Interview with Connor Daniel from Next Door to the Moon
Have any of you played in other bands? I've played in several bands starting in middle school to present, though Next Door to the Moon has been my main project since 2014 at its inception.
How is it that you started playing music? In about 5th grade, a lot of my friends were really into Green Day. The American Idiot album had just come out and it was my first real exposure to music in the sense that I actually became passionate about it. My Dad showed me the first few chords to Boulevard of Broken Dreams on guitar, and once I had it down pretty well, he surprised me with Green Day tickets for a concert taking place that night. That show changed my life and I've been pursuing music ever since.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? Connor Daniel - Lead Vocals/Guitar (22 Years Old), and Jacob Guzman - Drums (20 Years Old).
Where are you from? Los Angeles, CA.
What's your style of genre? Pop/Rock/Alternative.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Both Jacob and I wrote our upcoming E.P. together, but I wrote a majority of the songs on the band's first release, "Invincible."
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Generally it starts with the music and a melody line, then lyrics are added afterwards.
Have you done any covers live? Yes. While we are primarily focused on original material, we sometimes throw a cover into our set for fun. Lately we've been playing Mr. Brightside by The Killers and Robbers by The 1975.
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? Everywhere we can. We are LA based, so we'll probably start there and fan out.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?
I mean, it is what it is. I think as long as people are hearing the music in some capacity then it is good. I personally am a fan of streaming as a music listener as well as an artist. I think it's just a new generation and a new structure in regards to how people access their music.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? I think mostly in terms of how music itself is monetized. But again, it is what it is.
Do you have any role models or idols? Yes, many. In regards to music, everyone in The Beatles and Rush greatly inspire me. Tom Scholz from Boston is a mega genius and I appreciate his skills as an inventor as well as songwriting. Frontmen such as Billie Joe Armstrong and Deryck Whibley inspired me to start playing music in the first place, both in terms of their music as well as performance. The list goes on and on.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? There isn't a specific time frame of bands/artists that inspire me more than another, although I would say that bands like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin kind of pioneered pop and rock music, producing a new generation of artists to come. Therefor, I think it's reasonable to say that the 60's and 70's deserve slightly more credit. Generally speaking, I'm inspired by the music of many different eras, so I think for myself, it's all about whatever moves me as a music listener.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Focus on creating the best music you possibly can and record it in the highest quality manner. One very well recorded and produced song can have more of an impact than 10 songs recorded in a mediocre fashion.
How do you get psyched for a gig? It depends on the circumstances, but working really hard during rehearsals and other band related activity pertaining to a specific show (or multiple shows) really builds up the anticipation for me, so when showtime hits, it becomes especially meaningful.
Do you have any new material? Yes we do. We recently released our new single and music video, "Can't Quit It." It is available everywhere online: Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, YouTube, SoundCloud... You name it. We also just completed a new music video for an upcoming single and will be releasing our new E.P. this Summer.
What are your web sites? www.NextDoorToTheMoon.com
How can people reach you? We are very active on social media and try to respond to as many comments and messages as possible. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @NDTTM, Facebook.com/NextDoorToTheMoon, and subscribe to our YouTube channel which is YouTube.com/NextDoorToTheMoonTV.
What are your plans for the future? Get the new E.P. out to as many people as possible, play more shows and jump back in the studio to record new material.
Do you have something to add? Next Door to the Moon's latest single, "Can't Quit It" is available through any of the links below.
