This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On Nov. 2, Poor Moon will perform at The State Room.
Poor Moon is a band comprised of longtime friends Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott, both still members of Fleet Foxes, and brothers Ian and Peter Murray.
The band's debut "Poor Moon" will be available on CD, LP and at digital providers on August 28 via Sub Pop. Fans can preorder the album now at Sub Pop.com, iTunes or Amazon.com.
Here is a feature I wrote on the band back in March:
The only reason why Poor Moon, the country-rock band, hasn't performed in Utah yet is because "Casey and I got really busy for a while," said the band's frontman Christian Wargo. Wargo and Casey Westcott might be unfamiliar names, but they're busy as members of the Seattle-based Fleet Foxes, one of the most popular folk-rock bands in the world, which sold out a Red Butte Garden concert last summer.Both of Fleet Foxes' albums, 2008's self-titled full-length debut and 2011's "Helplessness Blues," appeared on my year-end lists of the top 10 albums of the year, while the first was my favorite album of 2008.While Fleet Foxes' frontman and songwriter Robin Pecknold battled through writers' block before the recording of "Helplessness Blues," Wargo, the band's bassist, began writing songs to pass the time. He eventually asked the band's keyboard player Westcott to help him shape the demos, and e-mailed mp3s of the songs to good friends and brothers Ian and Peter Murray, best-known for being in the band Christmas Cards.Once Sub Pop, the Fleet Foxes' record label, heard Wargo and Westcott's songs, the label quickly signed the newly dubbed Poor Moon. The four musicians are now on their first tour with this side project, after playing some gigs earlier this month at the South by Southwest Music Festival. The band's first full-length album is expected to be released this August.In fact, Westcott and Wargo consider Salt Lake City to be an important part of Poor Moon's history. It was in Salt Lake City in early March where the band first "pushed the boat out," Westcott said.You see, Poor Moon had to drive from Seattle to Austin for South by Southwest, and the band made a "balls-out trip to Salt Lake City" on the way to pick up their sound man, whose family lives here. Salt Lake City was the first over-night stay for the quartet after leaving Seattle, where they spent a night catching what Westcott called a "third wind." .But the band's backstory actually began 14 years ago, when Westcott and Wargo first met in the Chicago area, sparking an "instant friendship." Westcott's family then moved to Seattle, and the Murray brothers were the first people Westcott met at his new high school, Seattle Preparatory College. The exclusive school "churned out Jesuit hedge-fund managers," Westcott said, but he and the Murray brothers bonded over music.Wargo ended up in Seattle eventually, working with Seattle singer-songwriter David Bazan, of Pedro the Lion. Westcott joined Pecknold in Fleet Foxes in 2005, and upon his recommendation, Wargo became a Fleet Fox in 2007, before the band released its first album.The band's eponymous debut blew up beyond anyone's imagination and became a critical success as well as commercial triumph, with the album going platinum and a tour with Wilco (which hit a sold-out Red Butte Garden in 2008). Once Fleet Foxes finished a tour of Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, Wargo and Westcott's schedule opened up, and decided to take the songs on the road.As for how long Poor Moon will be able to tour before they're called back for Fleet Foxes duties, Westcott said he had no idea. "I only know what's going on about 20 to 30 days in advance," he admitted.