Q&A: Moody Joody Dances Into a New Era with “OOPS!”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY MOLLY PECK ☆
FOCUSED, BUT STILL HAVING FUN—Moody Joody is ready to hit the main stage. The trio's latest single, "OOPS!," introduces listeners to a new era for the band. The track retains the band's signature sound while showing a more playful side to their songwriting.
Kaitie Forbes, Kayla Hall and Andrew Pacheco formed Moody Joody in 2020 as a pandemic passion project. Vocalists Forbes and Hall and producer Pacheco were startled when their music started gaining traction quickly online, but the trio made the most of it. After releasing singles on a regular basis for about three years, they released their debut EP Dream Girl in 2024. The EP was praised by Rolling Stone and Atwood Magazine and featured on top playlists on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon. The group's growing notoriety opened up several new opportunities, including touring with Misterwives and playing major festivals like Austin City Limits and SXSW.
Co-written by Grammy nominee Scott Harris, who is well-known for writing with Shawn Mendes, Dua Lipa and Justin Bieber, "OOPS!" marks a turning point for Moody Joody. The band is working on their first album and is focused on creating a cohesive brand that fans can recognize as unique to Moody Joody. Their Nashville roots and love of incorporating different influences into their music are on display with "OOPS!," a fun, danceable track about letting loose, even if you might regret it the next morning.
Accompanying the single's release is a music video directed by Luke Rogers. Described as "Moody Joody meets Coyote Ugly," the video features Forbes and Hall dancing to their hearts' content in front of a stoic audience. The concept pairs perfectly with the playful, but raw sound of "OOPS!," celebrating the joy of a late night, but not without consequences.
We recently sat down with the band to talk about ushering in a new era and working on their first full-length project.
LUNA: For those not familiar with your music, can you share some of your influences and inspirations?
HALL: Moody Joody is such a blend of the three of our influences and inspirations. Kaitie, Andrew, and I grew up on different music styles. For me, growing up on country music, Shania Twain paired with my parents always listening to The Eagles and Tom Petty definitely influenced the way I approach songwriting and music. We all bonded over bands like Bleachers and Jack’s Mannequin immediately in our early writing days, so we’ve always had this kind of mutual love for ‘80s sounds.
FORBES: We all come from such different music backgrounds! You’ll hear inspiration from a wide range of artists like Counting Crows, Shania Twain, Arcade Fire!
LUNA: You’ve said that it is important to you not to get boxed into one particular sound. What makes “OOPS!” different from the songs on Dream Girl? How does it introduce fans to this “new era?”
HALL: I think that “OOPS!” is a bit of an edgier, cheekier approach than any song we’ve done thus far. We’ve never had a more musically driven chorus than this one. It has such a groove.
FORBES: “OOPS!” definitely has more edge and spunk than we’ve ever written before. I think we’re getting a little bolder in this new era!
PACHECO: The mindset switch of working on a full-length album allowed us to really push ourselves and not be afraid to just experiment a lot more. We’ve always explored different styles, but I think we just gave ourselves the freedom to explore that even further on this album.
LUNA: Although “OOPS!” has a different sound from the rest of your work, it still sounds like a Moody Joody track. What threads do you carry through all of your music to make sure each song sounds like a Moody Joody song, despite exploring different styles? What encapsulates your sound?
HALL: I think that we’ve naturally grown and developed our sound over the years, and have such chemistry as a band, we usually don’t overthink much in the studio and trust our instincts. Working on an album and being in the studio on and off over the course of this year, but allowing ourselves multiple days at a time to really hone in on the album direction and sounds has paved the way for this next era.
FORBES: I think it naturally stays cohesive just because it’s the three of us. We never really think about how to make it cohesive, we just trust that it will, based off of what the three of us consistently create together.
PACHECO: Somehow, we don’t have to think too hard about it. In a lot of ways, the “Moody Joody sound” really is just the three of us doing whatever we want. I think because we each have our own unique influences that we bring to the table, it just works out that way.
LUNA: How did you meet Scott Harris? What was it like working with him versus writing on your own?
HALL: We met Scott Harris a few years back as one of the only outside collaborators/writers we’ve ever worked with as a band. After writing “Velvet Connection” and “Ground Control” our first time working together, it was clear we’d developed a writing chemistry, so it only made sense to keep the ball rolling by working on the next project with Scott. Scott has a way of coming alongside what we’re doing as a band and elevating us and challenging us to think outside of the box in the best way, while still maintaining an authentic approach to Moody Joody songs.
FORBES: We met Scott a few years back via Zoom after he had heard our music and reached out to us. We absolutely love writing with him. He challenges us in all the best ways and encourages us to take risks and think outside of our comfort zone
PACHECO: Working with Scott is great because he truly understands the vision of the band and what we’re going for, but is really good at pushing us creatively and getting us to rethink things or try something new.
LUNA: As we said, “OOPS!” marks the beginning of a new era for Moody Joody. What are you leaving behind, and what are you taking with you?
HALL: I’d say what we’re bringing with us is building on top of what we’ve already created as a band and a brand and taking it to the next level. This is the first time we’ve really gotten to set aside time to create a full project, whereas in the past we’ve kind of done singles, and even the EP [Dream Girl] was written sporadically over the course of a few years. We’re definitely elevating with this next era across the board—visually, sonically, it just feels very cohesive and intentional. Maybe I’d say we’re leaving behind being someone else’s dream girl and being our own dream girls.
FORBES: I’m not sure that we’re totally leaving anything behind, but we’re taking with us our classic Moody Joody storytelling, bigger and more honest than ever
LUNA: Let’s talk about the music video. How did you come up with the concept of the music video, and what was your favorite part of the video to shoot?
HALL: The song always felt very line dance-y to us, even when we made it in the studio, so conceptually having it live in this world of going out, and having fun, and singing karaoke, and being playful was something we wanted to explore and showcase from the lyrics in the video. My favorite part of the video to shoot was probably when we were twirling around and goofing off in front of the extras. We wanted to capture the kind of moment where you’re out, and just doing your thing, and being obnoxious, and people are rolling their eyes at you for being so messy. Shooting with our friends and coworkers made it hard to stay in character! (Laughs)
FORBES: We, of course, pictured us dancing on a bar, which led to some Coyote Ugly comparisons. Our creative director, Luke Rogers, helped us make our little ideas come to life in the best, quirkiest way. My favorite part was seeing how seriously Andrew took his role (Laughs)
LUNA: You’ve played a lot of big festival shows this year. How does that compare to touring? What do you like about playing festivals?
HALL: Both are such awesome ways to bring in a new audience as we continue to grow the band. We’ve had some incredible support slots, and it’s brought new fans our way, as did Austin City Limits (ACL). The energy of a festival is somewhat unbeatable, though.
FORBES: Festivals bring a whole new energy to the table. It felt so electric performing to a crowd of hardcore music lovers who are there to be present, discover new artists, and just have a good time.
PACHECO: I think the music really translates in a festival environment, which was exciting to see. ACL was our first major festival, so we really didn’t know what to expect. I genuinely wasn’t sure anyone would even be at our set! The response was so incredible and way exceeded our expectations.
LUNA: What is next for Moody Joody? Is “OOPS!” the first single from a new project?
HALL: Yes, “OOPS!” is signaling an entirely new era for us! We want to bring the new music to life next year and play a ton of shows.
FORBES: Album mode! Yes, “OOPS!” is the first single off of our upcoming album. Stay tuned for a lot of new music.
