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Interview with Suzi Moon, Singer/Songwriter with Turbulent Hearts

Hey there! I am Suzi Moon, songwriter and frontwoman of the punk rock trio known as Turbulent Hearts.

 

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA which is still my home today! I played in the all-girl femme fatale punk rock band Civet with my older sister Liza Graves in the early 2000s, we released two albums on Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records, and toured the world with Dropkick Murphy's, Social Distortion, and Flogging Molly!

 

It was a fun adventure, especially being as young as I was... I joined the band at 16 and played with Civet until we broke up when I was 22. After that I started Turbulent Hearts because I missed being onstage so much! Turbs have toured the UK & Europe three times, and have played Punk Rock Bowling, Rebellion Festival, and opened for our good friends in Leftover Crack.

 

On the side I started another all-girl band called L.A. Machina, we released 3 singles and a 7" EP with Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label, but L.A. Machina burned out like a white hot shooting star, and we disbanded in October 2020.

 

Next up I am very excited to be launching my solo project! I recorded a ten song album in August with my dear pal Davey Warsop from Sharp/Shock, who produced the first two Bad Cop/Bad Cop records.

I am releasing a three song EP on Pirates Press Records in the Spring of 2021, followed by the full length, and will hopefully be back on the road touring over the summer. I always tell people that I am a songwriter first and foremost, so it is very important to me to continue releasing new music and sharing that passion with the world.

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First Punk Rock band you ever saw Live? Where/when?

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The first punk show I remember seeing was The Vandals at an outdoor venue in Long Beach, CA.

They were crazy! I must've been 10 years old, in the pit and just

loving it. The singer climbed up the stage scaffolding and was making everyone very nervous & excited.

Now that I think of it, I do some of those same antics in my live show, so it's cool that that influence stuck with me all these years!

 

First Punk Rock Record you bought? What made you buy it?  

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The first punk record I bought with my own money was a band called River City Rebels.

I saw them at Warped Tour and it completely changed my life.

Their album "Hate To Be Loved" is still in my Top 10 records I go back to for inspiration.

It's sleazy, dirty New York rock n' roll at it's finest, and as I got older I became friends with the band and even got to tour with them on my first tour EVER!

Talk about the power of Punk Rock!!

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Favourite Venue to play in? US or abroad.

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This is a tough one, because I have had great shows in all kinds of places...

I do love the Rebellion Festival Pavilion Stage, that one feels like home to me.

Wild At Heart in Berlin is very close to my heart as well.

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Influences?

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My influences are all over the place! I am really inspired by the great frontmen: Stiv Bators, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Joe Strummer, Lux Interior.

They just nailed it completely and created their own Universe's where their existence just  completely makes sense. They suspend reality in a way, and I aim to do that with my onstage persona, as well.

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Any new bands impressed you and worth a shout out? 

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- I really love White Reaper, they are a band from Kentucky that just knocked it out of the park with their album "The World's Best American Band".

I really admire that confidence and kinda cheeky approach  to this whole rock n' roll show. I was lucky to see them on Halloween last year and they fuckin' blew me away!

Such a tight group, with banger after banger. It's not punk rock as much as it is just good ol fashioned r'n'r - more like The Who. Very refreshing, I am grateful for their existence.

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What’s the future look like for Suzi Moon?

 

Well, it is an exciting one! I never stop, it's pretty much go go go for me all the time. I love creating - releasing new music involves the visual aspect as well which is another love of mine.

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Coming up with a new fresh image, photos, the whole package for album art.

I have my new solo project, Suzi Moon (she's goin' solo y'all!) coming out next year and I am thrilled to share all

of these new songs with the world.

 

Where does the name Turbulent

Hearts come from? 

 

I came across the words in a book called "Spirits Rebellious" by the Lebanese philosopher Kahlil Gibran.

Civet was on tour driving through Salinas, CA, I was 17. We stopped into this thrift shop on the side of the road...

I always go to the book section because I love old hardcovers.

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The smell of them, the look of the cover art.

I get a lot of inspiration from the things I read.

This one had a bright pink cover with a beautiful design, I picked it up and started reading... I was in love!

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I bought the book and still have it to this day.

Since then I have always looked for more vintage Gibran books, and my collection has grown quite a bit over the years.

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What is the craziest, most memorable thing which happened

on Tour?

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This one is tough because every tour has it's wild moments! Was it the time in Ohio when there was a shooting outside the venue and we all had to take cover inside?

Or the time in Boston when the van got stuck in a parking garage because it was too big to fit?

Or the time I fell out of the moving van in DC and cracked my head on the road?

Or... Was it the time I played a dice game with Mike Ness and won $160 from him? Haha.

We had crazy adventures in Japan with The Street Dogs, drinking all night, singing karaoke.

Or the time we were on tour with Roger Miret & the Disasters and some of us stayed up all night on the roof of the venue

in Switzerland to watch the sunrise over the Alps? That was incredible.

Every show is special, and I have played so many it's hard to choose just one.

 

Horror Movies or Science Fiction? 

Awww, can't it be both!? I love both genres... Ok, but if I have to choose, Horror wins! My favorites are Children Of The Corn, Rosemary's Baby, The Shining, and Poltergeist.

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What do you dislike?

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I dislike people who take advantage of others kindness.

 

Guilty pleasure?

Don't laugh, but Good Charlotte is still one of my favorite bands! I was a preteen when they hit big, and I'm not ashamed to say that I went to EVERY. SINGLE. SHOW. they played in LA/OC for over 15 years. They are the band I have seen live more than any other (not counting bands I have toured with). They have killer melodies, harmonies, and put on a great show. Elements of their songwriting style definitely peek through in my music, and when I put those records on I rock the fuck out! GC Fam for life, baby.

 

Is Punk Rock Dead? 

 

Punk rock will never die! It's gunna evolve, as it should, but I don't think it will ever go away because it is a feeling in our hearts. And collectively, WE keep it going. Never stop being pissed off, never stop questioning authority, never stop being true to you. I was born a punk rocker and I'm gunna die one, too.

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Interviewed in December 2020

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