Progressive indie jam rockers Moon Taxi are picking up steam in a variety of scenes and their relentless touring and energetic live performances have made them a fan favorite. Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, the 5-piece creates a blended upbeat sound and wih a new album coming out in the fall, they are constantly pushing the envelope with their memorable vocal melodies and powerful instrumentation.
On their current summer tour which has stopped at most major music festivals, they swung through Chicago for Lollapalooza. We spent time with guitarist Spencer Thomson and keyboardist Wes Bailey to discuss life on the festival circuit, how the venue and vibe might change their set, and their methodical process to recording for a vinyl record.
Welcome, great to have you guys. How’s your Summer been going thus far?
Spencer Thomson: Wonderful. We’ve been playing a lot of festivals, getting around playing new songs off our upcoming album. Having a good time.
You guys have any favorite shows so far?
ST: We just played British Columbia for the first time for a festival called Pemberton.
Beautiful venue…
ST: Yeah wonderful. Our first time up there, that was a real standout for sure.
So, how would you say the space you’re playing might affect the way you perform? You guys play a lot of these huge, open festivals in front of enormous groups of people—how does that compare to playing a small, intimate indoor venue?
ST: Sheer volume. You know, we try to make things as loud as possible. The song selection might be a little different, you know? Especially whether it’s day or night, it might be a bit of a different set. It’s something that we like to do, consider all those things and be able to kinda modify ourselves and the set to fit the environment.
You guys will write a setlist beforehand but might change it on the spot depending on the vibe you’re getting?
Wes Bailey: Yeah. Like [Spencer] said, depending on the time of day, if it’s a day set, depending on the energy of the crowd, you know, a Sunday afternoon set might be very different from a late night Saturday set.
Absolutely.
ST: And you might have one assumption about what it’s gonna be like, but then you see, oh this isn’t what we thought!
So, you have to switch it up and fit it to what the crowd is feeling.
ST: Exactly
This Summer you guys have been playing a lot of these big outdoor venues. How do you think that might affect a Winter tour? Do you feel like you gain a lot more fans throughout the Summers, playing to these huge crowds, and that during the year you pick up some of the momentum that they bring?
ST: Yeah I think that’s a good way to put it. We kind of see festivals as kinda the best of both worlds because we usually have a lot of fans there and it’s a cool space for them to see us in. And at the same time you’re playing to new people in a way that doesn’t really happen anywhere besides festivals.
Once we get back to the club shows and theater shows, you hear a lot of people coming up and saying, “Hey I saw you at so-and-so fest,” and it has a big ripple effect.
There’s a new album coming out—when you guys are writing is there any thought about the type of media with which people are going to be listening to the songs? For example, do you think about the fact that some will be listening to it on vinyl, or CD, or do you mainly focus on how it’s going to sound live and then try to translate that into the studio?
ST: Well, we think about all of the above sort of. Ultimately what you’re listening to is what it’s going to sound like as a recording first and foremost. We do say while we’re writing and while we’re recording, this will be a thing live, but sometimes like we’ll just make a note that we’ll do this live, but for the record we’ll do it this way. Just knowing certain things work better for the studio and certain things work better live.
WB: Yeah, this record in particular—as far as the preparation—we did a lot of live practicing with the tunes. We were sort of able to go into the studio and just play the songs.
Right, you were already used to them at that point…
WB: Yeah it was kind of a unique process in that regard, and it’s kind of what our producer encouraged as far as the process that he was used to. So it was nice for us to, you know, write and put together the songs like we used to in front of a laptop, piecing it together bit by bit, also really seeing how the parts feel playing together in a room. So that kind of informed how the live presentation would be.
So yeah, like [Spencer] said, it’s kind of all of the above. So we’re really amped to play a lot of these songs live because we have played them live, just not in front of a crowd yet, but we know how it’s gonna play out, so that will be cool.
In terms of different types of media, what would you say the role of vinyl might play in both your inspiration and your appreciation of music, and just in general?
ST: Vinyl is the album format, so it’s more of listening to something beginning to end as opposed to in the digital world when you listen to a song or two at a time then move on to the next. So, we have always spent a lot of time thinking about the entirety of the album, and even early on thinking about what’s side A, what’s side B on a record. How side B would kick off…
Right, make it a fresh start for side B.
ST: Right. You know, the middle of recording, and not waiting till the end to think about things like that. Think about cool transitions, how one song will end—all the things that have come from the album format—which is much more tied to vinyl.
As compared to writing singles which seems to be the direction a lot of bands are going, it’s nice to see that you guys are putting that effort into transitions which is something I certainly like to see in a full album and production
ST: Yeah! And the pacing and the sound.
WB: Yeah, it’s also kind of similar to a show in a way a song might…
Segue into the next track?
