Local Music Tap: Night Moves Talks 'Pennied Days' Album & Release Show

More than three years after the release of their successful 2012 debut album, Colored Emotions, Night Moves is back at it again.

In late March, the Minneapolis-based future folk-rockers released their nine-song sophomore effort, Pennied Days, which contains the already-successful hit single "Carl Sagan."

.
According to frontman John Pelant, Pennied Days is more robust than its predecessor, with more warmth and more in-your-face vocals (as opposed to the washed out, reverb-heavy style of Colored Emotions).

And on Thursday, the band will be showcasing the new album at the First Avenue Mainroom. It's the band's first time headlining the historic venue -- and kind of a big deal.

So, with the big show and new album fresh on their minds, core members Pelant and bassist Micky Alfano were gracious enough to answer questions for Local Music Tap.

From their experiences making the album to a hilarious encounter at a nudist hot spring (yup), the interview has a little bit of everything.

Check it out below.

Night Moves Interview

(unless noted, Pelant is answering the question)

So, I've read that you both have been friends since high school and have been making music for a long time – but what sparked the whole Night Moves project?

It was just wanting to put out music that was more representative of ourselves at that time. All the high school projects were kind of sh---y, you know? I think there was something that I felt wasn't represented in my earlier work that I needed get out there. And also, I was hearing this sound in my head that I didn't feel was really out there – this reverb, space rock country thing that I wanted to explore.

What was it like getting the new album together and what things did you want to accomplish with it?

It took a little bit to get it going. A few years it took to write the actual record and a year to record it, mix it and master it. I spent a lot of time demoing out the record myself in my home studio in my basement and my living room. I was fleshing out all the layers and textures. And I'd send the demos to Domino (Records), they'd give me their feedback and then I'd send em a batch of songs and they'd give me their feedback, like "I'm not really feeling this one" or "we really like this one".

It was kind of strange because I was writing stuff that was all over the board stylistically. There's some folkier songs and more-darker synth drum machine material. And there's some stuff in the middle ground – more rockin'. So, it's just kind of all over the place -- and I was just trying to accomplish writing good songs and that each song could stand on its own. Like, each one could be single-worthy, is what I was trying to do. It just kind of all coalesced in the end to Pennied Days.

I've read that George Harrison was a big inspiration for Pennied Days – could you elaborate on that?

The "All Things Have Passed" record with that Phil Spector big wall of sound, and it kind of has a melancholy, country sadness to it. Those weepier guitar licks. The warmth of it. We really liked it. I remember Micky giving me the record in high school and, I don't know, it still rocks to this day and I've never gotten tired of it.

Musically, how would you compare it with your first album, 2012's Colored Emotions?

Alfano: I feel like a lot more of these songs were written with the keyboard in mind. A lot of the first album – there's a few keyboard piano songs – but was more guitar-heavy and written for guitar. But yeah, we've really grown up in the space between these two albums and it feels much more like a mature album.

Pelant: It's a more robust sound. The acoustic elements ... the warmth of it punches through a little bit more.

And the vocals are way more present. I know that's been a big thing. Because in the first one, it's kind of washed out and drowning in reverb. But this one is more up front and in your face. And I did a lot of vocal layers, too. I would harmonize, which I didn't mess around with too much in the first album. In the new album, I was trying to do three- or four-part harmonizes that weren't just one-line things, like various verses were harmonized. That was a new thing I was experimenting with. Getting that choral thing going on.

How does that work live?

Even though I was the only one to record, we just figure out who can sing what. We give out the ranges and whatever ranges suit each guy the best is kind of how we do it.

Carl Sagan happens to be one of my favorite people ever. What's the story behind the song?

It was an earlier Night Moves song. I think I wrote it back in like 2010 or something like that. I was still in school and I was going through a big Cosmos phase. I remember watching it before I went to sleep. Its first stages, it was like a drum machine, really reverbed out with a ton of flange on it. So, it was way more dancey and blitzed out. We shelved it. We tried to put it on Colored Emotions but it didn't really fit anywhere. The vibe was a little different.

I always felt the arrangement could be better, so when I was demoing out all the tracks for Pennied Days, I revisited some of that material that we tried to put on Colored Emotions that didn't go anywhere.

We stopped even playing the song live. It just kind of got shelved and one day I thought maybe I can put a new spin on this. I always intended to change the title, because during that period I just needed some sort of word to distinguish it amongst all the recording files on my computer. But when I revisited it, it just felt weird to call it anything else. We all referred to it as Carl Sagan. It may have seemed silly to call it that, but at the same time, maybe it's sillier to fight it. It just stuck! That's basically it.

You two are the core of the band, right? How does the songwriting process go?

