The following fill in the blanks come from Reno-based rock and blues band, Moondog Matinee. The quintet formed back in 2010 and is comprised of members Pete Barnato, Adam Carpenter, Steve Widmer, Ben Ingle, and Drea Ballard. The band’s latest record consists of nine gritty tracks and is titled Carry Me, Rosie. With a wide range of influences including artists like Jack White, The Band, and Muddy Waters, Moondog Matinee encompasses their own seasoned and authentic sound. Learn more about the band from their responses and be sure to check out Carry Me, Rosie below.
Three words we’d use to describe us are….Live American Music
The story/meaning behind our name Moondog Matinee is….We got the name from the Band album of the same name. We all respect their music and career immensely. That particular album was a compilation of amazing soul, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll standards that we love.
We met each other….Some of us met in college, others of us met years later in bars or through friends.
The pickiest eater is….That’s a toss-up. Drea has a phobia of anything relating to vinegar. Ketchup, pickles, etc… all out of the question for him. You’d think that he would be the pickiest eater in the band easily, but our drummer Ben refuses to eat at any restaurant that won’t allow him to bring in his favorite flavor of Pop Tarts. Depending on the day, it could be either of them!
The most OCD member is….Probably Ben. He’s pretty stingy when it comes to making sure we get our money from shows and that we don’t spend it all at the bar.
For fun we like to….Play music! And, if we have some time to kill, we’ve been known to have some pretty raucous whiffle ball games in our practice studio.
We’re currently listening to….That hot new Kanye track that launched the career of that Paul McCartney guy. Of course, you can always guarantee we’ll be rocking out to some Wilco, MMJ, Stones, Zeppelin, Skynyrd, Allman Brothers…and we’ve been rocking pretty hard to The Darkness on our last few tours as well.
Our favorite 90s jams include….ODB, Ace of Base, and anything Sister Hazel.
Our favorite tracks to play live include….Bourbon Street, How Many More Times, and a pretty cool version of the Willy Wonka theme song.
The first song we wrote together was….Probably not very good! Hopefully we’ve improved a lot since then.
Carry Me, Rosie was recorded in….A cabin in Graeagle, California.
One thing we want you to remember while listening to our music is….Trying to carve out a career in music is certainly no easy task. We’ve put everything we have into our recordings, our shows, and everything else that goes with it. So if you don’t like our music, the least you can do is be nice to us and pretend to enjoy it, for our own sanity!
Something odd we want our fans to know about us is….We will sing an acapella version of Mr. Sandman to hype ourselves up before shows.
We’re absolutely terrified of….Someone hearing us sing an acapella version of Mr. Sandman before a show.
Our last meals would be….Poutine and malt liquor.
In the next six months you should expect….Some new music, a music video, some touring, and getting some paper cuts from flipping over your calendar six more times!
Kryptonite Music Magazine 
One thought on “Interview – Moondog Matinee”