Moonroof on Their Beginnings, Debut Album, and Life on the Road

Interview by River Epperson

Photo via Moonroof Instagram taken by Dylan Eddinger

Moonroof is an alternative rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, composed of vocalist Dave Kim, guitarist Johnny Fordyce, bassist Kevin Randolph, and drummer Dan Rendine. Writer River Epperson sat down with Dave, Dan, and Kevin to discuss the band’s beginnings, their self-titled album, and tour life. Moonroof the album was released July 11, 2025, via Free Dive Collective. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Where did Moonroof find its beginnings as a band? 

KEVIN: Well, we all lived in the same dorm during college. One day, Dan heard Dave singing in the shower, and they started talking about music and being in a band. 

DAN: I was next to the bathroom and I heard Dave singing, and I was like Oh, do you wanna jam? Dave had never been in a band before. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Have you seen Pitch Perfect? This feels very much in that vein. 

DAN: Well, I didn’t enter the shower. That’s important. 

SOUNDSTAGE: What happened next?

DAVE: We’re from Bloomsburg University, and there’s not really a music scene there. We were playing open mics, coffeehouses, that type of thing. Then one day, later in college, we got to play the Renaissance Faire, and everyone was like, What are you going to do next?

SOUNDSTAGE: How did you find the name Moonroof? 

DAVE: After college, we started to try to move around the Philly area. That’s how Moonroof started. In Cosby, we went by the name “The Big Picture.” But, you know, there are a hundred things named The Big Picture, and it wasn’t really creative. 

DAN: We threw around a lot of names trying to make it a unanimous decision. We just couldn’t land on anything. 

KEVIN: And then I remembered my cousin had suggested Moonroof to me, maybe a year or two before, when we were leaving a concert. We were driving and she was looking out the moonroof of her car. It just popped back into my head, and it was the only name we liked out of a hundred. 

DAVE: There was Ezekiel High Rise, our old guitarist kept calling it Jebbadai High Rise, then there was Cartwright. I thought it sounded cool, like a street sign. I suggested Martian Martian, which everyone enjoyed. I was joking when I said it, so I’m glad we stuck to Moonroof.

SOUNDSTAGE: What would you say are some of your biggest influences? 

DAVE: The Killers, All American Rejects, my personal favorite band is The 1975, so there’s some soft-pop in there as well. 

DAN: Two Door Cinema Club is another one.

KEVIN: We all have different tastes, but mostly in the indie rock realm that we’ve merged together. 

SOUNDSTAGE: If you had to describe the sound of Moonroof in five words, what would they be? 

DAVE: Ok, upbeat sad dad-rock. 

DAN: Sad, upbeat dance rock? 

DAVE: It’s very danceable music, but there’s melancholy. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Moonroof is your self-titled debut album. Did you find the recording process for the album different from your previous releases? 

DAN: A lot different, yeah. We had done two EP’s before, but with the album, we prepped the songs for two years at least. 

DAVE: Johnny, our guitarist now, definitely helped shape what these songs came out to be. At first, we came up with these instrumentals, but in 2023, we just didn’t have it together. I think we were being too negative on the songs by deciding we didn’t like them. Then, one day I was listening to them in my car and I was like Oh, why don’t we use them? Ty Ripley, our producer and label guy, suggested we use them. 

DAN: We went back to old ideas, Johnny wrote some new stuff, it was a big combination. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Do you feel you learned any lessons from recording the album?  

KEVIN: Don’t throw stuff away. You can put it away if you’re not feeling it at the moment, but if you come back to it, it might spark a new idea. If you make something, even if you don’t use it right now, it might come back to you in a new form. 

DAVE: This album is definitely the most collaborative we’ve ever been. No one’s ideas are dumb.

DAN: Seeing things through and being patient, and playing more of a long game. We took our time with the album. 

SOUNDSTAGE: What were some of the ideas that inspired what you wrote for the new album? 

KEVIN: Relationship stuff, most of the album is the bad side of it. Breakups, ghosting, that kind of thing. 

DAN: There’s that, mental health, and dealing with everyday stuff are also other things. 

DAVE: The instrumentations were already there, basically, so it was more melody-wise, finding what fit the song. A common theme for us is learning from our mistakes. There’s some positivity to it. It’s not just Oh, woe is me… the whole time. 

SOUNDSTAGE: You posted a note online earlier about how things have sort of slowed down for Moonroof post-album release, but you also hinted about having exciting plans for the New Year. Is there anything you can say about those plans? 

DAVE: When I wrote it, I realized it sounded like a goodbye letter, but that’s not what this is. There have been a lot of things in my personal life and with my family that have been affecting me, and at times, I get emotionally exhausted. In the past two years, ever since adding Johnny, we’ve been going nonstop. We toured 34 states and played all these cool shows. Behind the scenes, we thought that was going to happen for the fall of 2025, but it didn’t. So now we’re getting our ammo reloaded for 2026. I was trying to be more transparent because I’ve seen other bands be transparent about ticket sales and venue experiences. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Speaking of touring, was there anything about tour life that surprised you? Or anything you would do differently for next time? 

DAN: The van. The first tour we did, we had no issues and thought it was great. We had heard horror stories about vans breaking down, tire issues, but we had none of that. On the second tour, we had some tire issues and ended up stranded on the road in West Virginia. We didn’t end up missing any shows, but we probably should have. 

DAVE: On a positive note, what we learned is to appreciate everyone who’s been following us. Whether they’re new or old fans, it means a lot to be able to show our music to people and see what it means to them. And always find very strong local bands when you tour. 

KEVIN: One thing I found surprising was how every day is unpredictable. It’s hard to know what you’re walking into, and whether you’re playing a show to ten people or a couple of hundred. I learned to go into every night with no expectations and to be prepared for whatever. 

DAVE: Every night is a first impression, so give it all you got. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Do you have a favorite venue or city you’ve played so far?

DAVE: Hell yeah, Tampa. The experience was my favorite, and the venue was cool. 

KEVIN: I think another favorite would be Lofi Bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We’ve played there twice now, and they’re really welcoming. We’ve had two great shows with them. 

DAN: Same thing with Martin’s in Roanoke, we’ve been there twice now, and we’re trying to go a third time. 

SOUNDSTAGE: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with Sound Stage today. Is there anything else you’d like to say before we go? 

MOONROOF: Just a thank you to the fans. It’s been really cool to see how people are responding to the album on social media. We’re excited to get back on the road and play more shows, and hopefully meet you all.