Mostly I write all the stuff and I kind of go overboard with my revision process. I'll come up with an idea and have all these different parts and put them together over time. It either starts out on keyboard or guitar. And then I usually just layer it. Put all the instruments, like add various percussion, add all the keyboards that I have, all these different synths, these old organs I have in my living room, add bass and stuff. Then, I'll show Micky the demo, the general sketch of it, and he gives me his feedback. And we kind of go from there.

The lyrics come at the way end. Usually, I'll have a few lines, something that kicks me off, and I'll know what the song is about. At the end, that's where the puzzle all comes together.

If you had to describe the "perfect Night Moves" song, what would it be like? What would it be about?

It'd probably be a love song. A lot of the songs are love song-based, in that vein of things. Slide guitar, we always do that. Reverb-y organ, I guess, that's always a good thing to have. Strings, synths, we use a lot of old vintage string synthesizers. A ton of reverb.

Usually, the song will start with me making drum beats on drum machines to sort of concoct what I hear in my head. And then our drummer Jared plays variations on what the drum machine is doing. Sometimes he's doing exactly what the drum machine is doing and sometimes he's playing variations` on it, like playing a few pieces of it. And that kind of gives it an undulating feel … I guess that's indicative of the Night Moves sound: beat mixed with a real drum kit.

Nice, OK, you guys are playing a big show at First Ave's Mainroom – what should fans expect to see at the show?

We're going to play a lot of the new stuff, you know? We're going to play some stuff from Colored Emotions, but they should expect to hear mostly all of the new songs we put out on Pennied Days. Just a good time and the two opening acts are really great with Gramma's Boyfriend and Carroll. It's just gonna be a solid night, a fun night.

We're pumped, though. I mean, we've never headlined the Mainroom, so it's a big thing for us. I'm super excited and kind of nervous, because it's a tall order.

Do you have any fond First Avenue memories?

I just remember going there since I was in the sixth-grade, seeing NOFX there when I was in my punk rock phase. Just thinking it's the coolest thing ever. We've played a lot of great shows there and have seen some great shows.

And the whole staff there is very amazing and they've been very supportive. I know Sonia (Grover, First Avenue's booker of bands) has really helped us out over the years, so big ups to her.

So, what's next for Night Moves?

We've got this tour coming up … we leave a few days after the First Avenue show. An east coast leg. We'll come back for a week and then do a west coast leg. We get back in late May, but after that we get out on the road in the summertime. And I want to start recording again. I haven't really been writing, just kind of reveling in this whole Pennied Days process, the release of it all. Figuring out what I want to do next. I don't want to put out the same record, I want it to be different. I've got some songs I'm kicking around, but I'm trying to figure out what I want.

I'd like to put something out sooner than later. I don't want it to be another 3-year late. But at the same time I'm not going to put something out if I'm not digging it.

We'd love to get over to Europe. That's been the dream, to play the UK. Domino is based out of UK.

If you could choose one artist/band to cover a Night Moves song, who'd it be?

I guess Sturgill Simpson is pretty awesome and he just covered that Nirvana track and that was a very cool adaptation of that song. Maybe something weird like that? Something that's not totally in our genre or vein of music.

Do you have any crazy tour moments that you could share?

Yeah! I don't know if we can share them, you know? Some of them are pretty X-rated.

Anyways, we took some mushrooms and we were up in Big Sur, CA. We were on the pacific coast highway, Highway 1. There was this spiritual learning center. Micky found it out. They have these hot springs that overlook the Pacific Ocean and it's beautiful, it's crazy. It's only open to the public between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. and we didn't know it'd be a nudist hot spring. I mean, we kind of had an idea.

We roll up at 1 a.m. and we were blaring Pink Floyd for some reason, which seems pretty cliché for 20-something dudes rolling through Big Sur. And we all kind of fell out of the van because it was pitch black on the highway.

And there were all these hippie couples waiting. There were no groups of people. We were the only band of dudes.

So, we get led down after embarrassingly falling out of the band. I'm sure everybody was already like: "who are these f---ing turkeys?" But hopefully they were like "these are our type of turkeys."

But anyways, we get led down and the guy was like "all right, here's the towels, you guys have two hours"… and immediately everybody disrobes. And we didn't know but we were like "when in Rome, we're not going to be the only guys in bathing suits." So we all got naked.

All the good spots were commandeered right away. The nice ones that were overlooking the ocean were swooped up by the couples.

And an hour into the trip everybody started hooking up. You'd be sitting and all of a sudden the water would start moving …

[a bit of explicit material omitted]

It was just so funny because I'd look over at Micky and he'd be staring straight ahead, not trying to look at anybody, but at the same time realizing we got ourselves into some weird spiritual, sexual experience. It was very weird. It was cool though.

It was a fond memory because it was so out there. (laughs)

---------

Local Music Tap is a blog aimed at promoting Minnesota-based musicians, bands, shows and events. If you have music blog ideas, please email cepremo@wcco.com or leave a comment below.