Bostonian band Coral Moons is bringing a much-needed splash of positivity this summer. With their new single “Winnebago,” a track drenched in nostalgic retro-rock, the band has partnered with beloved Boston-based brewery and music venue, Aeronaut Brewing Company, to raise money for Boston indie venues.
We chatted with lead singer Carly Kraft, who spoke about the band’s collaboration with Aeronaut, supporting local venues during COVID-19, and the inspiration behind their new electric track.
ADB: How did Coral Moons come together as a band?
CK: I met Manuel, a multi-instrumentalist, at our day job in 2017. We were making mobile applications for grocery stores, specifically Stop & Shop and Peapod. We had a manager at the time who really liked to sing and play guitar so we started doing open mics during lunch on Wednesdays and playing fun duo covers of the Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac and Etta James. After doing that for a year, I met Justin (our guitarist) who invited me to sing and tour in his band, Hope & Things. I got to see Justin write songs, and I think that’s when it really clicked for me. He inspired me to learn to play guitar as a tool to write music, and that’s really when Coral Moons’ journey began.
ADB: How did your collaboration with Aeronaut Brewery come about?
CK: Aeronaut has always been a huge part of our careers individually as musicians. Justin played his first solo show there and Kevin, our drummer, had been playing gigs at Aeronaut in a few different bands over the years. Ironically, I met Kevin at Aeronaut for the first time and then found out he was a drummer. The rest was history. Along with playing multiple gigs at both the indoor brewery and the beer garden in Allston, Aeronaut has really made music and art a priority in our community. They’ve created a space for musicians and beer drinkers alike to express themselves. I don’t know many breweries that can really say that. I pitched the idea to their team and their visual artist, Adam Oday, already had an idea to illustrate a Winnebago for a summer beer and it felt meant to be.
ADB: So what does this collaboration mean to you?
CK: A typical summer in Boston for a beer enthusiast would be going to Aeronaut Allston every Friday night where you get to listen to the best music in New England. Bringing together music and beer during COVID-19 was something that this summer wasn’t going to be able to offer, so we collaborated on a way to make that happen. We are also donating a portion of the proceeds to four independent Boston venues: Club Passim, Lizard Lounge, Wally’s Jazz Cafe and ONCE Ballroom.
ADB: How did you choose the art for the cover of “Winnebago”?
CK: I always envisioned “Winnebago” to be a desert song. The first words out of my mouth when writing were “Goin’ for a drive / a place where we can hide” and I immediately saw the desert. There’s nothing like driving down the highway at sunset right when the heat starts to leave the ground and the cold night sets in.
I thought it would be cool to visualize that idea with a film shot. We happened to have a bunch of photos from our last trip out west but none of them could do the song justice. I reached out to a family friend who has been shooting film since before he could walk and he happened to have a perfect picture from his last trip to Arizona. I added in some playful lettering to set the intention of the playful and exciting feeling of the song.
ADB: What inspired you to write “Winnebago”? Where do you garner your influences?
CK: “Winnebago” came to me one morning in Boston. I had been in a weird writing phase where a lot of sad folk songs were coming out and I remember going to bed thinking of the song “One of These Nights” by The Eagles. I just loved how incredible the bass and guitar parts were. I really admired the way that song at its core is really just a rock song, but makes you wanna get up and dance. The next day I couldn’t stop singing this groovy bass line with a rockin’ rhythm guitar part and it took me a couple hours to realize it wasn’t an Eagles song floating in my head. I immediately started demoing all the parts with just my vocals and the song was named ‘Banana Song’ for the first few months because that’s how my vocals represented the rhythm guitar on the demo “ba na na na.”
ADB: What do you want listeners to take away from “Winnebago”?
CK: “Winnebago” is a love song of sorts. It is about traveling the world with your person with whatever means you have. Let’s be real, who can really afford a Winnebago, or in the case of city-living, has the space to put one? This song is about getting in your Subaru Forester—the car that I actually own—and going for a drive, not knowing where you will end up. Especially more relevant than ever with COVID-19, we want people to feel inspired to go (safely) enjoy themselves and find ways to get out and enjoy the summer.
ADB: How do you see Coral Moons growing from here?
CK: We’re still pretty new as a band. We’re at the place where there’s been continued progress at every gig. As we continue on this weird phase of life in quarantine, we feel pretty halted. The music industry is really hurting, especially with our favorite independent venues holding on for dear life. That’s why we’ve really dedicated this release to support those venues. There are no indie bands touring America when this is all over if we have no venues to play at.
Listen to Coral Moons’ new track “Winnebago” now: