It’s November of 2019 and indie pop artist Samia headlines WOZQ’s annual fall concert, with indie rock band Moxie opening. I am a first year with choppy bangs just getting involved with the radio station, excited to go to my first WOZQ concert. The indie rock band Moxie goes on at 8:00 p.m., to an energetic Davis Ballroom full of Smithies. Rei Kimura, on vocals and guitar, guides the crowd through their 30-minute jam-packed set, making sure to get everyone involved with Daniel Snyder’s rhythmic drumming by giving a clapping beat to follow. Leander Holzapfel’s riffs and Inky Cohen’s smooth bass capture the crowd, especially on ‘Blue Skies,’ their 2018 hit about naivety, which many Smithies sing along to, word for word. I walk away from this performance exhilarated, not only by how much this band rocks but especially by finding out that they are about my age.
Flash forward now to March 31, 2023 and I’m at the Drake in Amherst, where Moxie headlines their own sold-out show. After touring throughout last summer and this past January, from California to Ohio to New York, they’re calling tonight’s show at the Drake their homecoming before they head out on yet another tour this summer. It certainly feels like a WOZQ homecoming for me!
We chat backstage before the show about what they have been up to since that 2019 opening gig with us. Something we keep coming back to, perhaps because it’s something I can definitely relate to in my music industry work, is people not taking them seriously as musicians because of their age. “We’ve had to prove to ourselves, and still are trying to prove to ourselves, that we are serious about this,” Kimura said.
And, at times, they are held back from even trying to prove themselves. Snydertells me the story of how a venue, upon finding out the band wasn’t 21 yet, moved their time slot from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. They went on at 7:00 p.m. and were promptly kicked out as soon as their set was over, only to see the venue fill up to the brim at 8:00 p.m. “It is just so frustrating, over the years, how much people don’t take us seriously when they find out how old we are. Sometimes we show up, they see how young we are and treat us like, whatever, then we play and suddenly they 180 on us and are like ‘you guys are incredible, you gotta come back,’” Holzapfeladds.
Being so young can be a curse, but also a blessing. Kimuraexplained: “I’m so grateful we did start so young because I think it helped us out in ways. I’m just so appreciative to have found these three [other members] at such a young age. We’ve just grown together and come into our sound.” They were juniors in high school when they opened for us, and have been making music together since eighth grade. And the time they’ve had to do just that — grow together and find their sound — can be heard in their new music.
“It’s a new level of collaboration,”Cohen, who, withKimura, has been mixing and producing most of their songs since their second album, said of their upcoming EP. Each of them echoed their appreciation of collaborative work; it is something they clearly build their music on, and have fun doing.
All of this—the collaboration, finding their sound, the fun and the “coming home”—are viscerally understood when Moxie finally goes on at 10:00 p.m., after two openers. The vibe in the room shifts as the four of them run onstage and begin playing, to cheers and clapping, some of which seems like it’s coming from their friends from home, given the knowing smiles Rei and Holzapfelaim in the direction of the sounds. The easy confidence they had backstage translates well into their performance, not only in the way they control the crowd, but in their control of their instruments as well. Their records give a sneak peek into how talented Moxie is—but it’s nothing compared to their live performances. They are all-encompassing. Holzapfel’s guitar solos are even more complex and impressive in person, while Cohen’s bass becomes a sensation that reverberates through the ground. The steady drum beat keeps the crowd grounded, but Daniel’s intricacies bring impressive dimension. Kimura’s vocals unite each aspect, highlighting what the band kept saying backstage; their process truly is a collaborative effort. It’s clear they find joy in this collaboration; sweet smiles are exchanged amongst the four throughout the show.
Joy and collaboration are certainly two themes I took away from all my interactions with Moxie. I will definitely be checking out their forthcoming EP, and, if you like those two things in music, you should too.
beautiful piece <3