WB: Yeah that kind of thing. Like Spencer was saying, we really did pay attention to what our B side starting track would be.
That’s great.
WB: Yeah I don’t know if a lot of bands do that these days, but I guess we’re kind of old school in that regard.
Well with the new resurgence of vinyl, that’s what people are going to be looking for.
ST: You even have to think about length in a way that you didn’t used to. If the decision is between extending this part and not, you might look at how we’re looking on this side, you know, which used to be a huge consideration when vinyl was the medium. Now it’s kind of come back to be a consideration. I mean it’s obviously not the overwhelming consideration, but it’s just another piece of the puzzle.
Yeah, the appeal of the warmth is coming back.
ST: Yeah, for sure.
WB: I think there’s a certain sect of music that really appreciates vinyl, and I get the sense that our fan base is kinda in that group, so that’s exciting for us cause we love to see pictures of people playing with old turntables playing records, that’s pretty cool.
I saw online that some of you guys went to the Fare Thee Well shows.
WB: Yeah, I was there
Generally speaking, how do you treat different types of live music as inspiration for yourselves? And what role does seeing other artists in the live setting affect how you guys do what you do?
WB: I’d say it’s a big inspiration for us. We saw Passion Pit, the whole band, and The Black Keys a couple of weeks ago in Canada, and it’s like man, they really put together songs well. And it’s cool to kinda see how they stretch stuff out, like The Dead for example when I went to that show, it was very inspiring. We came back and were like, “We’re gonna play ‘Touch of Grey’ now!” And everyone else was like, nah we weren’t there—we’re not into that idea.
Were you guys there on Sunday?
WB: Yeah, just Sunday.
ST: But for instance, we were talking about Pemberton, we did have some time up there to spend a whole day listening to music and seeing a bunch of different bands and artists, and it’s kind of an immersive experience. It’s slightly more impactful in a way, or impactful in a different way, than listening to a recording. And you go home and you’ve got a lot of fresh ideas in your head, it helps with writing for me to just have some things you saw that you liked and that really stuck in your head and it helps the creative process a lot.
How much of this is when you’re at festivals and you hop over to other bands, and how much of it is when you go out of your way to see the Dead show—or go to a different show on your own merit?
WB: When we’re home, at least speaking for myself and I know Spencer is the same way, we kind of like to be with our families and not go to too many shows. We get the chance to see shows kind of at a distance, like today we were doing press and heard Django Django’s set. And that was cool, it was like we were there seeing the show. So, we try to see as much as we can when we’re at these festivals, because I know that I personally don’t go to too many shows at home. I kind of chill out.
What’s next for you guys? You guys have a new album coming out and have been playing pretty much every festival…what’s next?
ST: You know, the old cycle. Festival season’s about over, album comes out October 2 and that will lead into a nation-wide tour which will carry over into next year.
Big shows on Halloween and New Years. And at some point we’ll just start writing the next one, record it, and do it all over again. Or break up! [laughs]
Moon Taxi’s brand new full length release, Daybreaker is in stores on October 2. On vinyl.
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Moon Taxi on Tour:
8/26 Tuscaloosa, AL at Druid City Music Hall
8/27 Oxford, MS at The Lyric Oxford
8/28 Huntsville, AL at Historic Three Caves
8/29 Lexington, KY at MoonTower Music Festival
9/03 Nashville, TN at Live On The Green
9/10 New York, NY at Irving Plaza
9/11 Philadelphia, PA at Theatre of the Living Arts
9/12 Silver Spring, MD at The Fillmore
9/13 Raleigh, NC at Lincoln Theatre
9/17 Baton Rouge, LA at Varsity Theatre
9/19 Bristol, TN at Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion
9/26 Columbia, SC at Music Farm- Columbia
9/27 Asheville, NC at The Orange Peel
10/02 Austin, TX at Austin City Limits Festival
10/03 Fayetteville, AR at George’s Majestic Lounge
10/08 Shreveport, LA at Red River Entertainment District
10/09 Austin, TX at Austin City Limits Festival
10/10 New Orleans, LA at Civic Theatre
10/31 Chattanooga, TN at Track 29
11/05 Englewood, CO at Gothic Theatre
11/06 Colorado Springs, CO at The Black Sheep
11/07 Richfield, UT at Sevier Valley Center
11/08 Las Vegas, NV at Brooklyn Bowl- Las Vegas
11/10 Solana Beach, CA at Belly Up
11/11 Los Angeles, CA at The Troubadour
11/12 San Francisco, CA at The Chapel
11/13 Portland, OR at Star Theater
11/14 Eugene, OR at Wow Hall
11/15 Seattle, WA at The Crocodile
11/20 St Paul, MN at Turf Club
11/21 Madison, WI at Majestic Theatre
11/22 Chicago, IL at Thalia Hall
