Photo by Madison McConnell
Moon Walker
Moon Walker
Harry Springer, the creative force behind Moon Walker, is not like many artists who go viral on TikTok and are suddenly catapulted to commercial success and international fame.
Granted, the platform did introduce the DIY artist to an ever-growing following that’s since led to five albums, including the newly released Wasteland Country, and more than 100 million streams. But the similarities mostly end there.
Consider his lyrics: Lines like “The violence was always there / This is just the first time you’ve cared,” a scathing observation on American identity from his 2026 single “The World You Built,” are a far cry from “American Idol”-worthy anthems like “This is my fight song / Take back my life song / Prove I'm alright song.” Or consider that Springer titled the first Moon Walker record Truth to Power.
And then there are the musical influences. Rather than chasing down the latest trend, the Colorado-bred, Brooklyn-based musician leans heavily into the glam of Marc Bolan and David Bowie, the heavy fuzz-rock of Jack White and Black Sabbath, and the off-kilter, art-school funk of Talking Heads.
We caught up with Springer to talk about untapped inspirations, the art of learning by accident, and why the best political rock shows never actually feature a speech.
Q: Moon Walker went from a bedroom laptop project to selling out shows pretty fast. What was the most surprising part of realizing people were actually showing up in person?
Springer: It took me a while to get on tour because of logistics and Covid. But the first time that I went on tour was the first time it wasn't just numbers on a screen. I started to see that I had an audience, and no matter where I went, it was the exact same sort of vibes in the room and the same types of crowds. That was where I was like, wow, these are real people having real relationships with my music. Before that it really just felt like streams and numbers and likes.
Before this took off, you were trying to sell music for TV and film placements. How did that transition into the fully formed sound Moon Walker has now?
At the time, I was in a band that had moved from Denver out to L.A., and all the songs I wrote were strictly for that band. After moving, I eventually started writing songs for these song libraries—basically trying to get music placed in TV and film —which finally gave me permission to make music that wasn't for the band. I would just make these songs and sing whatever, because it didn't matter if it was bad. I was just trying to sell it.
So writing for the song libraries actually freed you up creatively? It sounds like what is sometimes called a "zero draft," where you just put it down to get it out of your system.
That is absolutely what I was doing then, it was just a zero draft. It gave me this massive level of detachment. If you did something by accident or improvised it, you could step back and say, “That is amazing.” But eventually, I’d try to write a “real” song and think, “Nope, fell flat.” I realized some of those detached zero drafts were exactly what I actually wanted to be making.
Some of the music you’re making now has this distinct art school funk vibe. I hear a lot of T. Rex and Jack White, but also some Talking Heads in songs like "The TV Made Me Do It."
Those are completely accurate. Jack White and Marc Bolan from T. Rex were huge inspirations when I was starting the project. I also started getting really into Talking Heads. They were totally new, untapped inspirations for me that I had somehow not been exposed to. Mining those influences really set the foundation. But honestly, I always just say “rock” to not color it too much. Even when I try to do something completely different, whether it's Kendrick Lamar or Black Sabbath, it always ends up sounding like me because of my voice and my specific production style.
I know you play all the parts on the records yourself. As the crowds have grown, how has the live setup evolved for this upcoming tour?
The last several tours have been Sean McCarthy on drums and my buddy James Duncan on bass—he actually mixed The World You Built with me and played bass on a lot of the record. But this is the first time we'll have Shane playing a lot of keys, some guitar, and auxiliary instrumentation. We used to be a three-piece, but we wanted to expand the live sound to include whatever the song kind of needs.
The music tackles heavy themes—capitalism, religion, media—but you’ve mentioned you deliberately avoid preaching to the crowd. How do you balance the message with the live performance?
It's kind of funny because the shows almost don't even feel political. They just feel like a moment where everybody can come and be themselves. I grew up going to hardcore shows, and these bands, whether they were political or not, would have these mantras and speeches between every song like, “Stick up for yourself!” I always hated when people would talk at shows. It drove me insane because it kills the momentum. So I never talk. If you want my political thoughts, they are in the songs.
So the live show is purely about the energy and the theatrics rather than a lecture.
Exactly. I went to the My Chemical Romance tour, and it's basically just a massive theatrical production in a vacuum. It’s not intended to be a lecture, but it's an amazing experience. The ways my show might be political are more so just theatrics. I don't want to stand up and sound like an idiot asking, “How's everybody doing?” and getting a 15-second applause while I awkwardly tune a guitar.
Moon Walker performs on Wednesday, June 3 at X-Ray Arcade with Pretoria and Super Cassette. The show starts at 6 p.m.
