The Black Moods on their live at-home concert and playing with Doors' Robbie Krieger in their hometown Tempe
Rock band The Black Moods will be releasing their sophomore album 'Sunshine' on May 8. MEAWW got a chance to speak with vocalist and guitarist Josh Kennedy and drummer Chico Diaz and discuss their recent at-home concert, future plans, and how they're spending their time while practicing social distancing.
The Black Moods recently completed the "Shelter in Place" live online concert - what were some of your personal highlights from that show?
Josh Kennedy: It went off without a hitch. It actually was successful, we had no hiccups, that was the coolest part!
Chico Diaz: It took about a week of setting up all the gear and the videos, we brought in a video crew and sound crew. So it was a lot of work, but the response we got was terrific.
JK: The fans seemed to enjoy it, we had a good time too.
It's obviously not comparable to having a screaming crowd in front of you, but how did the online dynamic feel, and would you do it again once the pandemic restrictions are lifted?
JK: We have talked about doing something like a live from our studio to stream before we went on this last tour. But with this quarantine thing it just kinda put it into overdrive for us. It was something we were going to do before this all happened and we'll definitely do it again because it was fun.
CD: The original idea was to have between eight and ten fans come in and actually set up like a little audience in our studio and have different cameras and do all that kind of stuff. We were already planning on doing that but now we had to do it minus the fans. It was interesting to have to pretend like you're on stage, but we rehearsed so much it became second nature. We just did one on April 9 too, at a different studio here.
You guys are known for your amazing live shows - which would be your dream gig? And would you prefer an intimate gig limited to a few hundred people where the energy bounces around the room or a packed stadium filled with thousands of screaming fans?
JK: Wembley Stadium. Madison Square Garden. Saturday Night Live. As for the second question...hard to say cause they're both awesome and excellent in their own way. With the small intimate show, you can really feel the crowd and the people that you're surrounded by a lot more, but when you have the energy of thousands of people singing your songs back to you, there's nothing really like that. They both have their pluses and minuses.
The Black Moods were invited to play at a school's career day, which must have been a thrill, getting to inspire a whole new generation of kids. What would be your best advice to a child who is determined to make his/her career as a rock musician as a result of seeing you guys play live?
JK: Don't let anybody tell you can't. And not just with music, with anything that you want to do as your own person. Work hard and don't give up and you can accomplish anything.
How was it working with producer Johnny Karkazis? What do you feel he brought to the table in terms of enhancing your already powerful sound?
CD: Well, I can give you an example from a drummer's perspective. When I've recorded before, a lot of my beats and everything were completely planned out before we went into the tracking room, which is a great way to learn how to track drums correctly and make sure everything is done on purpose. But with Johnny K, it was kind of the opposite. It was more of like he didn't really care what I did, if he didn't like it he'd tell you instead of planning it beforehand. So to me, that was a different perspective of 'let me do it ever comes to my limbs' rather than actually have it planned out. So that was one thing that was different for me at least.
JK: He pushed me quite a bit and vocally we really got into it and we would try every little thing we could until we were completely satisfied with the outcome. There was nothing left to chance. Once we got done with the song, if a piece of it or a vocal or a line seemed weak, it would stick out and we'd rework it until it was just a strong as the rest of the music or the songs. And just like with Chico, he just let me do my own thing. He wants you to put your own flavor into it.
Do you have any interesting stories to share from opening for Robbie Krieger? It must be quite surreal to meet such a legend, considering your band is named after a line in a Doors documentary.
CD: Oh, yeah, he was awesome, such a nice guy.
JK: He'd brought his son out to sing for him because it was The Doors' fiftieth anniversary, and he got sick. So I got to fill in for a couple of nights on vocals and sang a couple of songs with Robbie Krieger. What's crazy about it is that one of the shows was in Tempe where we're from and so I got to do it in the band's hometown in front of a bunch of people that are our fans. That was just awesome.
And how was it touring with Jane's Addiction? Perry Farrel is quite the character, I imagine that was quite an experience.
JK: We just did one show with them in Arizona and it was cool; we got to watch the sound check and we're friends with Steven Perkins, the drummer. So we've known him for a while now. But, yeah that was different. I remember backstage, there was a dressing room for Perry and 'his girls' and then, there was a dressing room for the band.
CD: And they actually had all the instruments set up in a rehearsal space but they didn't rehearse.
JK: So, yeah, that was pretty great. I'm really glad we did that.
And finally, how is the social isolation working for you?
CD: It's not too bad. I mean, we have our studio, we're supposed to be on tour right now and it was going to be an amazing tour. We at least have all of our toys here and we're constantly busy and we did that live stream; we've already started writing songs for the next record and, and we're lucky enough and built the studio where we can make another album.
JK: Yeah, this time is not going to waste. I've been working out again, instead of just drinking beer and eating (laughs). It's just been eight to ten hours a day in the studio, working and we're also a business so not only do we make music but we're also handling stuff like that. So, we're constantly busy.