May 83 min read

Look Back Luna: "We're Barely Getting Started"

I met up with Kayla and Gabe, the vocalist and guitarist of Look Back Luna, at the May the Fourth Diavolo Booking show at Clarky's Billiards in Scranton, Pa, to discuss the past, present, and future of the band. Playing a bill along with The What Nows?!, The Squalors, Sh’Bang, and Wife Swamp, Their set featured a solid mix of released & unreleased songs, along with two covers they absolutely nailed–Turnstile’s “Holiday” and Goldfinger’s “99 Red Balloons,” if you were wondering.

The band has only recently “settled into its four solid members,” after just acquiring a new drummer. Kayla explains, “...we’re starting to get really comfortable writing music together. Moving in a new direction and a new genre, kinda letting Gabe go off on what he wants to do with no restriction, and we’re just adding on top of that.”

During a break in their set at Clarky’s, Kayla made a passing comment about being in the studio. Not only are they in the studio, but they have two songs fully written and recorded. “...we’re just gonna finish recording harmonies in two weeks, I believe, and then those songs should be getting mastered and released. I think an album? Maybe an EP by summer,” says Kayla. Gabe believes a near-future album is probable, “...if we get in this groove of writing, it just flows…There’s a lot of ideas and with the way I write stuff, when I bring it to the table, I always try to come up with concepts first and what I want the song to be about and try to think, ‘what genre would that fit under’ or ‘what’s this concept in music?’” he says.

The show at Clarky’s is their first show back in the area after playing LAUNCH Music Conference and Festival in Lancaster, Pa, a conference for developing artists. “Launch is cool because when I first started doing music at 14, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” says Gabe. “Years ago, there were some big bands that played there. Ice Nine Kills headlined one year, and to see that transpire over time gives me the feeling that this isn’t for nothing, like we’re actually doing something.”

“Our goal is to just keep going and keep pushing our music as far as we can take it, and we’re just having a good time ... We get to come here and play music and have fun.” says Gabe. I will say, after talking to them for a short time in between Sh’Bang and The Squalors sets, I was reminded why I enjoy this scene so much; almost everyone is so incredibly genuine. They are hardworking, driven by the scene, dedicated, and they have a blast doing what they do. “We’re kinda in it. I think this is a big part of all of our lives. We’re all the same age, we’re all on the same page with everything. I don’t want to say we don’t have goals other than this because we all do; we work full-time, Gabe’s in school full-time, and we’re maintaining our lives well, but this right now is the goal. I feel like that really motivates all four of us together to do what we’re trying to do here.” says Kayla. “We’re barely getting started…just wait until fall. We’re gonna be fuckin’ going.”

You can find Look Back Luna at the Sherman Theater on May 24th at a Battle of the Bands and at The V-Spot in Scranton on June 21st.

Kayla and Gabe of Look Back Luna’s 10 Song Playlist: