Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzi Moon.
Suzi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Long Beach, CA, my older sister had an all-girl punk rock band called Civet. They would play all of the local backyard shows & house parties, and I would tag along with them. When I turned 15, my sister said “Ok! It’s time for you to join the band, here’s a guitar!” And my life has never been the same since! We made a record with LA skateboarding and punk rock legend, Duane Peters, and we started to tour.
My mom was very supportive of us and encouraged me to take the proficiency exam and graduate high school early so that I would be free to go on the road and focus on the music. A few years later, Civet caught the attention of Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, who signed us to his Hellcat Records label. We made two records with Hellcat and toured the world with our favorite bands. Civet toured with Social Distortion, Flogging Molly, H20, Dropkick Murphy’s, and I wasn’t even 21 years old yet! Those early years really flew by, and I feel so much gratitude for the experience. I took a four break from playing music, went to LA City College for film production, and got sick of it really fast.
This was 2014, and I was waitressing at The Redwood Bar in DTLA. Every night bands would play and I’d stare at them, envious! I was ready to get back onstage… I just needed a band! Luckily, through the magic of rock n’ roll, I was introduced to some amazing players in the scene, Jay Skowronek (drums) & Mark Johnson (bass)… And that’s when Turbulent Hearts were born! It’s been an absolute whirlwind, and the LA music scene has been extremely welcoming towards our band. We self-released 3 EP’s over the last five years, toured England & Europe twice, and have no plans of slowing down… Ever! That being said, life happens, and Jay & Mark left the band in late 2018 to pursue other adventures.
We are still great friends & have a pretty funny group chat goin’… And really, Turbs is my baby, my project, my art, my entire world… So I called up the next coolest dudes I knew… Justin McGrath (drums) & Charley Tichenor (bass) and they were in… Turbs 2.0 were born! This has been an incredible year for us, we got to play Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival in Vegas, and we are touring U.K. again in July. We are going to be doing a Midwest to East Coast tour in the fall, and are working on our debut full-length album now!!! There is a fresh, new energy in the band, and it almost feels a little bit effortless. We are having the best time making music together, and want to share that with the world… Bring it on 2020 cuz Turbulent Hearts are ready!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been one helluva ride! As bandleader, I “get” to experience all of the stress, on a whole different level than my players. I have been broke, sleeping in my car, not knowing when the next opportunity was gunna arrive. But you never know, and tenacity is key. I’ve definitely spent my last $20 making flyers at Kinko’s on Vine St. for Warped Tour, and have had sleepless nights worrying about big gigs. Guess what? I wouldn’t change one bit of it… Because every time I get to perform, I am free and the pressure is finally off, and that is what I am working for.
Please tell us about Turbulent Hearts.
Turbulent Hearts is a tuff as nails punk rock trio. We specialize in melting faces, kicking in heads, breaking hearts, getting you hot & bothered, hopefully suspending the reality of life for a brief moment of time. I play guitar and sing, and, well, the lyrics and songs are written by me… It’s a lifestyle, as they say. Justin kills it on drums, he’s one of the fastest drummers I’ve ever played with!!! Charley is an absolute maniac onstage, running all over, ya never know what yer gunna get. You will often find me in the crowd, singing into peoples faces…. Maybe giving them kisses, or roses depends on the night. What I am most proud of is absolutely our live show! I think that is where the magic really happens, we like to get wild!!! I think what sets us apart from other bands is how much fun we are actually having. I loathe seeing bands look bored onstage. Go home! We’ll take over from here…
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I can hardly remember who I talked to at the bar last night… Ok lemme see… Well, I had a really awesome childhood, and it’s not easy to pick one memory. I just loved dressing up & playing make believe with my sister and brother! We would run around, unsupervised, outside, climbing trees, scraping our knees and screaming at the tops of our lungs. The classic stuff. It breaks my heart to see so many young kids playing on iPhones these days. They should be playing hide & seek!
Contact Info:
- Website: headcheckrecords.co.uk
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/turbulenthearts
- Facebook: facebook.com/turbulenthearts
- Twitter: twitter.com/goturboheartsgo
Image Credit:
All photos by Samantha Montlavo 2019 / IG @sleepygirrrl (three R’s) !!
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