Singled Out: Evolfo Moon Eclipsed the Sun

Garage soul rockers Evolfo are releasing their new EP,?"Last of the Acid Cowboys", this Friday (Sept 16) and to celebrate we asked Matthew Gibbs to tell us about the song "Moon Eclipsed the Sun". Here is the story:

I had the chorus for "Moon Eclipsed the Sun" in my head for a year or so before I finally wrote the verses. The subject matter was fresh territory for me as a songwriter at the time so it took me a little while to get in the right headspace to finish it. This chorus was inspired by another song of ours that we don't really play anymore called "This is the 90s". That song was really upbeat and had a line in it that went, "Let's Sha-na-na-na-na now!" One day I was sitting around in a sort of prickly mood and started thinking "ain't gonna be no sha-na-na-na-na" in stark contrast to the tone of "this is the 90s". So before I had my hands on an instrument I was singing this dark line "Ain't gonna be no sha-na-na-na-na / Or even Sha-na-na-na-na".

This was an essential moment for me that marked a shift in my songwriting. I had felt trapped in this super upbeat, dancey, and very positive funk thing. It seemed that people had come to expect nice, fluffy upbeat music and lyrics from us. There was a time when my favorite promoter to work with in Boston told me we were "happy and fun and upbeat". He would bill us exclusively with funk and jam bands and it just never felt right. He meant it as a compliment and I still love this guy but it was clear to me that he wasn't seeing us the same way that we saw us. And meanwhile he's booking all of my favorite psych rock and punk bands and I'm thinking: wait I want to be playing those shows!! I wanted to be able to pair with bands that were dark and sinister and dramatic and adventurous. I felt stuck in this "hey everybody shake your booty!!" thing and it was really unfulfilling. So Moon Eclipsed the Sun was a deliberate step into darker tones. It was part of a realization that I wanted to add more depth to our world and that there is nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, after I knew I was ready to declare to the world that there wasn't gonna be no sha-na-na-na-na I had to finish the thing. I brought this chorus to our keyboard player Rafferty to help me get the rest of the lyrics underway. We got the idea that this could be a psychedelic murder ballad. The guiding concept would be a relationship where one person is thinking "something's up and I'm not gonna do this anymore". I wanted to tell a story about that but not overtly with characters and a linear plot. My hope is that the lyrics supply some guidance to the listener but that the tones and instrumental sections fill in the gaps. The instrumental bridge, for example, tells an essential part of the story. I picture someone doing some soul searching or vision questing. I kept thinking of the episode of the Simpsons where Homer eats some psychedelic peppers and trips out in the desert trying to decide if Marge is really his soul mate. There are all these swirling colors and there's this great story arc that's all wrapped up in love, adventure, and mortality. Those were the ideas I put to the band while we conceived of parts.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and learn more about the EP right here!

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