Inside Colorado’s Music Scene with Moon Honey | Pinpoint Colorado

In this episode of Pinpoint Colorado, host Rachel Mains sits down with husband-and-wife duo Dave and Rachel of Moon Honey at the Exchange Coffee House in Castle Pines. 🎶 

The conversation dives into Colorado’s evolving music scene, the creative vision behind Moon Honey, and how this unique project blends community, collaboration, and authenticity. From songwriting and performance to the challenges and opportunities of being independent artists, Dave and Rachel share what drives their music and why creating meaningful, real songs matters now more than ever. You’ll also hear how their relationship shapes their sound, their approach to writing across genres, and their passion for building connections within Colorado’s local music community. 

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Listen to AM 670 online: https://www.670kltt.com 

Learn more about Moon Honey: https://ilovemoonhoney.com 

Watch more episodes: https://www.pinpointcolorado.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Megan is an angel because we're able to rely on her with every transaction. My husband and I are on our on our 11th one with her. So obviously we're huge fans. My biggest memory working with Megan is when my husband and I bought our first house. It was a new build and we were super nervous because we didn't know the process. But Megan walked us through each step. She made sure that we were protected working with a builder we didn't know about. And it just made the process so much easier. We felt then excited to move into our new home and were able to have a smooth transaction because of it.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Megan Marion, your real estate angel. Call 720-229-6674 or learn more at 670KLTT.com slash angel. That's 720-229-6674.

SPEAKER_05 0:57

Welcome to Pimpoint, Colorado. I'm your host, Rachel Maines. On this episode, I head to Exchange Coffee House in Castle Pines for a chance to sit down with husband and wife duo, Dave and Rachel with the band Moon Honey. We're going to talk about the vibrant music scene right here in Colorado and the vision behind the band Moon Honey. Thank you guys for being here. It's one of my favorite coffee shops, but to be on Pinpoint Colorado, I've known you guys for years and one of my favorite couples, very gifted. We're talking about Moon Honey. And I was privileged to go to your most recent concert, and it was a joy and super fun. And just you had so many talented people. But what's the idea? I'll start with Rachel with Moon Honey. What's the idea behind that? How is this different than what you've been a part of before in terms of music?

SPEAKER_06 2:02

I think Moon Honey is really just more focused on Dave and I and actually bringing in other talent as you know as we can, as we have a million times in the past, but showcasing more kind of full country, all of our writing skills, bringing in other people to be included in the project, not like a band, more like a community in some ways. A lot of the music that we've released in the last year has been just kind of focused on Dave and I, but at that show, we got to kind of show off all of our friends, and we definitely want to keep doing that.

SPEAKER_05 2:35

Yeah. It's a good time. I like that kind of vibe versus just particularly focusing on one um band, if you will. I like the community aspects, and even within the crowd, having that community aspect is something I think people crave. Now, Dave, you travel a lot as a musician. Um what's your goal behind this too? Is it kind of like a respite, if you will, because you're traveling and then you get to be with your wife on stage too?

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yeah, I I think Rachel's one of the best musicians I've ever met.

SPEAKER_05 3:05

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

And uh playing with her is a completely different experience. But what was so cool is every every show has its own feeling. And the moment we walked into Swallow Hill, we just knew it was a special night. When we did that show, it was so unique and special. And I, at least for me, I think we talked about it after. We felt like we were just watching it happen, even though we were kind of in charge of it, and you know, we're MCing it, right? We're making it happen.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

Loosely in charge, barely in charge.

SPEAKER_02 3:41

That's a much deeper thing, but we're just kind of watching it happen as it was happening. So to me, moon honey is is this I get to relax creatively in it, and because I can relax in it, uh, it feels more open. It's with it's with my wife. It just it's it's with family, really.

SPEAKER_05 4:02

You know, family and friends, and friends are family, yeah, yeah, for sure. So it definitely has that vibe. Um, what I like too is the husband and wife um banter that you guys have, you know, because every relationship's perfect, right? No. So you guys are open with that too, and that's a really fun vibe. I like that.

SPEAKER_06 4:22

And then we have to be because we're on stage, and sometimes we're looking at each other like, what are you doing over there? You know, or like what decision are you making right now? So we just decided to make it public, right? And actually, it works for us because that's actually who we are. Behind closed doors in front of people, nothing changes. It's the same no matter where we are, and that's who we are with each other. So it's completely authentic, it's completely down to earth, it's very real. And I think now more than ever, I'm glad that we started a project like that. That's about who are we as musicians right now, right? And who are the people that we appreciate as musicians right now, because we need that authenticity right now.

SPEAKER_05 5:00

Right. Yeah, we're missing that in the culture for sure. I know it's your goal to write authentic music as well. And that's kind of getting lost in the commercialization of music. And I know we could talk about that for hours, but as you guys sit down and write, what does that process look like?

