Today we’d like to introduce you to Moon Valjean.
Hi Moon, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started as a kid playing guitar. Throughout high school, I dedicated every minute I could to learning music and immersed myself in it fully. Greek Fire’s drummer Johnny Venus and I played every day, hoping to take it on the road someday. We worked for years honing skills and a sound that eventually was noticed around the midwest where we were playing. We had a lull as a group, and I was pursued by the other STL musicians that we were giving it their all as I was. As that group, we found ourselves doing a record in Marina Del Ray with Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann for Maverick Records. Later that year, we released our debut full-length, “Page Avenue,” which would eventually become certified platinum and change our lives. In 2008 I helped form Greek Fire and reunited with the rhythm section of Johnny, and I’s former band. Around the same time, I was asked to join Goldfinger. Around 2012 I began working on air with KPNT 105.7 The Point in St. Louis and, a few years later, began co-hosting and producing The Rizzuto Show. From that, we spun a fun 90’s tribute act called Moon, and the Headline Hoosiers, which has morphed into The Teenage Dirtbags, which plays special events with 90’s alternative hits and our country iteration that does 90’s country hits. For the last 9 years, I’ve performed across the planet with those acts while maintaining the number 1 morning show in the market and a podcast that has exceeded 100 million downloads.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Never has it been easy. Music is a challenging and quickly changing business. I was raised to value loyalty and respect for partners and was blindsided to find out that was not so easily found in this business. No business is a smooth road, but the music biz has some unique properties that there isn’t much education to prepare you for. It’s a wild ride that can be so fun and rewarding but comes at a cost that few could imagine. It’s not for the faint of heart; you cannot be afraid to fail. The best is almost reckless in their desire to do something new and unique. Find the real champions of your art, vision, and work.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m trying to put things into the world that provoke thought, inspiration, or an excellent, encouraging word. I want to live a thankful life and help others do the same. We all have so many languages, and I had great difficulty finding ways to connect and communicate with those around me in my youth. Music was a beautiful and natural place to do so with my talents. So I focused on the calling I felt there to use it as a language to communicate. Communicating my thoughts, dreams, losses, inspirations, experiences, and whatever else I felt would possibly help bridge that gap. It may be my positive tenacity that sets me apart. I feel blessed even to be alive. To be placed where I was with nature and nurturing what I was given and put in a position where I could do good with what I was given.
Are any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I read as much as I can thousands of articles, hundreds of books, hundreds of podcasts, and dozens of audiobooks. Consume all you can in your interests. Currently, I’m immersed in tons of youtube videos for different audio software and DAWS out there. There is so much at our fingertips.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/moonvaljean
- Instagram: instagram.com/moonvaljeanhere
- Youtube: youtube.com/greekfirevideo
Image Credits
ishootshows.com – labeled – Todd owyoung outoftheblack photography – labeled
