San Diego Reader

With a band name like Moontucky Risin, you might expect to hear Southern-fried or Cajun-cooked rock, perhaps with a side of bluegrass or a pinch of rockabilly. And that’s what listeners got, back when cofounders Jason Wiley (guitar/vocals) and Aaron Luke (drums) were still based in Lafayette, Indiana.

“We were called elliotness then,” says Jason, “named after the federal agent who went after all the moonshine bootleggers. We played kind of swampy, barroom, foot-stomping music, and we wore stuff like overalls onstage. But then, as we evolved into more of a jam band, we’d do things like wear psychedelic hippie shirts under the [overall] bibs.”

After the name change and a move to California, Jason says, the group’s sound became “organic groove rock. With jam bands, there’s so much going on musically that there’s never an opportunity to get bored. Nothing’s ever the same twice, from classic rock riffs to intricate psychedelic jams, from bluegrass to fusion, to songs that run 45 minutes or an hour. Whatever the situation and the day and the mood calls for.”

According to their MySpace page, “The band continually strives towards creating a musical journey for the audience, with thought-provoking lyrics, organic grooves, and dynamical climaxes around every turn. The music and lyrics are highly original, spanning multiple genres, from classic rock riffs to intricate psychedelic jams, from blues to fusion, reggae, and beyond.” The band’s sets can range in lengths of thirty minutes to three-plus hours.