If you look beneath the ‘Big Blue Moon,’ you’ll find The Moss lying in the grass stargazing. Their love for the outdoors isn’t just shown in their band name – it’s emphasized throughout their third studio album. In conversation with Atwood Magazine, the group shed light on their travel experiences, this latest era of The Moss, and the laughter, change, and sense of freedom blooming at the heart of it all.
Stream: ‘Big Blue Moon’ – The Moss
Spending time outdoors appears as a simple pastime, yet it’s layered with subtle complexity.
As you’re immersed in nature, suddenly you’re greeted by the sky, grass, and trees. There’s so many different elements to take in, that it’s easy to forget the beauty hidden within. While blooming flowers showcase their colors, there’s overlooked members of an ecosystem that equally serve their own purpose.
“Moss grows on every continent,” says Tyke James, the lead singer of The Moss. “It’s not to be confused by its cousin algae. It’s neither commonly noticed nor loved, but it’s everywhere, it’s ubiquitous. All the things you’ve heard about moss apply to us.”
The Moss are a three-piece indie rock unit that loves nature, laughter, and making music that’s fully representative of themselves. The trio is made up of teenage friends Tyke James (singer) and Willie Fowler (drummer), along with their latest addition, Tyler Harris (guitarist).
Just as Tyke mentioned, The Moss are everywhere. Their love for traveling continues as they perform Big Blue Moon, their first album since 2021, and the Free Ride EP from 2025 in different cities on tour.
“This is our first complete project in years,” Tyke tells Atwood Magazine. “I feel like a totally different person from the last time we released an album, it’s been so long. We have been writing and touring the whole time, and growing as people. We love how it came together and are proud to have found a more current version of our music in the studio this past year. It represents breaking free from social norms and living life the way you want it to be, and not on other people’s terms.”
With time comes change, and while it’s scary, it’s brought the group to where they are today. Big Blue Moon is a project that’s developed throughout the span of five years through rewrites and patience. Even though these songs have been unreleased, they’ve been a part of the group’s live shows for years.
“There’s something special that happens when you get an immediate reaction to a song,” Tyke explains. “Whether it’s during a live show or even just a songwriting session, if there’s a reaction from people in the room, you know you’re on the right track. It feels weirdly personal with our fans. I don’t know how we amassed such a following, but I’m very grateful we have.”
Reactions shape the way we interpret the world around us, which even applies to these new songs from The Moss.
They’re built on interactions and experiences that were turned into songs, and then translated to a live audience.
“The music is definitely inspired by the environment we’ve been in. The balance of nature is the most creative thing in the world,” explains Tyke. “How everything works together in such an intricate and detailed manner. Getting to a place where you’re either meditating, surfing or hiking, it’s easy to tap into that energy. The things that don’t matter then disappear. That happens with music as well.”
Sometimes music says more than we can explain ourselves, but it’s also important to hear what the musicians themselves have to say about the music. Atwood Magazine recently caught up with The Moss before their April show in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There’s a lot to unpack since their last album in 2021: From Tyler’s addition in the group, releasing two new projects, and touring. The group break it all down, cracking jokes along the way.
— —
:: stream/purchase Big Blue Moon here ::
:: connect with The Moss here ::
— —
A CONVERSATION WITH THE MOSS
Atwood Magazine: Before we get into talking about your new music, I feel like it’s important to highlight one of the staples in your discography, “Willie’s Song.” The title is dedicated to none other than your drummer Willie. If the rest of you had to choose a song that you feel fully represents you from your discography, which one would be “your song?”
Tyler: “Blink” is my personal favorite Moss song. It was the first song that I was a fan of before I was in the band.
Willie: I get a free pass on this question.
Ari (bassist): I like another way, that one feels the best.
Tyke: Okay, I don’t want to think about it that much actually. It’s just gonna be “Your Way.”
You guys have been in the studio a lot over the past year, with the release of Big Blue Moon and Free Ride. They both feel like they serve their own purpose musically, while also staying true to your sound. Since these projects are your most recent, how would you say they best represent your growth as a band?
