Getting to Know Moon Walker (5/31 at KFN)

“I don’t care about surprising people.  I don’t care about anything other than having a song in me and getting it out that day,” says Harry Springer, the composer,...

“I don’t care about surprising people.  I don’t care about anything other than having a song in me and getting it out that day,” says Harry Springer, the composer, producer, and performer behind Brooklyn-based Moon Walker, his alter-ego, who has already released two full-lengths since the start of the pandemic: 2021’s Truth to Power and 2022’s The Attack of Mirrors.  “It’s made by only me, which is only important as far as it’s a reflection of me.  Some people make to create, and some make to survive through a creative outlet, and I think I’m a little more like that,” he tells me during a recent phone chat.  He admits that this may be why the two albums already sound fairly different: “When I did Talk to Power, I was thinking I’m gonna simplify it again, guitar music that I could easily play live, and not go insane with the arrangements but, for this one, I took all restrictions off [laughs].”  However, he tells me that the process behind the making of the two records, which were literally back-to-back, was basically the same: “I recorded them in the exact same space.  I wrote the last song for Truth to Power, I think, the same week I wrote the first song for The Attack of Mirrors.”

New Noise Magazine encouraged those curious about Moon Walker to, “Envision a beautiful marriage between The White Stripes, The Talking Heads, even Wild Cherry…there’s a depth to Moon Walker’s music fueled by an old-soul feeling,” while EUPHORIA claims his sophomore LP, “embodies the perfect juxtaposition between raw lyricism, coupled with high-intensity rock that creates a distinct sound all his own. Listeners are immersed in a battle between autonomy and authority.”  However, Springer tells me that there was one “review” that had him especially anxious: “Justin Hawkins from The Darkness made a video on my music, and my mom sent it to me while I was at the grocery store, and I kind of thought it was going to be negative, so I was bracing myself for criticism, and trying not to have a breakdown in the middle of grocery shopping, but it turned out to be really nice!”  But he tells me that the biggest highlight in how his music is being received has more to do with how it’s altered his life as a musician: “I’m always making other music, too, so the first time I got a royalty payment and realized I didn’t have to make other songs that month to make rent was a really big moment.”

Moon Walker/Harry Springer does seem to find himself frequently compared to the glamorous decadence of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s — possibly because he resembles some combination of The Mad Hatter and one of the ineffably fabulous dandies of Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine – and that proves to have some validity when I ask him for some of his favorite sophomore LPs, but his musical interests seem to be quite a bit more complex than just that: “Led Zeppelin II, although I love all Led Zeppelin, so that might be a copout…  Queen II…  But neither of those are my favorite record from those bands…  If we are making Tyrannosaurus Rex and T. Rex two different bands, then definitely Electric Warrior…  Oh, Supergrass’ second one, In It for the Money…  And The Bends!”  However, he does admit that his affection for Marc Bolan and T. Rex, both sonically and sartorially, is quite profound: “There’s a difference in discovering someone when you’re really young and discovering someone when you already have some idea of your identity, and they can shake that up…  T. Rex is probably the most significant influence in my non-formative years.  I mean, not that those years aren’t formative, but I was 18 and already making music, and he looked like me and played guitar and wore clothes I was always drawn to.”

Next Wednesday, May 31st, Moon Walker kicks off his first-ever US tour at our very own Kung Fu Necktie (Baby Bugs will be opening, with Annabel Lee and Similar Kind handling support duties throughout other dates).  “This’ll be my first time getting to play this music, which is really exciting,” he tells me, before saying that he’s really happy to have each of these artists supporting him, which he thinks will produce some great evenings of music: “I’m really excited for all these openers.  So far, I’ve really been playing locally, so there’ll be like five bands on the bill, which I don’t necessarily like, and I don’t think music fans necessarily like.  They like fewer bands and a more curated show.”  In addition to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, Springer tells me he’s especially excited to get to play San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago for the first time, but that there’s also something nice about getting to bring his latest sounds back to where he came from: “I grew up in Colorado, so that’s where I got most of my gigging experience, so I’m really excited to play this music with this project there for the first time.”

*Get your tickets here.

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During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple University. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for Philthy Mag. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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