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| MSJ:
Can you catch the readers up on the history of your involvement in music – sort of the "highlights reel?" |
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| Andrew Peterson: My sister Anna and I have been playing music since we were teenagers. We formed Snoozy Moon with Mark in 2014. We've put out three albums, of which two are available. The latest, said the squirrel just came out on November 1st 2017. |
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| MSJ: If you weren't involved in music what do you think you'd be doing? |
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Anna Rochelle: I've been really getting into stop-motion animation, graphic design and film making recently. So, I'd like to think that if I wasn't involved in music I'd be doing something more with that. |
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| MSJ: How did the name of the group originate? |
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| Mark Charles: I was spacing on my couch when I heard my seven year old boy open his Christmas advent calendar. He looked forward to the chocolate goodie everyday. The chocolate was a crescent moon-face with a nightcap. He yelled, “I got a snoozy moon!” I looked up and said, “there's our band name." |
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| MSJ: Who would you see as your musical influences? |
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Andrew Peterson: I'm into a lot of the prog music that came out of Germany and the UK during the late 60s, early 70s - bands like Soft Machine, Gong, Can, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd. More modern influences would include The Flaming Lips and Animal Collective. |
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| MSJ: What's the best thing that's ever been said about your music? |
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Anna Rochelle: We've heard many things: “psychedelic troopers from the netherworld," “awesome early Floyd-esqe psychedelic rock that makes you feel like you took too many drugs in a big desert," “the sickest band in South East Idaho." But I think my favorite is when friend and local musician Caleb Rosenkrance said this about Snoozy Moon: “They have an awesome original vibe that takes you away from day to day monotony and immerses you into a colorful world of psychedelia. One of my favorite bands in general." |
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| MSJ: What's ahead for you? |
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| Mark Charles: Well we'll spend the winter mostly working on new material. I enjoy the creative process of discovering new sounds, learning new songs and playing together. Then we'll hit the road in the Spring. After that hopefully we'll have some good material to record. |
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| MSJ: I know many artists hate to have their music pigeonholed or labeled, but how would you describe your music? |
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| Andrew Peterson: It's hard for me to define what our music sounds like. I usually say "psych rock," but that's a pretty broad term. I would say that Snoozy Moon has aspects of jazz, krautrock, ambient, progressive rock, and electronic; but doesn't really fit into any of those categories. |
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| MSJ: Are there musicians with whom you would like to play in the future? |
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Andrew Peterson: I'd love to groove with Les Claypool on bass guitar, Steve Hillage on guitar, and Panda Bear on vocals! |
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| MSJ: Do you think that illegal downloading or streaming of music is a help or hindrance to the careers of musicians? |
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Andrew Peterson: Streaming can help people listen to way more artists than they would have been able to listen to otherwise. If I listen an album and like it, then I usually want to support the artist and buy it. |
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| MSJ: In a related question, how do you feel about fans recording shows and trading them or posting them online? |
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Anna Rochelle: If someone is enthusiastic enough about our music to want to record and share it with their friends, I definitely don't have a problem with it! |
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| MSJ: If you were a superhero, what music person would be your arch nemesis and why? |
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Anna Rochelle: People who view music as a competition rather than an art form. |
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| MSJ: If you were to put together your ultimate band (a band you'd like to hear or catch live), who would be in it and why? |
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| Mark Charles: Sweet! I'm thinking of the perfect universe where these cats still are able and willing. Robert Wyatt on drums, Miles Davis and his horn, Robert Fripp on guitar and arrangement with Frank Zappa, Steve Winwood on the B3 and some vocals, maybe some Coltrane sax, Richard Sinclair on bass – and, of course, Daevid Allen singing and prancing about like a mad gnome! |
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| MSJ: If you were in charge of assembling a music festival and wanted it to be the ultimate one from your point of view who would be playing? |
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| Anna Rochelle: Can, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd (with Syd Barrett), Caravan, Gong, and Drunk Old Ladies – with liquid light show visuals by Mad Alchemy. |
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| MSJ: What was the last CD you bought and/or what have you been listening to lately? |
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Anna Rochelle: I recently got Tame Impala's Innerspeaker on vinyl, and I've been digging it. I've also been enjoying the new album Monolith of Phobos by the Lennon Claypool Delirium, House in the Tall Grass by Kikagaku Moyo, and When the Morning Greets You by Mr. Elevator. |
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| MSJ: Have you read any good books lately? |
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Mark Charles: Before our last tour, I bought three copies of Kerouac's On the Road and thought it'd be cool for us all to read them. Not sure if the others got it done, but I've read it twice. Just into Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - pretty incredible book, as well. |
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| MSJ: What about the last concert you attended for your enjoyment? |
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| Anna Rochelle: I try to support the local music scene when I can, so I just saw my friends in Hot Pursuit at a local bar this last Saturday. I also enjoyed seeing Mr. Elevator and Animal Collective recently. |
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| MSJ: Do you remember the first concert you attended? |
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| Andrew Peterson: I saw Brad Paisley at the Western Washington State Fair when I was like seven years old. |
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| MSJ: Have you come across any new gear recently that you love? |
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| Mark Charles: My wireless guitar controller is pretty sweet! I just fixed my leslie speaker and am really enjoying my organ these days. I used to tour with big organs, but now I got the Yamaha YC which looks like a kid's toy. Sounds good and weighs nothing compared to a Hammond. |
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| MSJ: Do you have a musical “guilty pleasure?” |
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| Mark Charles: Children of Bodom playing Britney Spears “Oops I Did it Again!” |
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| MSJ: What has been your biggest Spinal Tap moment? |
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| Andrew Peterson: Playing a show at a brothel and unfortunately not realizing it until the next day! |
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| MSJ: If you could sit down to dinner with any three people, living or dead, for food and conversation, with whom would you be dining? |
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| Anna Rochelle: Andy Kaufman, Neal Cassady, and Rick Sanchez. |
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| MSJ: What would be on the menu? |
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| Anna Rochelle: Chicken nuggets with Szechuan Sauce! |
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| MSJ: Are there any closing thoughts you would like to get out there? |
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Mark Charles: Life's a trip, enjoy the ride!
If you'd like to listen to our music, see us live, or contact us, check out our website: https://snoozymoonband.com/ |
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| MSJ: This interview is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 1 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018. |
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