“We’re not trying to just appeal to this small demographic of people, because you know, that’s the whole thing about music, it’s communication. Everybody gets it.” [Josh Kennedy)

Since 2012, The Black Moods have literally exploded onto the rock scene creating music and a sound all their own that not only speaks to their talent and creativity, but also to the rock genres and bands they grew up listening to and were influenced by. “We’re a modern classic rock band, if that makes any sense,” commented Josh Kennedy, “New old school Rock & Roll.” “Yeah, I think that quote hit the nail on the head,” replied Jordan Hoffman. Band members Josh Kennedy (guitar/lead vocals), Jordan Hoffman (bass/vocals), and Chico Diaz (drums/vocals) credit local legends and friends, the Gin Blossoms, and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers as being of great inspiration to them and loyal supporters. “Gin Blossoms are our buddies,” said Josh. “They took us under their wing.”

From the beginning, the band worked tirelessly, hitting the road and touring cross country to grow their fanbase. “I grew up in Missouri, so we kind of looked for places from California to Missouri that we could go to, you know, from Los Angeles,” said Josh. “We would play The Viper Room a lot. We wound up kind of mapping it out from Phoenix to Flagstaff, to Albuquerque, to Oklahoma City, to Amarillo, to Tulsa.” “Basically everything on the 40,” said Chico.

Josh says he was a big fan of the Gin Blossoms, and “sort of followed them out there, so to speak,” as he was attending school at the Recording Arts & Sciences. “I started working at their studio [Gin Blossoms] and I met Chico [Diaz-drummer] and we started recording in the Gin Blossoms studio, because I ran it for a while. Then we started playing locally and found Jordan, who was living in Los Angeles at the Time, and kind of completed the madness.”

“We were our own booking agent, our own production…everything, so we would just get on the phone and cold call, until somebody, you know, like Jack’s Bar and Grill or whatever the heck it is, would take us in. We’d play for sometimes just us too, you know, or the staff. We started doing that because of where I came from in Missouri, we could do a decent size show here and make some money, so it would be worth it…kind of pay for itself a little bit, explained Kennedy. “

Drummer Chico Diaz adds, “Mexico was a big one, too, like Phoenix, you know. We always had a following down there. It’s a lot bigger now, but then we also started playing in Mexico. It’s just so much fun down there, and we were playing festivals with Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers and Cracker. That really got us listed or elevated, and then, we started getting better shows.”

“Yeah, that was a good shot in the arm that helped us grow our fanbase, you know, down there [Mexico],” remarked Josh.

Their hard work would certainly pay off, as their song “Bella Donna” made the Top 40 Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for an impressive 14 weeks in the summer of 2018, and 2 other songs since then – “Whatcha Got” and “Bad News” – also achieved Top 40 rankings on the same chart.

“Bella Donna,” was already enjoying success on the airwaves in Italy actually, and well before the band was even aware of it. “We had no idea,” said Josh. “We had to call our management and ask them what was going on, you know, and they had no idea either, so it kind of happened naturally.” The band recently signed with an Italian record company as a result of that success, and the label has released the band’s latest single “Sunshine,” which is “doing really well in Italy,” says Josh. The band does intend on doing a European tour eventually, but that really will depend on when things open up for international travel.

Being a 3-piece band now that originally had 4 band members [the 4th member was not able to go on the road and tour with the band], I asked if they had ever thought about returning to 4. “No,” Josh said, “because once we had to do 3-piece and I got a little more used to the singing part, there’s just no more room on the bus for another guy” (Josh cracks a smile and Chico and Jordan laugh).

Their Top 40 success with “Bella Donna” helped open the door to higher profile gigs, like Aerosmith’s Joe Perry. The band was offered an opportunity to tour with Perry on his solo project, but the tour was unfortunately cancelled, due to Perry’s health scare in November of 2018. While the tour’s cancellation was certainly disappointing, more amazing opportunities came about for the guys that forced a lot of fans to take notice, performing with headliners such as Jane’s Addiction, Gin Blossoms, Collective Soul, Shinedown, Eve 6, Cracker and many more.

