Niko Moon just released his debut album Good Time so he stopped by The Bobby Bones Show to talk all about it, plus share the tradition he's starting with the new album, the story of how he and his wife met, and the odd thing he uses to keep his voice ready while on the road and in studio.
Moon is all about the good vibes. He shared that he wanted to put out his debut album and make sure it was full of good vibes when his fans listened to it. The album features 14 songs, 13 of which Moon was a writer on. The one song that wasn't written by him is actually a country fan favorite. It's Moon covering Travis Tritt's "It's Great Day To Be Alive." Moon wanted to start a tradition with his albums where he shares an inspiration track. On his debut album, Moon chose Tritt because they're actually from the same home town and Tritt was the one person from his home town actually go out and succeed at his big dream. He's been an inspiration to Moon ever since.
"Dance With Me" is one of the songs on the new project, which Moon wrote with his wife and Josh Murty. Moon explained the way he likes to write a song. He likes to take an idea someone has then start messing around with the core progression. This song in particular they were talking in the writing room about how love can be like gambling, it can be nerve-racking. That's how the metaphor of gambling and love got in the song. Once the music is there, Moon hums the melodies. The melodies all have to feel like the idea or he believes things get confused. Then lastly, they will write the lyrics to the song. Moon and his wife Anna work on various projects together. He shared that the two of them met on Facebook years ago. She friended him and then he slid into her DMs. He invited her out to one of his shows, and afterwards she went up to him and told him he can take her out on a real date, then left. Moon admits that he knew almost right away she was the one. He was always laughing with her and he felt like he could be his authentic self. The two of them have been together almost 10 years now.
Moon doesn't just write songs for himself though, he's written some big hits. He was a co-writer on Zac Brown Band's "Homegrown." Moon wrote it about his hometown, but it didn't have a bridge so when Moon pitched it to Zac Brown, he came up with the bridge. Moon is also a co-writer on Dierks Bentley's "Gone." Moon shared that when he goes into a write, he will figure out specifically if he's writing for himself or someone else before starting. In the case of "Gone," they were thinking of Bentley when they wrote the song. Moon is a very talented songwriter, but in his artist days he's also found something odd that really helps him keep his unique sound ready to go while on tour or in the studio. He eats Lay's chips because the grease coats his throat. If Moon's voice gets too scratchy, he will go grab the original, old school Lay's that have a lot of grease on them to help his throat.
Niko Moon performed his song "Paradise To Me," his cover of "It's A Great Day To Be Alive," "Gone," and "Homegrown."