MUNA
Huxlee
This event is 21 and over
$20.00 – General Admission
*plus applicable service fees
Tickets available at The Independent box office (628 Divisadero, SF) with no service charge
The best bands are the ones that operate like gangs, the ones who formed to kick back at the world and act as a kind of orphanage for similarly displaced youths. Said bands don’t care about anything as much as they care about being that band. Music becomes the unifier, a language that can be joyful and sorrowful at once, and always cathartic. The pure authenticity of the band is in their refusal to pander to rules and expectations. It’s their way or the highway. MUNA are that band. They finish each other’s sentences, they are one another’s biggest cheerleaders, they have a language between them that defies American English, and in conversation they can’t wait to get onto the subject of their shared queerness as fast as possible. MUNA came together like a ride-or-die clique would form in a cult classic teen movie. If three’s a crowd, MUNA are the one you wanna hang with. Imagine the opening scene. It takes place at USC in LA, sophomore year. Katie Gavin, a newly arrived transfer student from NYU, is walking out of an African Diaspora class where she’s just met a cute girl with a twice-pierced nose called Naomi McPherson who she wants all her friends to meet…
In their hook-laden songs, MUNA may come across as broodily as the soundtrack to ‘Donnie Darko,’ all Joy Division lyrical moroseness and Tears For Fears chiming melodies, but IRL they possess the college humour of ‘Beavis & Butthead’ and the bitching aloofness of ‘The Craft’ via the charm of pretty much every great ’90s girl band. Understandably their fun hangs meant it took them a minute to actually start making music together, which they did one night round Naomi’s dorm room, drinking wine. As they recall how all the parts came about, like three super smart stoners trying to put a jigsaw together, all signs point to Katie as the master of ceremonies, the glue who can do everything from leading their songwriting sessions, to producing it all alone in her bedroom via the magic of Ableton. Naomi and Josette were left to jam out guitar parts using their mutual sixth sense. “I was just intimidated by how talented Naomi was,” admits Katie. It was the unexpected poppy results of Katie’s overnight production from this session that left everyone else floored.
The dream at the moment is pretty simple: make an album, tour the world, get some fans, sell some t-shirts. Josette: “I’m stoked. I wanna learn how to drink more. Honestly these two are my best friends and I’m addicted to hanging out with them.” It’s just as well Josette is excited for the physical hardships of touring following a physically demanding SXSW, during which MUNA caught Mono. “Sometimes I kinda wish we were cool and had an I-don’t-give-a-fuck-let’s-get-fucked-up attitude,” says Katie. “In actuality we’re the opposite of that. We’re extremely sincere, heartfelt and put so much pressure on ourselves.” You can tell that MUNA love music. That’s why they’re doing it. What’s cooler than that?