Inside Colorado’s Music Scene with Moon Honey | Pinpoint Colorado

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

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SPEAKER 06 : 0:57

Welcome to Pinpoint Colorado. I’m your host, Rachel Maines. On this episode, I head to Exchange Coffee House in Castle Pines for a chance to sit down with husband and wife duo, Dave and Rachel with the band Moon Honey. We’re gonna talk about the vibrant music scene right here in Colorado and the vision behind the band Moon Honey. Thank you guys for being here. It’s one of my favorite coffee shops. But to be on Pinpoint Colorado, I’ve known you guys for years. And one of my favorite couples, very gifted. We’re talking about Moon Honey. And I was privileged to go to your most recent concert. And it was a joy and super fun. And you had so many talented people. Thank you. What’s the idea, start with Rachel, with Moon Honey? What’s the idea behind that? How is this different than what you’ve been a part of before in terms of music?

SPEAKER 07 : 2:02

I think Moon Honey is really just more focused on Dave and I and actually bringing in other talent as, you know, as we can, as we have a million times in the past. But showcasing more kind of folk, country, all of our writing skills, bringing in other people to be included in the project. Not like a band, more like a community in some ways. Yeah. A lot of the music that we’ve released in the last year has been just kind of focused on Dave and I, but at that show, we got to kind of show off all of our friends and we definitely want to keep doing that.

SPEAKER 06 : 2:35

Yeah, it’s a good time. I like that kind of vibe versus just particularly focusing on one band, if you will. I like the community aspects. And even within the crowd, having that community aspect is something I think people crave. Now, Dave, you travel a lot as a musician. What’s your goal behind this, too? Is it kind of like a respite, if you will, because you’re traveling and then you get to be with your wife on stage, too?

SPEAKER 03 : 3:02

Yeah, I think Rachel is one of the best musicians I’ve ever met.

SPEAKER 06 : 3:05

I agree.

SPEAKER 03 : 3:06

And playing with her is a completely different experience. But what was so cool is every show has its own feeling. And the moment we walked into Swallow Hill, we just knew it was a special night. When we did that show, it was so unique and special. Right. And I, at least for me, I think we talked about it after we felt like we were just watching it happen, even though we were kind of in charge of it and, you know, we’re emceeing it, right? We’re making it happen.

SPEAKER 05 : 3:36

Loosely in charge, barely in charge.

SPEAKER 03 : 3:41

That’s a much deeper thing, but we’re just kind of watching it happen as it was happening. So to me, Moon Honey is, is this, I get to relax creatively in it. And because I can relax in it, it feels more open. It’s with my wife.

SPEAKER 06 : 4:01

It’s with family, really.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:02

Family and friends.

SPEAKER 06 : 4:04

And friends are family.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:05

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER 06 : 4:06

It definitely has that vibe. What I like, too, is the husband and wife banter that you guys have. Because every relationship is perfect, right? No. No. So you guys are open with that too. And that’s a really fun vibe. I like that.

SPEAKER 07 : 4:22

And then we have to be because we’re on stage and sometimes we’re looking at each other like, what are you doing over there? You know, or like, what decision are you making right now? So we just decided to make it public. Right. And actually it works for us because that’s actually who we are behind closed doors in front of people. Nothing changes. It’s the same no matter where we are. And that’s who we are with each other.

SPEAKER 06 : 4:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER 07 : 4:42

So it’s completely authentic. It’s completely down to earth. It’s very real. And I think now more than ever, I’m glad that we started a project like that. That’s about who are we as musicians right now. Right. And who are the people that we appreciate as musicians right now, because we need that authenticity right now.

SPEAKER 06 : 5:00

Right. Yeah. We’re missing that in the culture for sure. I know it’s your goal to write authentic music as well. And yeah, that’s kind of getting lost in the commercialization of music. And I know we could talk about that for hours, but as you guys sit down and write, what does that process look like?

SPEAKER 07 : 5:20

Oh, it’s different every time.

SPEAKER 03 : 5:21

Yeah. Every single time.

SPEAKER 07 : 5:23

It’s different every time. So what’s one thing that’s amazing is, you know, Dave said something so sweet about me, but legitimately Dave is one of the great guitar players around and everybody’s caught on to that. That’s why he gets picked up for tours and he plays with so many different artists because he really is that good. And so what’s kind of fun and we’ve been doing a lot lately of this is he’ll have this great guitar part. He’ll have this great part on some instrument and this great idea and structure. And then I’ll sit and mess with it. Sonic, you know, make a song out of it until he’s happy with it. I’m happy with it. And we have a lot of music we’re going to be releasing in the coming years. That’s like that, which I think is a great thing. It’s a great structure for us, given our backgrounds. Like, he has so much background in guitar. I have so much background in songwriting. It’s kind of how we combine, I think, the strengths that we both have. And then we work it out together. Right. And we’ve gotten, I mean… We’ve gotten so much better at it over the years. I don’t know if you think that, but I definitely think that we’ve improved.