SPEAKER_06 5:20

Oh, it's different every time.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Yeah, every single time.

SPEAKER_06 5:23

It's different every time. So, what's one thing that's amazing is you know, Dave said something so sweet about me, but legitimately, Dave is one of the great guitar players around. And everybody's caught on to that. That's why he gets picked up for tours and he plays with so many different artists because he really is that good. And so, what's kind of fun, and we've been doing a lot lately of this, is he'll have this great guitar part, he'll have this great part on some instrument and this great idea and structure, and then I'll sit and mess with it, sonic, you know, make a song out of it until he's happy with it. I'm happy with it. And we have a lot of music we're gonna be releasing in the coming years that's like that, which I think is a great, it's a great um structure for us, yeah, given our backgrounds. Like he has so much background in guitar, I have so much background in songwriting. It's kind of how we combine, I think, the strengths that we both have, and then we work it out together. Right. Um, and we've gotten, I mean, we've gotten so much better at it over the years. I don't know if you think that, but I definitely think that we've improved. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

I think that um, you know, culture is craving certain things. We have a lot of knowledge. It seems like there's very little wisdom. Yeah, and the a lot of wisdom with songwriting is the less that you fondle the idea, the better it is. So we know that going into writing songs, going into just even approaching music creatively, the less that you like start manipulating it, the better. The more that you can just keep it, the original idea, and just kind of stem off of different vibes and colors from that, lyric, like poems and all that, the better it is. So uh it's a it's a craft that we continue to work on that we're exploring many angles, but ultimately restraint, I think, is uh knowing when to stop. That's like that's a really good sign of of art, like knowing when to put the brakes on.

SPEAKER_06 7:20

Right. Less is more. We don't just write love songs either. I know it's called moon honey, it's like honeymoon, you know, it really implies we're relational. We are, we are, but everything there's so many relationships in life, and there's so much in life to sing about and talk about. And a lot of what's on the radio is just that first phase of love song, right? That falling in love song or that meeting you in a place. Even the movies, right? Yeah, but there's all this life that we lead outside of that, right? And there needs to be songs for life, songs that like get you through a hard day, songs that help you with your addiction, songs that are about some of the hard things that we face. And and we feel tasked with sharing music that's unique in that way as well, and that's psychologically sound, that's actually good for people to sing and good for people to listen to.

SPEAKER_05 8:14

Right. I love that. So it's really cool to see a couple so gifted doing the same thing, being being able to have a band and doing what you do. Where'd you guys meet? I'm sure people are curious where you met.

SPEAKER_06 8:29

It's cool or it's crazy, like there's a level of insanity in choosing to work together in music. Uh, but you know, we're crazy like that, so that's fine. Um, do you want to tell how we met?

SPEAKER_02 8:43

We just met at a venue. You know, we were playing, uh, we were out playing a songwriter night for a friend, and she was in one of the rounds. I was in one of the rounds. Well, how many songwriters? Like 20 or something.

SPEAKER_06 8:54

There was a lot, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

It was at a great venue that used to exist here in Denver, and um the first thing I ever heard from her was her voice. When she was sound checking, I remember thinking she's got an amazing voice. I heard her sing before I met her.

SPEAKER_06 9:09

And um and I I heard him play guitar before I met him, so it's so funny. Wow, because I was not facing the stage or anything, and he's I was talking to somebody and he starts this song, and it's like the most miraculous guitar. It's not recorded, you can't find it anywhere. You can't find it anywhere, but we're trying, we're trying, but live it's stunning. And I heard him play and the whole room stopped, and I was like, who is that? And I turned around to see who it was. So yeah, we had the like an interesting experience with each other at that event.

SPEAKER_05 9:41

Yeah, well, it it makes sense that you and me out at an event for music for sure. And then as you've grown as a couple, tell us the process of how Moon Honey came about. You're kind of doing your own thing, kind of doing things together, and then you thought, hey, you know, let's start this concept.

SPEAKER_06 10:02

We've been on the roller coaster ride that is the music thing, and we've had a lot of bands and we've tried a lot of projects. Like people who followed us will ask about previous projects that we've done that we've had to end for multiple reasons. Um, not easy, really hard stuff. Right. Um, we wanted a project that was purely devoted to original music, number one, which is hard to do in Denver and make a living. So we have a lot of other projects where we do corporate events and we do weddings and we do all these great fun things that we love. But we wanted a project that was solely for original music and solely for whatever mood we were in. Right. And so, like I said, some of our first releases, we were like, let's do country music for a little bit. But a lot of the recordings lately, we've moved more into kind of like folky cinematic vibes, which we'll release soon. And then who knows? We kind of just do we do what we want because we're artists and we need to do that. You need that outlet. Right. So this is just how do what do we feel like? What's what's on our hearts right now? Um, it's kind of that release for me, at least. It's that fun. Let's just have fun and make something and put it out there and share it with people.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Yeah, I feel like we uh we hit a ceiling with past ones, um, either for for whatever reasons. And with Moon Honey, we it doesn't, it does feel limitless. Like we can go in any direction, we can get anyone to do any aspect of the project that we wanted to, either in a studio or live. And you know, I've got the best songwriter in the world right here. It's just fun.

