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Get to know Oregon-based Nightbird Casino with vocalist/guitarist James Moore acting as your guide.
What are the origins of Nightbird Casino, how long have you been playing together?
Nightbird Casino started as a side project of another band about six years ago, or so. I [James Moore, vocalist/guitarist] was playing in another band in LA and the drummer and I decided to try writing more experimental music together on the side. Ultimately he left the band and since then, we’ve had three additional musicians join [Oliver Collins, drums; Amanda Moore, keys; Landon Strine, bass]. So the band’s been around and I’ve been making music under the Nightbird Casino name since 2017, but the current lineup is newer – Oliver and Amanda have been in the band since 2020 and Landon’s been in the band since 2022.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Nightbird Casino?
I’d describe us as post-wave, and if that throws people off I’d say post-punk/new wave-inspired indie. At its core, we’re alternative rock but we’re never afraid to branch off into other genres. We just started writing a song recently that’s all synths and drum machines. I think people should expect a unique, fun, genre-hopping show – and probably exposure to some instruments they’ve never seen before. I’ve said too much. You’ll just have to come check us out (you can see our tour dates at nightbirdcasino.com/live)!
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
Definitely nervous at first – I mean, we’d all played gigs before but your first time playing together as a band, in front of people … you’re of course nervous about performing the songs and hoping all your rehearsal paid off, but mostly you have no idea how the audience is going to receive the music. Audience reaction is everything and unless you’ve already built up a massive following before gigging, it’s an unknown. I don’t know that anyone at our first gig had ever heard our music before but ultimately, it went incredibly well. We had a good size crowd, people were really digging it. It was a great time.
The new music scene is bursting at the seams at the minute with fresh talent, in what ways do you feel that a band has to stand out to build a name for themselves?
I wish the answer was originality, but at this moment in time, it seems to be having a very active and engaging social media presence. It’s not enough to create music, you have to be a video creator and a comedian. Being very politically active is big too.
In terms of a similar audience, which band out there at the minute do you feel Nightbird Casino would be best suited to open for?
A few I can think of would be Interpol, The War on Drugs, and Future Islands … all pretty different but we straddle a lot of lines.
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
There’s a band here in southern Oregon called Elk Witch that I really dig. Wildly different sound from us but I’d love to see them ‘make it’.
What are your own first musical memories? And what was the lightbulb moment that made you go “I want to do that”?
I grew up in a very musical household – my dad is an incredible bassist, and he plays guitar and keys and sings as well. So I was always exposed to that. My parents were always listening to music – I remember Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” and “Zenyatta Mondatta” by The Police being on heavy rotation. I don’t think it was until much later though that I decided I wanted to pursue music – I first started playing bass when I was 13 but it was when I started actually going to shows a few years later. My first really memorable one was Our Lady Peace when I was maybe 16. Seeing them perform on stage I realized I wanted to be up there, rather than in the audience.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Interpol and Spoon … 75% of the band went to see them in Portland a few months ago. It was amazing. We’re also going to see The National in a few months.
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
I think we’re pretty passionate about social issues period, but climate change is a social issue that’s very important to me … nothing else really matters if we can’t solve that.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
I’m a huge fan of The Weeknd. I’ve been listening to Dawn FM non-stop for weeks.
There were some amazing new albums released last year, what would be your album of 2022? And, what other new music have you been enjoying so far this year?
We’re only a few months into 2023, but for 2022 my album of the year would be, without a doubt, A Light For Attracting Attention by The Smile. Close second is FutureNever by Daniel Johns. So far this year I’ve really been enjoying Carolina Polachek’s Desire, I Want To Turn Into You.
What does 2023 hold for Nightbird Casino?
We’re working on LP3 so hopefully, that’ll be officially announced and released late this year. Definitely a lot of studio time in the works for us. We’ve got several more singles coming out – our next one drops in late March; tons of great shows coming up locally and maybe a west coast tour before the year ends – in short, we’ve got a lot in the works!
How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?
We’re relatively active on Instagram and to a lesser extent Facebook – you can find us both there under @nightbirdcasino … we’re also on TikTok, still figuring that one out – under the same handle.
