Haunted Summer’s whimsical electronic pop will fill Lowbrau Tuesday night, Jan. 20. We got founding members and husband-and-wife-team, John Seasons and Bridgette Moody on the phone for some insight into this group’s sound and history.
They’re currently two years into a musical project the same age as their relationship. They met while working on other projects and decided they had good chemistry and should try writing music together.
“Me and her took a stab at music together and that led to our relationship going to another level and the songs themselves reaching a new level,” Seasons explained.
Forming a romantic partnership wasn’t the original goal.
“Our goal was to write music we were happy with because we were dissatisfied with our past projects,” said Seasons. “Here we are two years later, married, touring like crazy and trying to keep a roof over our heads.”
They started with Animal Collective covers and moved to their own brand of synth-y mid-tempo dream pop.
Moody’s ethereal vocals weave through whimsical melodies with twinkly resonance.
2014 was a big year for the fledgling band. They got to open for some major acts and play some big festivals.
“We saw a lot of opportunities open wide and huge for us,” said Moody. “We got to open for some bands we’ve loved for a long time." …Specifically Polyphonic Spree and Islands.
This year Haunted Summer is stepping out and headlining more shows, like the show at LowBrau on Tuesday. They’ve never played Sacramento before, but said they’re looking forward to the show.
Two-years in and Haunted Summer doesn’t have a full-length album. Just an EP and a demo tape.
“The Demo’s carried us through,” said Season. “That last year was an amazing stepping stone. We got lucky that way. Based on those demos we had amazing people respond.”
They aren’t in any hurry to produce a full-length album. For Moody and Season it’s about doing it right, not doing it quickly.
“We’re trying to concentrate on the quality of the songs,” said Season. “We were really happy with the quality of the EP.”
It’s all part of the writing process for Moody and Season.
“We always try to approach everything as organically as we possibly can,” said Moody. “That’s why it takes us time to put something out. We want things to be honest and true and meaningful to us and try to find a way to convey that to the listener.”
Whatever comes their way as a band Moody and Season are happy they’re in it together.
“We’re lucky enough that as we sacrifice for the band we do it together,” said Moody “We never have to leave the other one behind.”
