Moderate Rock Interview

Check check. What’s up? Mod Rock, Mod Rock. Ricky Diamond, Aidan O’Connor, Manu , Nik Yilmaz, Mod Rock. Well a portion of it, we’re busy people (their drummer Carter was unavailable at time of interview).

What’s the most important band in New York history and have they influenced you in any way?

Nik: That’s a loaded question

Aidan: That’s such a tough question

Manu: For me, The Velvet Underground

Nik: I was gonna say The Velvet Underground

Manu: They’re so stylish

Aidan: Saying Sonic Youth is a cop-out, cause yeah, and that’s a big influence on us definitely

Nik: Those bands are in a lineage that are definitely mad integral to what we do…there was The Velvet Underground, there was Sonic Youth, and Suicide in between all that, like those bands that carry that lineage in the city

Aidan: Yeah yeah yeah

Nik: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, definitely not The Strokes though

[Laughter]

Predictions for the indie circuit? Anything you would change?

Nik: I just got back from London, and there bands know each other on a level I didn’t think possible. I found that place like a parallel universe to New York to what’s happening, there are just as many young people outside doing stuff, but they all know each other a lot better. If you wanna ask why, t’s because there are places open seven days a week that throw shows affordably that are all-ages, that have drinks for cheap and give bands more than 5% at the door. There are hubs for people to meet. Post-COVID, in the city, a lot of those places have shut down. The people are here, if not more than ever, but the places are lacking. The future of independent music in the city depends on the spaces available for it

Manu: It’s a new beginning, too. Right now, everything is reshaping. The industry, the musicians…it was tough years, you know?

Aidan: The “post-COVID” scene is its own animal. You think about us—we’ve been playing for a long time, and because there are so many bands, it’s not the same thing as back in the time of, like, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Sonic Youth or whatever, that all of these bands used to go up together live and then break out.

Now you can go straight there just being a recording artist. I think the bound of music being the only mode of expression is becoming more cloudy. It’s so much less necessary to be, like, really making art for art’s sake. It’s building more-so an art community than a music scene.

Manu: Can I say something? This man, right before, he was like, “Oh how long is this is going to be, the interview, I got shit to do,” and now he’s talking, talking. Man, I forgot what the question was.

Nik: Independent music? The city?

Manu: It’s going to be bright. It’s going to be good. This city is too expensive, fuck that. Too much snakes, but fuck them. We’re going to flourish anyway.

Nik: Fuck Eric Adams.

Manu: We don’t need him.

I’m gonna give you a series of names, let us know if you love them or hate them in a rapid fire manner.

NR: Bruce Springsteen

Manu: New Jersey?

Nik: Impartial

Aidan: Hate, I don’t like Bruce Springsteen.

Ricky: Love Bruce Springsteen. Classic Americana.

NR: Lou Reed.

Manu: Love him, love him

Nik: That’s not a fair question.

Manu: Nah, nah, Lou Reed is like one of the reasons I’m here in New York.

NR: I thought you’re all from New York?

Manu: Not me, man.

Nik: He’s from Paris. No, no, no, no. He’s from France. The south of France. A small village. But he’s not a transplant. He’s an immigrant. Big difference. We’re not calling immigrants transplants.

Nik: You grow up with him as a superhero, but then you find out he wasn’t all that nice of a guy. Love his music, though. Definitely a reason why I’m here.

Aidan: Love.

Ricky: Love.

NR: Bruce Springsteen

Manu: I don’t like that man. I mean, I’m not American, so for me, it’s just sound. It doesn’t sing well. The text, I guess its good but I don’t care about text. I’m not a guitar player. I’m not…nah fuck that. I don’t care.

Nik: I used to like him a lot more. These days, I can’t say hate. Definitely had a part to play in my personal equation.

Aidan: I never loved listening to Bob Dylan, but I can greatly appreciate him. I met Timothy Chalamet the other day and I made fun of him, I said he looks like Bob Dylan. He was like, “It’s funny you say that.”

Ricky: Yeah, I like him. I think his songwriting is good.

NR: In unison, love or hate: Addison Rae

Aidan: Baddieee [silence]. That was not in unison.

Manu: Who’s that?

First invite to a hippie commune?

Manu: Oh fuck that.

Nik: Charles Manson?

Manu: Hippie commune? Yeah fuck that, this is terrifying. I come from these kind of places, it’s terrifying.

Aidan: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. What do you got?

Ricky: Pass.

Nik: Bernie Sanders.

Manu: Ohhhhhh shit!

What art inspires Moderate Rock?

Nik: Films.

Manu: Painting, painting. I studied music because I’m a failed painter. Yay, painting all the way.

Nik: A lot of what we do is improvised, so films, in the sense of…I don’t know if you saw that, but we played a couple sets now where we live-scored films. We had the pleasure and privilege of putting out our first original soundtrack for No Hope No Fear by Alexa Greenberg. A little student film, but it was lots of fun to kind of, you know, take visual inputs and turn them into something musical.

Aidan: Yo, I’m not saying this to sound zany or anything, but deadass Instagram reels. You ever watch these videos? Like the ones that are a bunch of random videos from the internet. I think that shit is crazy. Like, it says, like…like b3n1s. You should look this guy up—b3n1s. That’s one of my favorite Instagram reel guys, ’cause it’s super fire. Look at that dog! Riding the scooter, falls off. The idea that you can take a bunch of random videos and create…like, just watch it because it’s cool. It gives you a deeper meaning, and I feel like that’s what abstract art is.

Ricky: Oh, movies, for sure.

Nik: What movies?

Ricky: I don’t know. I couldn’t really even name one specifically. I guess just movies as a whole.

Aidan: Tooth Fairy with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

What can we expect in 2025?

Manu: Big things. Big things. We’re working on the new set, new songs, they sound like crazy good. Yeah, amazing…more noise. More noise for us. More big shows. Yeah, cool shit.

Nik: Maybe an album, if we finish it in time. Maybe our first United States tour.

Manu: Oh, that’s what I’m saying!

Nik: Inshallah

Aidan: We’re going to start dropping our jams, we got some cool jams.

Nik: There’s probably a month’s worth of recordings, free-form music that we have with our friends that we recorded in our basement. So expect a slow rollout of that. It’s a huge archive, in between actual songs that we’re working on.

Aidan: And your short story.

Nik: I’ma put out a short story, and we’re going to do the experimental reading of it that’s also scored, with visuals illustrated by him (Aidan). You know it’s going to be good. It’s going to be good. Expect that in like February time, but yeah new stuff on the way, new stuff on the way. World domination. And a lawsuit!

Aidan: Oh yeah

Nik: A lawsuit against Sony. Oh yeah, we’re coming for you Kenna, if you see this?

Manu: For real. 2024, we ran a lot. We recorded so much and played so much, I feel we’re going to own our time this year. We’re going to do way more things, but we’re going to do it the right way, you know what I’m saying? No more run. They’re going to run from us.

Aidan: We need a manager.

Nik: If you’re out there, if you’re out there, our future manager, please email us.

Manu: Don’t ask for money first, okay?

Nik: Don’t ask for money.

Manu: No, we don’t have money.

Nik: We need a guiding hand, but we’ve got a lot of ideas.

Manu: And we’re hot, we’re hot…All right, let’s get out of here.

Aidan: All right, cool. Thanks.

Nik: All right, thanks, guys.

Nik: Wait, wait, wait. Dude, we didn’t even—I had one question for you guys.

NR: Oh yeah.

Nik: Why are we here?

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