Progressive metal project LUNAR out of California, began sometime ago, where the band would go on to release content over the years, currently hard at work what will be their third full-length release expected in 2021. That is all the band is focused upon for the time being, with the band going on further more to say lots about how they came to be and what it's been like creating the music that they do.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
The band started back in 2013 when it was just myself (Alex Bosson) and guitarist Ryan Erwin. We searched for other members at the time, but didn’t have much luck. We did our first EP, “Provenance,” in 2014. We had recruited my old friend Danny Stevenson to play keyboards on that EP, but couldn’t find any other members, so Ryan handled lead vocals and he and I split doing the bass tracks on that EP. After that we were able to bring on Ryan Price on bass and Chandler Mogel on vocals for the first full-length album, “Theogony,” and then rounded out the album with a bunch of guest musicians as well. After “Theogony” came out, Ryan (Erwin) unfortunately passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly. The 2nd (and most recent) album, “Eidolon,” I wrote on my own and brought in Balmore Lemus to fulfil the task of recording guitars. And with him we took kind of the same approach as with “Theogony” where we had Ryan Price on bass, Chandler Mogel on lead vocals and then lots of guest musicians rounding out the line-up.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
The story of the band name is kind of a silly one. Ryan and I have always been big fans of Opeth and they’re a big inspiration to Lunar. So when trying to think of a band name, my mind went to thinking about Opeth and wondering how I could come up with a name as cool as theirs. I had read something years ago where Mikael Akerfeldt mentioned that Opeth was supposed to be the name of a city on the moon. I remembered that, made me think of the moon and then thought ‘what are some cool moon-like terms.’ I thought of Lunar and I liked it, so it stuck.3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
The band is kind of spread all around, but I’ve always thought of home-base as where I am; in Sacramento, CA. But the other members are located in Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and New Jersey. So each member could really have a very different answer about their local music scene. For me, here in Sacramento, it’s not the greatest, but it is improving. In recent years, more tours seem to be opting for coming through Sacramento instead of going to the Bay Area, which is nice. There are a few cool clubs and venues here. I recently got to see SONS OF APOLLO at a local theatre, which was very cool!
And there are definitely a lot of friends and acquaintances of mine that play in great bands. Many of them, like how we are with Lunar, are spread out but may have one or two members in this area. But just for a quick list of bands that have at least one member in this area that I would recommend, there’s ALTERBEAST, some old friends of mine in a band called BAVMORDA, who are awesome. Jared Klein is from around here and plays for RIVERS OF NIHIL and FLUB, both of which are fantastic! Brian Lewis, who does all the growl vocals on the Lunar albums, has a black metal project called NORDIC FROST, which is great. NIVIANE, DIRE PERIL, CYBORG OCTOPUS, GRAVESHADOW are a few others of friends bands based around here that are all fantastic!4. How would you describe your style?
Our style I think is certainly progressive metal. I think that genre has a pretty wide scope. I think you can hear influences of rock, metal, jazz, death metal and probably some other stuff too. The biggest thing about our style /sound is just having no limitations. We play stuff that we enjoy from many different influences and just let the music progress in a natural way.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
As of now, we have 2 full-length albums and an EP out. The first EP (“Provenance”) is still available in digital format, but the physical CD’s are long sold-out. The 2 full-length albums are available digitally, there are physical CD’s, limited edition colored cassette tapes and “Theogony” is also available on vinyl.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?Yes, we are currently in the process of writing and recording the 3rd full-length album. It’s still fairly early in the process, but it’s coming along nicely. It should hopefully be released sometime in 2021.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Due to this band being so spread out and very independent, we haven’t had the chance to do any live shows or tours yet. It’s definitely something we hope to do in the future… We just have to wait for the right time when we can make it happen.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Right now the plans are just focusing on the 3rd album. We’re currently working hard on that. From there we’ll have to see where things go. We would love it if we can make it work to tour and support that album once it’s out. We’ll have to wait and see what the public response is to it and see if it’s feasible to try to make that happen. Also we’ll have to see how things continue to progress with the state of the world and the music industry with COVID. Things are pretty up in the air with the whole industry right now with that, so for now, the focus is just to get this 3rd album done and released and hopefully make it the best Lunar album so far!
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Music should be available on all the major platforms; Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, apple music, etc. And you can also hear the music and purchase any music and merch at lunarbandofficial.bandcamp.com.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
I wouldn’t presume to tell a listener how to approach new music as I think everyone has their own approach to how they like to absorb new material. I guess I would just say to have an open mind. There’s a lot of different influences and styles, some of which can change drastically even from song to song. So I think if the listener has an open mind and gives it a thorough listen, they can hopefully find something they’ll enjoy.
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