Get to know brightmoon
Photo credit: Robbie Jeffers
brightmoon, a husband and wife alt-rock shoegaze duo based out of Long Beach, California, released their debut EP after two decades of musical collaboration. The couple, Becca Popkin and Billy Mohler were founding members of War Tapes, a rock band that toured with iconic acts like The Smashing Pumpkins and Tiger Army. In our profile, Popkin shares the inspiration behind the duo’s name, transitioning from being in a band to a duo, and the future of brightmoon and their other projects.
Husband and wife duo, Becca Popkin and Billy Mohler, have spent over two decades in musical collaboration. Their latest work, First Light, was released under the couple’s new project, brightmoon.
The two are founding members of War Tapes, an American rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 2004, with their debut album releasing in 2009. The band opened for The Smashing Pumpkins during their residency in San Francisco at the Fillmore, securing a name for themselves. Mohler actually played with The Smashing Pumpkins earlier this month in Los Angeles, filling in as their bass player in the band’s show at The Coliseum. Though War Tapes band never officially “split up,” Popkin and Mohler have since transitioned to working as a duo.
The sound of brightmoon is softer and more ethereal in comparison to their previous work in War Tapes, shifting into the genre of shoegaze.
Popkin spoke to us about tour life, artistic inspirations, and the future of her and Billy’s music.
You both were previously in the band War Tapes, where you toured with names like The Smashing Pumpkins and Tiger Army. What was it like transitioning from being in a four-piece band to working as a duo, especially as husband and wife?
War Tapes was one of the most fun experiences we have ever had! Playing and touring together along with my brother Neil and our best friend Matt made for some of the most memorable rehearsals, recording sessions, and tours! War Tapes has never officially ended, but life got busy as it does. Billy and I working together as a duo is what we always have done, even before War Tapes we were writing and making music, so it's always felt like a very natural thing to do. We love to create and having that shared passion is one thing that brings us together as husband and wife! We both love writing and playing music and recording, so it's super fun that we can do that together! I am also certain that War Tapes will do something again too!
Can you tell me about the origin of your project’s name, brightmoon?
‘brightmoon’ was a name that I was drawn to because of its association with She-Ra! I always loved the world of Etheria and one of the places in their world is Bright Moon! Those two words just sound so lovely together, and when put as one word brightmoon it just felt right for naming our sound and band!
As your sound has evolved from being in War Tapes to now creating brightmoon, who are some of the musical references that inspired you on your debut EP, First Light?
In War Tapes we definitely had a more post punk influenced sound, it was darker and moodier...and brightmoon still has moments of intensity but there is a lightness and a softness there as well. We love many of the 90's shoegaze bands, a personal favorite for us is definitely Lush.
When did you first start working on the songs for First Light? Were there any scrapped tracks that might be released in the future?
We started working on the songs a little more than a year ago, we first wrote and recorded First Light but quickly recorded the others on the EP soon after. We have a lot of half finished songs right now that we are completing as we can both get a little overly excited and want to keep writing and writing, sometimes it's hard to finish something haha!
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and producing a record?
Usually our songs start as a rough demo that I will then write a melody over and add lyrics. Many of them come together quite quickly, Billy will hash an idea out and record it, then I will sit and record the melody and oftentimes the lyrics will come at the same time too!
You are based out of Long Beach. What are your favorite venues in the Los Angeles area? Do you have any dream venues you would like to play?
We love Vine in Long Beach, Que Sera in Long Beach, and the Smell in LA. But we are pretty happy to play anywhere!
Now that the EP is out, what are your future plans for brightmoon?
We are working on a new batch of songs, finishing up some started songs, and hoping to have a new EP together soon! We also have a couple of shows coming up and want to play some more, as it's been fun taking the songs from the recordings to the live stage!
Stream First Light here.
You can catch the duo at Vine in Long Beach, this Saturday, August 1st.
You can follow brightmoon’s Instagram here.
brightmoon, a husband and wife alt-rock shoegaze duo based out of Long Beach, California, released their debut EP after two decades of musical collaboration. The couple, Becca Popkin and Billy Mohler were founding members of War Tapes, a rock band that toured with iconic acts like The Smashing Pumpkins and Tiger Army. In our profile, Popkin shares the inspiration behind the duo’s name, transitioning from being in a band to a duo, and the future of brightmoon and their other projects.