Perhaps one of the biggest shows to date was their tour with Whitesnake, during the USA portion of their “Flesh & Blood World Tour” in the Spring of 2019. The Black Moods received a warm and memorable response from Whitesnake fans.

“When we were out with Whitesnake,” said Josh, “nobody knew who we were ,and we had our first single that was on the radio [‘Bella Donna’]. There were huge venues. We were playing at like 200-500 person clubs — outdoor sheds, you know, and 3,000 people every night kind of thing. You could see the audience when we would play at these theaters — their faces would be lit up where I could see, because everybody was on their phones texting or doing whatever it is they do while we’re on stage, because they didn’t know who the hell we were and they’d never heard the song. They were there to see Whitesnake, not The Black Moods, and so some of those shows were really nice, because basically, we got a lot of standing ovations and that kind of thing.” Josh went on to explain, “It would only last a little bit [referring to the cell phone lights]. That’s what was so cool, you went from seeing their faces to not seeing them at all, so that was good, yeah.”

The Black Moods’ newest album “Sunshine” released earlier this year by Steelhorse Entertainment, was recorded with Grammy Award-nominee producer/engineer Johnny “K” Karkazis who has produced other high profile acts like Disturbed, Staind, Finger Eleven, and Megadeth. Additionally, the band recorded a track with South African-English recording producer/enginner Eddie Kramer, who has worked with numerous Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artists, including the Beatles, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the Kinks, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp, and Carlos Santana.

The band is very happy with their new record label Steelhorse Entertainment. “They were fans of the music, you know,” remarked Josh. “They liked what we were doing. They didn’t see us and think ‘Oh, we can change that…very nurturing, very supportive.” [Jordan and Chico nod in agreement.] “They got our backs, you know,” said Josh. “It’s the most comfortable work environment you could ever imagine artistically.”

As to the creative process, the guys agreed it was a true collaborative effort, which is evident by their song credits. “We all contribute, you know,” said Jordan, and further Josh added, “We all trust each other enough and say we’re just going to kind of go at it. Everybody carries the weight.”

The band’s fanbase is made up more of the 80’s generation, but they have plenty of younger fans, too. “We don’t discriminate,” says Josh. “We have little kids wearing our merch and who send us pictures, you know, like video of them singing and that kind of stuff. It’s great! Really cool. That’s what we want. We’re not trying to just appeal to this small demographic of people, because you know, that’s the whole thing about music, it’s communication. Everybody gets it.”

What’s next for The Black Moods and where would they like to be in 2-5 years? “Doing more than one show a month,” remarked Josh. “Yeah, just bigger tours, you know, eventually having our own headlining tour, ampitheaters,” said Chico. “New shows, new venues, new places and people,” said Jordan. Then Josh pipes in, “New guitars!” [everybody laughs].

So you like the live performance a lot? “Oh yeah,” said Josh. “Yeah, that’s why we do this,” Chico explains. “Yeah, because in the studio, you can get cabin fever. You feel boxed up, and it’s fun for a while, especially if you get to be out on the road for a while. It’s like a way to ease back in, like a cycle. You go out on the road, and while you’re in the studio, you record, and when you’re ready to get out of the studio, you hit the road, and you’re on the road so long you’re ready to come back home to the studio. It’s just a viscious cycle we’re addicted to.”

The guys say their fans are more “frands than fans,” said Josh. “Yeah, our fans who can get to know us come to our shows, and we talk to 90% of the people that we can,” said Jordan. “We’re like friends…we’ve built a family based on what we do.”

I want to give special thanks to Jordan, Josh and Chico for granting me this opportunity to interview you and share your amazing talent with the Rock world. I am truly honored to have been able to do so. Additionaly, I thank you for being so patient while I worked to finalize this story.

For links to any of the social media accounts for The Black Moods, visit their website at http://www.theblackmoods.com.