ION INDIE MAGAZINE January 2017, Volume 32 | Page 83

Kat Zee: On your page, your fans will find that you are playing rock, alternative, post-punk, blunge/grunge, psychedelic,
hi-octane shoe-gaze. Wow! Could you please explain--what does hi-octane shoe-gaze exactly mean? Is it a new genre in
music?
Luna Lacuna: As we don’t really stick to any one genre, it is hard to pick one when directed to do so by social media. As
we all enjoy a bit of word play, we sometimes make up funny sounding genres. Hi-octane shoegaze describes that we
tend to be quite up-tempo and on the heavier side--but that we do like using loads of pedals and the occasional long,
spacey bridge. Blunge is the current favorite--bluesy grunge or grungy blues--which is a fair view of our tunes.
Kat Zee: I have listened to your album and I really like it. I heard some influences there--like BLACK SABBATH, KING
CRIMSON, TYPE O NEGATIVE and punky, grunge echoes. Do you like these bands? What bands do you love the most?
Luna Lacuna: Thank you for the kind words! We all have quite diverse taste...so many styles tell what we do. Certainly
grunge, punk, heavier and proggier classic rock, metal, blues, post-punk, etc. The bands you mentioned are all ones that
have influenced some of us, so it’s amazing to hear that you can pick that up a bit in our songs. Through the band, there
are members into grunge, of course--particularly NIRVANA and ALICE IN CHAINS...the more cerebral side of indie--such
as SONIC YOUTH and RADIOHEAD... traditional blues and weirder stuff like TOM WAITS...post punk and goth bands,
including THE MISSION, SEX GANG CHILDREN, THE SISTERS OF MERCY...or the punk/metal/pop cross-over bands like
THE OFFSPRING, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, FAITH NO MORE, etc. We also like metal and really enjoy playing bills with upcoming metal acts--bands such as SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA, have been really influential...although we’re
not specifically in that genre. Also guitar legends like JIMI HENDRIX and STEVE VAI, of course, and a bit of prog as you
gathered from the KING CRIMSON influence!
Kat Zee: Abigail, You are really working hard! You are singing, playing guitar/bass and writing lyrics. How are you handling
doing all of that and connecting so many levels?
Luna Lacuna: Our drummer James is a guitarist and songwriter. We’ve been through a few bassists and in the past we’ve
swapped around with James on guitar and vocals, me on bass, and the bassist on drums for a few songs. This is
something we’ll revive as soon as possible! I’m used to playing guitar and singing from my solo stuff prior to the band,
but having a group of competent musicians means I can focus a bit more on singing as not also trying to carry the rhythm
and melody together.
Kat Zee: What topics do you draw from to write your lyrics?
Luna Lacuna: I do write most of the lyrics--as that’s my stronger point in songwriting--although James has written the
ones he plays guitar and sings on…and my partner who is a poet and writer, contributes occasionally. Although they
sound dark, most are actually kind of positive, either occult romance or affectionate odes to all the wonderful weirdos
we know. Many are stories as well, usually involving monsters of some sort.
Kat Zee: Why did you make the choice to play your style of music? Why not, for example, black metal or folk metal?
Luna Lacuna: Again, we all have very diverse taste with many cross-overs and prefer not to stick to a very specific style
or genre. We try to get all the bits we like into the music in a way that is unique to us and reasonably cohesive.
Kat Zee: I saw that you are very active playing gigs. Are you thinking about touring soon?
Luna Lacuna: We do play often in Kent and London, lately Sussex and Hertfordshire, as well. There are plans for a short
European tour with IMAGINARY DREAMERS soon, and we hope to do some other tours with artists we are associated
with going forward. A USA tour would make sense, with our singer being from Chicago originally, so that is something we
will plan when possible.