Whether you’re the child of doctors or musicians, there is always that little voice in the back of your head telling you to do things their way. At least that was the reality for Evi Moon. The child of musically inclined folks, she felt the need to do things a certain way. We talked about how that led to her walking away, heading back and being “Okay.”
Kendra: Having been groomed for a life in music, was it your parents pushing you towards a sound life?
Evi Moon: I grew up in a family of musicians, so it was never really a discussion. I just didn’t think there were any other options out there for me – because all of the adults in my life were musicians. I’m not so sure if the expectation was really there or not, but I definitely felt like choosing another path would be a big disappointment to my parents.
Kendra: Was it a culmination of events that led you to take a break?
Evi Moon: I guess it was really when I realized that every musical decision I was making was based on whether my parents would approve, and that didn’t feel healthy.
Kendra: Of course, we now need to talk about what brought you back to music…was it a song you heard, an internal need, necessity?
Evi Moon: After my “hiatus” from music, it all came back very naturally, it didn’t really feel like a moment. I just re-entered my natural state. Except that this time, it was all for me – no connection to what anyone else thought or expected.
The real “moment” was on the front end. Super sleep-deprived on a bus to the airport listening to James Blake’s “Lindisfarne II” (I had had that album on repeat for the entire day)…and in my delirious state, I was actually able to ask myself whether being a musician was making me happy. That’s when I decided to take a break and explore that.
Kendra: Is “Okay” the first song you penned since you decided to give music another chance?
Evi Moon: Before my hiatus, I was always very careful and perfectionistic about what I released, so afterward, I ran in the opposite direction and just put out tons of music. I ended up taking everything down except for “Feels Like Summer.” “Okay” is the second song I have officially released.
Kendra: On top of music, you also have an interesting vlog about the highs and lows of the music industry. Was there something, in particular, that happened that sparked you to start it?
Evi Moon: Yes! I am a big fan of the vlogger John Green (the author of The Fault in our Stars etc). He’s doing this series where he solves your problems while playing video games, and featured me in one episode.
I wrote to him with my problem and totally forgot about it. Then I woke up one morning to my YouTube notifications totally blowing up! He helped me so much more than I ever thought possible – so many people subscribed and commented on the only two songs I had up, that I totally on a whim decided to dig into the YouTube community with a vlog. I never in a million years thought I’d do something like that, it’s one of my crazier whims.
Kendra: Looking through your Instagram I saw you visited Mount Rushmore last year. For fun, if you had to build a Music Mount Rushmore, what artists would be on yours?
Evi Moon: John Mayer, Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston, and Frank Ocean.
Kendra: We have “Okay” now, what else can we expect in the coming months from you?
Evi Moon: In the coming months, I will be releasing more singles, followed by my first real music video. I’m also hoping to step up my live performance game this summer.
