 |
| Photo by Erin Smith |
Luck Reunion Roundup, Part 2
by Matt Chrystal
Minneapolis rockers, Night Moves, brought their brand of psychedelic-cosmic-country down to Texas to perform at both the SXSW Festival in Austin and the Luck Reunion Festival which took place at Willie Nelson's Ranch in Spicewood. I caught up with vocalist, John Pelant, while he was making the commute to the Lone Star State to chat about his search for really good hot sauce, playing two high- profile festival gigs and about what makes his rock n roll band just a little bit country.
What does it mean for you to be asked to play at the Luck Reunion festival at Willie Nelson's Ranch?
John Pelant: It's crazy! It's a big honor. We are big Willie nelson fans. We are also pretty nervous about it too. I don't know that it has really sunk in yet that we will be playing at Willie's ranch. I try not to think about it on some level; but, yeah, definitely excited to be part of a really great line-up.
Who are you looking forward to checking out at Luck Reunion and at SXSW?
JP: For Luck Reunion, I have a little schedule of people I want to see like Kurt Vile. I love him. I also want to see Hop Along and Waxahatchee. Oh, and of course Willie Nelson, but that is like a given. As far as SXSW, I don't even know. I have not even checked who is going to be there because it is so overwhelming. Plus, whenever I make plans we never seem to follow through with them so I’m trying to go into it with no expectations. I just know there will be a lot of good shit to see.
Help me out and be my tour guide through Austin on my way to Luck Reunion… Where should we eat, drink, or party at or what should we go in in search of?
JP: I am just trying to stay alive while I am there with all the cool bars there. Any place could be cool on any given night but definitely check out the Mohawk. I just go in to Austin with an open mind and I also hope to find some good BBQ. And I want to find some really good hot sauce somewhere. That has to exist there, right?
Will you be looking to find Shotgun Willie to indulge in some of that sweet weed he is famous for? For medicinal purposes, of course.
JP: I guess that could be a possibility. I don't know if he will be just walking around and hanging, but if he is then that would be amazing! I do not want to get my hopes up though.
I see Night Moves often labeled as country band but from your debut album, Colored Emotion, right up to last year's Carl Sagan EP, the band's sound reminds me of psychedelic Beach Boys of the Smile era. How did you get the country tag?
JP: We have a little folksy twang to us, maybe? I think that because we were always talking about Graham Parsons and the Flying Burrito Bros. and early Neil Young so much that we somehow got construed as a country band. We love that kind of stuff and maybe there's some kind of country undercurrent that runs through our material; but it's definitely not downright country music, tha's for sure. We just have a little hint here and there.
You released the Carl Sagan Ep in 2017, What's up next for y'all? A Neil deGrasse Tyson Ep?
JP: We have a whole new album's worth of material ready, and we are going to start recording it soon. I demoed it all out myself, but I think we are going to find a producer and maybe have it out by next fall. We will be playing a lot of new stuff at SXSW.
What am I forgetting to ask you that you are going to complain about after we hang up?
JP: I dunno, I think you did a pretty good job of keeping it casual and loose. You dug in a bit, but to a tasteful degree. Maybe something will hit me in like twenty minutes and if it does I'll let ya know.
For more on The Night Moves go to www.nightmovesmpls.com.
No comments :
Post a Comment