Lunar Rogue Interview

Lunar Rogue, indie rock band from Los Angeles, just released their latest single “Another Night, Another Day” from their unreleased, yet-to-be-named album that is in the process of being recorded. With me today is Julia Dettwiler (lead singer/songwriter), Roslyn Osborn (drummer/harmony singer), Sam Orellana (bassist), and Alex Methot (guitarist). Jim Briggs (guitarist) was unable to make it, but these guys seem to have it all under control!

“Rock N Roll Love Child of Alternative and Classic Rock,” huh? Cool combo. Who are your biggest influences?

Julia: My family and friends are probably my biggest influences but other big influences include Stevie Nicks, Ann Wilson, Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry, Barbra Streisand, Freddy Mercury, Steve Perry, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, and almost every badass artist I’ve ever seen live. I try to learn something from every concert I attend

Alex: I love this question because we all have different influences that help us bring different flavors to the band. I’ve always been a blues influenced, up-tempo rock n’ roll kind of guy and

picked up the guitar thanks to Slash, Joe Perry, Brian May, and Angus Young to name a few.

Rozz: Steve Gadd taught me the importance of having that perfect, in the pocket groove that fits with the song. Chad Smith is the perfect rock drummer example in my mind. His fills and timing are incredible. And Dave Grohl...I could say so much about how he inspires me, but the biggest thing is how he was a drummer originally and then became a singer/guitarist and formed the biggest post grunge band. That really helped me come out of my shell and start singing and doing harmonies and push myself to become more than just a drummer and a more well-rounded musician.

Sam: The list is massive but to keep it concise, probably mostly: All members of Rush and Mr. Big, my older brother Ricky, and The Pillows. The J-rock helps keep things interesting.

Do you enjoy recording?

Rozz: Of course! I think it’s important to get your music out for the world to hear. If not, you’re just playing for yourself and music shouldn’t be trapped in a room like that. It should be recorded and released.

Sam: I love recording for the most part. It feels super dope to record my stuff and be able to play it back and be proud of something. That being said if something just isn’t coming out

right, I can get frustrated pretty quick.

Alex: I absolutely LOVE recording. It’s a magical thing to be able to extract what’s in your head and give it life. Our goal is to create more of what we love and share it with the world.

Julia: Absolutely! I can sing for hours and be absolutely content. I Love watching musicians working hard to perfect their parts and all the behind the scenes shenanigans that only the few of us get to be a part of.

What do you like most about being in Lunar Rogue?

Julia: My band mates are incredible human beings. We are a family, so we Love and respect each other and that makes it extra fun to play music together. There’s a symbiotic connection that shines through when we arrange and perform together.

Rozz: I love that we’re like a family. We have each other’s back and what’s more fun than being on stage with people you love the most in the world?!

Sam: Playing with such incredible musicians is probably my favorite part. There’s just a vibe that exists when you’re all playing as a cohesive unit and working on stuff. Its electric. And Lunar really has this amazing electricity happening when we play. That’s probably my favorite.

Alex: Simply, it’s just plain fun. There’s a certain connection you feel when you’re up on stage, just you 5 vs the rest of the world. It’s a connection I haven’t felt with any other friend group.

How did you, as a band, get tight?

Sam: Aside from like the obvious love for the music, I’d say through our dope circle of friends and partying. When I joined the band I definitely wasn’t as outgoing as I am now. Just being around the people we call family and being able to just hangout and have a good time together really made me feel welcome. It felt like I had known these people for years and they’re all family to me now too.

Rozz: In my opinion the best way to get your band tight is to play as many shows as you can. It’s said that ‘One show is equivalent to 100 practices’ and it’s so true. The more you play live the better you get and the tighter you get.

Julia: Practice, shows, whiskey and Vegas.Your latest self-titled album.....

Julia: We have played the crap out of it at shows and are excited to be incorporating more of the new songs! It has been hard to swap out songs, because everyone has a different “favorite” and we get hell from fans when we skip their faves… it’s a good problem to have.

You’re currently in the studio recording. Tell us a little about your recording process and when we can expect to see the new album coming out

Sam: The sooner the better, but I’m shooting for some time this year, 2019.

Julia: We are leaning toward releasing a full-length album in 2019, but we have been dragging our feet a bit on recording because we’re still perfecting arrangements on a lot of the songs. We’ve been in and out of Vanity Studios tracking pieces and parts with Bill Georges (engineer extraordinaire), but we are trying to get our newest songs worked out before bombarding him with more work! We just released a new single “Another Night, Another Day” available on iTunes and Amazon and pretty much all of the digital outlets like Spotify and YouTube, etc.

The current line up Rocks Live! Tell us a little about how you met and what made you choose them for the band.

Alex: Like a lunatic, I answered a sketchy craigslist ad for a guitarist… showed up to the 4 of them in the garage getting set up with what seemed like a small house party going on. They’d asked me to learn 4 songs in like, a day. It went smoother than expected! I think the most important part, though, was having the time to hang out and get to know everyone that evening. That cohesiveness is crucial, and I could tell right away that this was a group I wanted to stick around for. Here we are a year later, and I’ve got friends for life!

Rozz: I actually met Julia a few days before my 21st birthday. We met at a coffee shop and talked for hours. She invited me for a Lunar Rogue show, which turned out to be the day of my 21st birthday and it happened to be their drummer’s last show, I went to the show met the whole band and a week later joined the band full time. It was the best birthday gift ever!

Sam: I found the band while scouring Craig’s

list actually. My old band dissolved and my old roommate kept prodding at me to jump online and find a band to join. I found Lunar and hit them up to let me audition. The audition went alright but I was super intimidated being surrounded by such professional and amazing musicians. It felt like a “Sink or Swim” type challenge. Thankfully I’ve been able to keep my charade up for this long.

Julia: I found them at the circus. We immediately became family.

For those who’ve not heard your music before, what can they expect from Lunar Rogue at a Live show?

Rozz: We really thrive on our energy and chemistry on stage. Of course, you’re going to hear some amazing songs and some amazing music, but what we have that a lot of bands don’t is the energy that we give. And I think that goes back to how close this band is, it really shows on stage that we are having a good time and want our crowd to be a part of that.

Sam: Lots of energy and a range of sick jams. I really do love that our show starts and ends with high energy, there’s a wide range of music throughout the set so it really is blast.

Has Lunar Rogue ever considered doing a mini-tour? Who would you choose to tour with, if it were possible?

Alex: We’re definitely considering a mini tour, perhaps down through southern California and out towards Vegas and parts of Arizona. And Definitely a world tour. I’m ready to play Tokyo, those guys know how to rock!!

Sam: Mini-tour would be awesome. I’d want to tour with Heavy Justice just cause our folks would be so much fun on the road. Other musicians, hmmm... I’m not sure.

Julia: That would be ideal! I’d like to tour with the influences I just mentioned… preferably the living ones.

Rozz: Just tell me where to sign.Where can people find you?

Julia: LunarRogueBand.com and most of the social media outlets. Please check us out on Spotify! And you can download our music on iTunes and Amazon or buy CDs and merch at shows or through our website.