SPEAKER_06 11:37

You're so nice to be.

SPEAKER_05 11:39

That's so cute. Yeah, and I just gotta mention too, when when people see you live in concert, they get to see that banter and it's it's funny, it's really funny.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

So it's funny if we were like really like trying not to show that, you know. Like we're like, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Yeah, we were like really robotic, it would be so against who we are, but it would be it wouldn't make any sense.

SPEAKER_05 12:04

Yeah. Well, you guys live in Colorado. Obviously, you're in pinpoint, Colorado. What do you feel is so special about the music industry in Colorado? Um, or something even that you would hope to change within what you're doing with Moon Honey.

SPEAKER_06 12:19

Oh, it's still the Wild West here.

SPEAKER_05 12:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 12:23

It's the Wild West of you know, the there's not a lot of music business here. So there's a lot of just different kind of niche aspects to the scene. And I think I actually think it's in a phase of needing to be rebuilt in a lot of ways. Yeah, which is one other reason we got excited about doing an original project and getting back out there in Denver with original music, is it's it feels a little disjointed. I it feels like Colorado is still trying to find its sound in some ways, like there's folk music here, but there's a lot of amazing artists here. Yeah, there's a lot of amazing talent here, and a lot of folks don't know that. A lot of folks don't get to see, haven't seen it. Like we we showcased people we thought are amazing talents at that show, and people were surprised, they're like, I've never even heard of this person. Right. Like, I know. So I think one thing that excites me is getting back into the scene and promoting other people like we intend to, bringing other people into the project, releasing songs with other people, which I'm going to do in the next year, not necessarily in just this project, but in others, and just being able to invest and kind of hopefully get back. Um and let's see what happens with the scene in the coming years. I feel like it's changed every five years. I don't know if you feel that way.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Well, notoriously it does. Um, I have played in the scene for uh uh a long time, like 20, 25 years. Yeah. And what's awesome is that we have we have Red Rocks here. That's that's world renowned. You meet people in England and they know about Red Rocks. There's three venues that every musician wants to play, and Red Rocks is on that list. Um it's sunny 300 days a year here, unless it's this winter and it's sunny all the days of the year. Um people like Colorado is a state about getting out. And I just encourage people to get out and go listen to the music here. Um we do have an island. There's, but iron does sharpen iron. I encourage a lot of musicians to get out, to listen to others, to collaborate, to be open creatively, um, to reach out to us, to collaborate, yes, as much as possible. We were we talk about a time in the scene where that was happening and some giants came out of the scene at that time that are big in the industry now. Yeah, um, and we all know each other. Yeah. So the more of that, the better. But it's like in every state, really, it should be. But um, so yeah, I mean, I still do like it here. Um, we have deep roots here.

SPEAKER_05 15:06

Yeah. So you better be staying. And one thing I want to note too is those who are listening, those who are watching, this couple is so genuine and very heartfelt. So if you feel like, oh, I can't reach out to them because what are they gonna think of me? No, just reach out. You guys are open to it. You may have a busy schedule, you'll fit people in, um, and you're very um considerate in that way. And I love that you're um connecting musicians together in this state. And uh you need to write a song. I'm gonna I'm gonna give you an assignment about Colorado, please. Okay, yes.

SPEAKER_03 15:42

Go ready, go. Rach, Rach can just do this stuff.

SPEAKER_06 15:47

I wait, hold on, wait a second. There's so many aspects. I need to figure out what the view is. What's my perspective? Which which which route are we taking about Colorado? There have been some traffic about Colorado.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

The traffic.

SPEAKER_06 16:00

I mean, we can't do, you know.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Color Springs always has construction.

SPEAKER_06 16:05

Right.

SPEAKER_05 16:06

Well, you guys are a joy, and um, I want to give our listeners uh how they can get in touch with you and learn more about Moon Honey.

SPEAKER_06 16:14

Absolutely. If you're looking for hopeless songs, collaboration, recording, or um corporate bands or anything, you can email I love moonhoney at gmail.com. Okay. That's the easiest email. And then our website is I LoveMoonhoney.com.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

I love Moon Honey.

SPEAKER_05 16:33

I do. I love Moon Honey as well. Looking forward to your next concert here. Thank you so much for being on Pinpoint here. My thanks to Dave and Rachel for joining me at the Exchange Coffee House in Castle Pines. To learn more and to follow their music, go to ILovemoonhoney.com. And don't forget, you can watch past episodes of Pinpoint Colorado. Just go to pinpointcolorado.com. Thanks for joining us and see you next time.