SPEAKER 03 : 6:25

I think that culture is craving certain things. We have a lot of knowledge. It seems like there’s very little wisdom. And a lot of wisdom with songwriting is the less that you fondle the idea, the better it is. So we know that going into writing songs, going into just even approaching music creatively, the less that you like start manipulating it, the better. The more that you can just keep it the original idea, just kind of stem off of different vibes and colors from that lyric, like poems and all that, the better it is. So let’s say it’s a craft that we continue to work on, that we’re exploring many angles, but… Ultimately, restraint, I think, is knowing when to stop. That’s a really good sign of art, knowing when to put the brakes on.

SPEAKER 07 : 7:20

Right. Less is more. We don’t just write love songs either. I know. It’s called Moon Honey. It’s like honeymoon. It really implies we’re relational. We are. Totally. We are everything. There’s so many relationships in life and there’s so much in life to sing about and talk about. And a lot of what’s on the radio is just that first phase of love song, right? That falling in love song or that meeting you in a place, even the movies, right? Yes. But there’s all this life that we lead outside of that. And there needs to be songs for life songs that like get you through a hard day, songs that help you with your addiction, songs that, are about some of the hard things that we face. And we feel tasked with sharing music that’s unique in that way as well. And that’s psychologically sound that’s actually good for people to sing and good for people to listen to.

SPEAKER 06 : 8:14

Right. I love that. So it’s really cool to see a couple so gifted doing the same thing, being able to have a band and doing what you do. Where’d you guys meet? I’m sure people are curious where you met.

SPEAKER 07 : 8:29

It’s cool or it’s crazy. Like there’s a level of insanity in choosing to work together in music. But you know, we’re crazy like that. So that’s fine. Do you want to tell how we met?

SPEAKER 03 : 8:42

We just met at a venue. You know, we were playing, we were out playing a songwriter night for a friend and she was in one of the rounds. I was in one of the rounds. How many songwriters? Like 20 or something?

SPEAKER 07 : 8:54

There was a lot. Yeah.

SPEAKER 03 : 8:55

It was at a great venue that used to exist here in Denver. And the first thing I ever heard from her was her voice. When she was sound checking, I remember thinking, she’s got an amazing voice. And I heard her sing before I met her.

SPEAKER 07 : 9:10

And I heard him play guitar before I met him. So it’s so funny. Wow. Because I was not facing the stage or anything. And I was talking to somebody and he starts this song and it’s like the most miraculous guitar. It’s not recorded. You can’t find it anywhere. You can’t find it anywhere. But… we’re trying, but live it’s stunning. And I heard him play and the whole room stopped and I was like, who’s that? And I turned around to see who it was. So yeah, we had the, like an interesting experience with each other at that event. Yeah.

SPEAKER 06 : 9:42

Well, it makes sense that you would meet out at an event for music for sure. And then as you’ve grown as a couple, tell us the process of how Moon Honey came about. You’re kind of doing your own thing, kind of doing things together. And then you thought, hey, you know, let’s start this concept together.

SPEAKER 07 : 10:02

We’ve been on the roller coaster ride that is the music thing. And we’ve had a lot of bands and we’ve tried a lot of projects. Like people who followed us will ask about previous projects that we’ve done that we’ve had to end for multiple reasons. Not easy, really hard stuff. Right. We wanted a project that was purely devoted to original music, number one, which is hard to do in Denver and make a living. So we have a lot of other projects where we do corporate events and we do weddings and we do all these great fun things that we love. But we wanted a project that was solely for original music and solely for whatever mood we were in. Right. And so, like I said, some of our first releases, we were like, let’s do country music for a little bit. But a lot of the recordings lately, we’ve moved more into kind of like folky cinematic vibes, which we’ll release soon. And then who knows? We kind of just do… We do what we want because we’re artists. And we need to do that. You need that outlet. So this is just… What do we feel like? What’s on our hearts right now? It’s kind of that release for me, at least. It’s that fun. Let’s just have fun and make something and put it out there and share it with people.

SPEAKER 03 : 11:10

Yeah, I feel like we hit a ceiling with past ones. Either… For whatever reasons. And with Moon Honey, we… it doesn’t, it does feel limitless. Like we can go in any direction. We can get anyone to do any aspect of the project that we wanted to either in the studio or live. And you know, I’ve got the best songwriter in the world right here. It’s just fun.

SPEAKER 06 : 11:37

You’re so nice to me. That’s so cute. Yeah. And I just got to mention too, when people see you live in concert, they get to see that banter and it’s funny. It’s really funny.

