www.facebook.com/wintermoonband
From: Melbourne, Australia
Sounds like: Alternative Rock
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Winter Moon" and is there any meaning behind it?
Hi, Jake here, guitarist. Our lead singer Milly and I moved over to Australia from New Zealand a few years ago, bought a big old hippy van from 1972 and started travelling around, taking fruit-picking work along the way. I had my guitar and in between jobs we started busking on the street in every small town we passed through, just playing old blues songs and a few simple original tunes, and managed to pay for our food and gas in this way for a few months. We even won the Bundaberg busking competition by audience vote. When we ended up settling in Melbourne we started doing open-mic nights and the odd small gig, and decided we'd better come up with a name. Winter Moon seemed the obvious choice, Jake Winter and Milly Moon - Winter Moon. Fast forward a few years and we're a six-piece band, go figure!
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Emotion, catharsis, depth of experience. And I think it's important that the audience finds meaning relevant to their own existence in their interpretation of our lyrics.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Soul, Rock, Blues, Psychedelic.. Like Janis Joplin with Big Brother And The Holding Company meets The Dead Weather, and has an orgy with The Black Keys in The Alabama Shakes' back yard.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
The Black Keys, The Dead Weather, and The Alabama Shakes!
5. What are your three desert island albums that you'd never get tired of listening to?
Tim Buckley 'Greetings From L.A.'
Pink Floyd 'The Wall'
Red Hot Chilli Peppers 'Blood Sugar Sex Magic'
6. What’s your take on the current state of Rock?
There's a lot of great stuff out there, it's just so hard for Rock bands to 'make it' in the current musical climate, or even get their heads above the water, that you really have to dig deep to find it.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Australia both locally and country wide?
Melbourne has an incredible music scene, and there are a few cool bands from various other parts of the country, but as a whole, the industry is dominated by one radio station- Triple J. Tiple J set and maintain the major trends in music here, so unfortunately success for musicians in Australia depends, to a large degree, on whether they fit into the narrow band of styles supported by this one station.
8. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
I don't see why it's even necessary to download illegally anymore. It's all available to stream legally. I think legal streaming is great, however streaming services could work harder to monetise their business model, in order to provide a fair cut to the Artists, because right now it's laughable. I'd like to believe that people will continue to buy their favourite records on vinyl though, I know I sure do.
9. What’s next for Winter Moon?
Currently we're working on our first full-length album. We've been writing like maniacs and are about 15 songs in. We'd like to ideally have twice as many songs as we need, and be able to select the very best cuts for the album, so we've got our work cut out for us!
10. Any shoutouts?
Only to my legendary band members. Milly, Lyle, Tess, George, Lachlan, you fucking rock!
