Meet Lunar Vacation: Atlanta Pool Rock Band Bringing Nostalgia to Real Time

Lunar Vacation are a four-piece Atlanta based pool rock band consisting of Grace Repasky on vocals/guitar, Maggie Geeslin on guitar, Matteo De Lurgio on keys, and Connor Dowd on drums. Having met in high school through marching band and a guitar class it seemed the group was bound to end up making music together. We caught up with Grace after they returned from two back-to-back tours, one of which their first headlining tour. Since then, the band has been writing and recording new music while also taking on the rigor of being full time college students.

R: When I was reading up on you guys I saw that you’re from Atlanta which is crazy because when most people think of Atlanta they think of the rap and hip-hop scene. What has it been like to kind of like cultivate or bring awareness to the Atlanta indie scene? 

Lunar Vacation: Atlanta is very diverse in its arts and music scene; most people think that only rap comes out of here but we have a variety of music and arts! Some of my favorite artists at the moment include Faye Webster, Kibi James, Dinner Time, and Yukons. A bunch of cool artists like R.E.M and Of Montreal came out of Athens, which is only an hour away.

R: You guys just finished tour! How was it? Any favorite moments/stops/sites/venues/songs to play?

Lunar Vacation: It was a blast! It was our first “official” headlining tour and we got to bring our really good friends The Slaps with us, which made it 100 times better. Our favorite shows were probably Phoenix, AZ and LA. It was our first time going to the west coast and playing California; we couldn’t have asked for a better month.

R: I saw that this tour you guys crashed at houses across the country. What was that like? 

Lunar Vacation: Everyone we stayed with were friends or friends of friends. It makes every stop very interesting since you never know where or what you’ll be sleeping on! In San Antonio, we didn’t have a place to stay, so we just ended up sleeping at the promoter’s apartment. Rand slept under a table, and Josh slept outside at their pool area. 

R: With tour comes lots of driving. What’s a must have song or album on y’all’s driving playlists? 

Lunar Vacation: For this tour, we were really into Divino Niño’s new record, and lots of Angel Olsen and Wallows.

Photo by Violet Teegardin

R: Now that y’all are back home, I’m sure you’re taking some time to rest a bit. What was the first thing you couldn’t wait to do when you got back? 

Lunar Vacation: Sleep in our own beds. And see family, friends, and pets.

R: When I listen to y’all’s music I feel comforted but there’s also a kind of yearning feeling as well. What kind of imagery do y’all try to paint with your music?

Lunar Vacation: That’s very kind of you to say, thank you! I think the reason most of our songs convey that feeling, is because I typically make songs out of the idea that you’re missing something. I’m not sure why, but the feeling of nostalgia is something that is always heavy on me, and I write out of it.

R: What and/or who are your musical influences? 

Lunar Vacation: I am influenced and inspired by people, music, sights, and experiences. Just life in general, I guess. Observing and thinking about things that happen in my life and others. Lately, I’ve been very inspired by Chaz from Toro y Moi. The way he lives his life is very insightful. If you have time, I recommend watching his short film, “Creating Outer Peace” on Youtube.

R: What has your creating process been like?

Lunar Vacation: Our songs usually come about with me coming up with a chord progression and some melodies. Sometimes it’s a full song, sometimes it’s just a part of a chorus, or a verse. Then I send it to the rest of Lunar and they give their input, and we try and come up with a structure and live sound. As for the lyrics, I usually come up with placeholder words when figuring out melodies, or I’ll hit my Voice Memo button, play the same chords, and sing out a stream of consciousness. Then I’ll go back and pick out words or phrases I like, and see what I can piece together. I also keep many pages in my Notes app open for little phrases I think about throughout the day, and I jot them down for future use. Since both of our EP’s out were kind of finished and put out in a rush, there isn’t a song that I think sounds perfect. But that’s what makes the song perfect, if that makes sense? 

R: Do you guys have any life changing concert experiences? 

Lunar Vacation: Seeing Pond play at Shaky Knees in 2017.

R: If you think about songs that have already been created, are there any that come to mind where you think “Man, I wish I wrote that.”? 

Lunar Vacation: “True Blue” by Angel Olsen and Mark Ronson.

R: Now that you are all out high school is there anything that has hit you about the “real world”? 

Lunar Vacation: We are all in college, and I guess it’s the next step to the real world. As I get older, I just try and take my time with things. I’m in no rush; time is a valuable commodity, and living in the future will only make you miss the past. Also, I have learned that its extremely important to appreciate people as they come into your life. You never know when they’ll be taken out of it. So for advice, I guess I would say to take your time, appreciate everything and everyone in your life, and be grateful.

R: What’s to come for the rest of the year? 

As I mentioned before, we are all in full time school right now. Maggie and I go to Georgia State, and Connor and Matteo go to Georgia Tech. It has been very hectic trying to balance full time school and continuing Lunar, but we are making it work! On weekends when we aren’t doing shows, we are in the studio making our first record. 2019 will be a little quiet but hopefully 2020 will hold new music and tours, but we’ll just have to wait and see. 🙂

Thank you to Lunar Vacation and their team for taking the time to interview with us at Coog Radio. You can stream Lunar Vacation’s music on Spotify  and Apple Music.