Moon Grave has seen the good, bad, and ugly sides of a name. Until last May, the Fort Worth alt-rock trio went by the moniker American Holocaust. Everyone in the band felt it had a cool, gritty ring to it –– frontman Andrew Fuentes said it referenced the deaths of millions of Native Americans half a millennium ago from the war, famine, and disease brought by the European forefathers of our country.
But all of that got lost in translation. Lots of people thought Fuentes, bassist Will Spray, and drummer Byron Andrews were talking about some sort of new attack on Jews and other minority groups.
“When I sit back and think about it now, it’s so negative,” he said. “I never meant for it to come off that way.”
What’s in a name, right? Well, a lot. Fuentes and company had a hard time booking gigs.
From a friend’s sage advice –– “think of two random words that don’t normally go together” –– “Moon Grave” was born.
Now that the Moon Grave guys have been able to build a decent following, they’re working on their second album to be recorded at Fort Worth Sound with owner/producer Bart Rose (The Toadies, Asleep at the Wheel, Green River Ordinance), Vance will feature reboots of all six tracks from the band’s debut recording (also called Vance, released in May), plus five new tunes.
Part of the reason Moon Grave is re-recording “old” material is Andrews. As the replacement for the founding drummer, the new stickman brings with him a decidedly punk bent that Fuentes and Sway feel jives well with their ’90s alt-rock roots.
Another reason is producer Rose. Fuentes said that he and his bandmates are going for the same pristine, radio-friendly vibe as The Toadies.
“If the recording experience pushes us to go a little mainstream, we’re fine with it,” Fuentes said. “We just want to play music.”
That statement is a genuine reflection of his influences. Along with the aforementioned Fort Worth homeboys, grunge giants like Nirvana and Soundgarden captivated the 27-year-old when he was growing up. He still loves those bands’ reverence for simplicity.
“They had a very basic song structure and strong, masculine vocal lines,” Fuentes said. “There’s a catchiness to it. I had people tell me that my music is catchy. When people tell me that, I think, ‘Well, I’ve accomplished what we’ve set out to be.’ There’s not anything super-complex about it, but a lot of people have a hard time writing within that structure.”
After the album is mixed and mastered, Fuentes and company plan to send it to several major record labels, including Sub Pop, the Seattle label that put out one of the greatest albums of all time, Nirvana’s Nevermind, and is now home to alt-giants such as Sleater-Kinney, Fleet Foxes, and Foals.
“What do I have to lose?,” Fuentes said. “I feel so lucky and blessed to have the musicians I have. They’re helping me live a dream.”
[box_info]Moon Grave
Sun, Nov 29 as part of Localpalooza at Curtain Club, 2800 Main St, Dal. $10/$12. 214-342-1700.[/box_info]
