Rob: I feel like it is a triumph in the sense that it feels like a victory, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel like something we struggled for. We never forced this new sound. It came from us having fun and following what we loved to play.
Evan: What sort of gear are you using now that you weren’t using before? Do you feel that your gear influences your sound? Is there something you use that you would never replace or upgrade?
Mark: Before I was using a guitar with an elaborate pedal board and a half stack that weighed way too much. Now I’m using Logic, Ableton and Maschine with a bunch of different plug ins to write songs. The gear has definitely had an influence on our sound, plug ins like Omnisphere and Exhale are used a ton. The one piece of gear I really love right now is the Maschine Mk3 I highly recommend anyone that makes any kind of music check it out because it’s like the instrument of the future.
Evan: If you could get any piece of gear, what would it be?
Mark: Since I recently got into recording and producing there are endless amounts of plug ins and studio gear that I’d love to get my hands on. A couple things I’ve had my eye on recently are VocalSynth2 and Komplete 11.
Evan: I know that you guys are building up a lot of momentum and seem to be throwing everything into this band. What sort of things are stressing you guys out these days? What’s really exciting you?
Rob: There isn’t anything in particular stressing us out. I think the both of us are just chomping at the bit to get back on the road. Which in turn, taps into what we are stoked about. We have a few tours lined up that we plan on talking about very soon.
Evan: You recently released a new remix of your single, ‘Level Up.’ Why did you remix one of your own songs? How did you approach it differently from writing a new song?
Mark: Completely honest we remixed our own song just to have another piece of content but it turned about to be a ton of fun and we’ve done a couple more since then. My approach to doing a remix is to take the best parts of the song and build upon them and create new ideas out of them. I like to do a lot of vocal sampling to create new melodies. It’s a fun change up from writing a song from scratch because I already have parts to work with so it’s the challenge of making something new out of those parts that’s exciting.
And there you have it! Thanks to Mark and Rob for taking the time to interview with us for Madness To Creation! They do have a few tour dates lined up and if you’re in the area, check them out at one of the shows.
Friday, Sep. 7th- Mahall’s Locker Room in Lakewood, Ohio
Monday, Sep. 10th- The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia
Tuesday, Sep. 11th- Jack Rabbits in Jacksonville, Florida
Wednesday, Sep. 12th- The Radio Room in Greenville, South Carolina
Thursday, Sep. 13th- Milestone in Charlotte, North Carolina
Sunday, Sep. 16th- Championship Bar in Trenton, New Jersey
Monday, Sep. 17th- Goldsounds in Brooklyn, New York
Tuesday, Sep. 18th- Patterson Creations in Attlebora, Massachusetts
Wednesday, Sep. 19th- Jupiter Hall in Albany, New York
For tickets and further information on any of the shows listed above, click here.
Check out the music video for “Level Up”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSecWKsIvU8