SPEAKER 03 : 11:48

It would be funny if we were like really like trying not to show that, you know, like, we’re like, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Yeah. We were like really robotic. It would be so against who we are, but it would be awkward and everyone would be awkward.

SPEAKER 04 : 12:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER 06 : 12:05

Well, you guys live in Colorado. Obviously, you’re in Pinpoint, Colorado. What do you feel is so special about the music industry in Colorado? Or something even that you would hope to change within what you’re doing with Moon Honey?

SPEAKER 07 : 12:19

Oh, it’s still the Wild West here.

SPEAKER 06 : 12:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER 07 : 12:23

It’s the Wild West. There’s not a lot of music business here. So there’s a lot of different kind of niche aspects to the scene. And I think… I actually think it’s in a phase of needing to be rebuilt in a lot of ways, which is one other reason we got excited about doing an original project and getting back out there in Denver with original music is it’s, it feels a little disjointed. It feels like Colorado is still trying to find its sound in some ways. Like there’s folk music here, but there’s a lot of amazing artists here. There’s a lot of amazing talent here. And a lot of folks don’t know that a lot of folks don’t get to see, haven’t seen it. Like we, we showcase people we thought are amazing talents at that show. And people were surprised. They were like, I’ve never even heard of this person. Like I know. So I think one thing that excites me is getting back into the scene and promoting other people. Like we intend to bringing other people into the project, releasing songs with other people, which I’m going to do in the next year, not necessarily in just this project, but in others. Yeah. And just being able to invest and kind of hopefully give back. And let’s see what happens with the scene in the coming years. I feel like it’s changed every five years. I don’t know if you feel that way.

SPEAKER 03 : 13:38

Well, notoriously, it does. I mean, I’ve played in the scene for a long time, like 20, 25 years. Yeah, and what’s awesome is that we have Red Rocks here. That’s world renowned. You meet people in England and they know about Red Rocks. There’s three venues that every musician wants to play and Red Rocks is on that list. It’s sunny 300 days a year here, unless it’s this winter and it’s sunny.

SPEAKER 07 : 14:13

All the days of the year.

SPEAKER 03 : 14:16

And people like Colorado is a state about getting out. And I just encourage people to get out and go listen to the music here. We do have an island. But iron does sharpen iron. I encourage a lot of musicians to get out, to listen to others, to collaborate, to be open creatively, to reach out to us. Collaborate. Yes. Yes. As much as possible, we talk about a time in the scene where that was happening and some giants came out of the scene at that time that are big in the industry now. And we all know each other. So the more of that, the better. But it’s like that in every state, really. It should be. So yeah, I mean, I still do like it here. We have deep roots here.

SPEAKER 06 : 15:06

Yeah, we better be staying here. And one thing I want to note too is those who are listening, those who are watching, this couple is so genuine and very heartfelt. So if you feel like, oh, I can’t reach out to them because what are they going to think of me? No, just reach out. You guys are open to it. You may have a busy schedule. You’ll fit people in. And you’re very considerate in that way. And I love that you’re connecting musicians together in this state. And you need to write a song. I’m going to give you an assignment about Colorado, please. Okay. Yes.

SPEAKER 04 : 15:42

Go. Ready? Go. Rach can just do this stuff.

SPEAKER 07 : 15:48

Wait, hold on. Wait a second. There’s so many aspects. I need to figure out what the view is. What’s my perspective? Which route are we taking about Colorado? There have been some about Colorado.

SPEAKER 04 : 15:59

The traffic.

SPEAKER 07 : 16:00

I mean, we can’t do, you know.

SPEAKER 03 : 16:02

Colorado Springs always has construction. Right.

SPEAKER 06 : 16:05

Right. Well, you guys are a joy and I want to give our listeners how they can get in touch with you and learn more about Moon Honey.

SPEAKER 07 : 16:14

Absolutely. If you’re looking for help with songs, collaboration, recording or corporate bands or anything, you can email ilovemoonhoney at gmail.com. Okay. That’s the easiest email. And then our website is ilovemoonhoney.com.

SPEAKER 03 : 16:32

I love Moon Honey.

SPEAKER 06 : 16:33

I do. I love Moon Honey as well. Looking forward to your next concert too. And thank you so much for being on Pinpoint.

SPEAKER 07 : 16:38

Thank you.

SPEAKER 06 : 16:40

My thanks to Dave and Rachel for joining me at the Exchange Coffeehouse in Castle Pines. To learn more and to follow their music, go to ilovemoonhoney.com. And don’t forget, you can watch past episodes of Pinpoint Colorado. Just go to pinpointcolorado.com. Thanks for joining us and see you next time.