Tyler: The Free Ride EP was really interesting, because I mean, Tyke wrote it a lot on the piano, which was a new thing for us. It was all like, hey, I have all these songs on the piano. And we were doing it in a really short period of time to try to get off our label. So those songs were actually written after a lot of stuff on the album. Because a lot of the stuff on the album was already written, so the EP almost like, skipped a step and then we moved backwards.
Tyke: Yeah, the EP’s like our newest songs, the EP from earlier this year. And then the album was from the last like five years.
Tyler: Making the EP, I felt kind of influenced some stuff on the album, so it brought some new light into stuff we’ve been working on a lot.
Tyke: Yeah and Tyler’s new-ish to the band like, not new, but he’s been playing, like almost three years.
Tyler: Past three years.
Tyke: Past three years, damn. So this is kind of the first music we recorded with Tyler and he’s playing on them. So it’s like that kind of influenced it as well, different players.
As I mentioned, the EP and album are both distinct in their own ways. Let’s pretend that you’re making a moodboard for each one right now. What are you adding to it? How do these projects represent your different musical influences?
Tyler: Well, If you’re gonna make a mood board, don’t you need, like, some magazines?
Tyke: Captures, like moments. Like quotes, landscapes.
Willie: I’d say a lot of like city vibes. Like late night vibes.
Tyke: There’s some late night vibes.
Willie: They’re on both, especially the EP, I feel like there’s a lot of like late night.
Tyke: So quote, late night vibes. Swirly text.
Willie: No, like a picture. I wouldn’t put a quote on my Pinterest board bro.
Tyke: You wouldn’t put a quote?
Willie: No, just cool pictures only.
Tyke: Not even like a Prince quote?
Willie: Uh uh, no. Just a picture of Prince.
Tyke: When I think of Big Blue Moon, I think of a meadow, a clearing. I think I describe it in the song actually, but it’s kind of just like a meadow in the forest where there’s kind of like some life, some people, partying happening. Yeah, I like campfires and stuff, so put a campfire on it.
There’s been a lot of momentum this year for you with your EP, album, and tour. How have you stayed motivated during this period of constant writing, recording, and touring?
Tyke: I take a big, long vacation till I get sick. I guess I like to travel and explore. So yeah, I just kind of will just go backpack and try to experience stuff. And then I’ll be like, freak, I want to make music again.
Willie: I just like to make music all the time. Yeah. I don’t really get burnt out from it.
Tyke: I do, I get burnt out of everything. But it’s ’cause I like hyper focus for periods of time and I get really obsessed, and then I kind of like gotta focus on something else for a while.
What's your current hyperfixation?
Tyke: My current hyperfixation? Probably yoga, actually. Yoga’s the thing that I kind of like wake up thinking about.
Big Blue Moon is a collection of songs that have evolved throughout the years. You’ve rewritten them as time has passed, and now they’re out for everyone to hear. Why did now feel like the right time to formally release them?
Willie: We wanted to do it as soon as possible, so that’s it. It was just as soon as we were able to.
Tyler: But how come it took so long to be able to?
Willie: There’s a lot that goes into that. We got tied up in some stuff.
Tyke: Yeah, we would have liked to be releasing more like the last few years, but when you’re on a label that process takes like two years sometimes. So the singles we release under them are like two years old by the time we took them out. And if you make an album, then they also have to like, kind of fund the album and stuff and like plan it out. They went through some changes and stuff that kind of delayed it, and then our time period was almost up. And then we made the EP and our contract was kind of like fulfilled. Now we just kind of are gonna release a ton of stuff that we have been holding onto for a while.
How have these tracks changed since you originally wrote them? Would you say they better reflect you as a band now that you’ve rewritten them and experienced more together?
Tyke: Yeah yeah, I think so. Just because they’re more our recent tastes. Our recent, like thoughts. You know, it’s been a long time.
Tyler: We listened to some of the demos of some of the songs today, actually.
Tyke: Even from like two years ago?
Tyler: Yeah, it was like two years ago. And we all made a face at each other when we did certain things. It’s like looking at an old photo and being like, why is my haircut like that?
Willie: It makes me wonder if my haircuts bad right now. It just makes me wonder.
Tyler: You know if you listen back on the old projects, it’s like oh man it’s come so far. It’s so much better now.
Tyke: I feel like it’s better just to not.
Willie: It’s like looking at an old photo or something.
Tyke: It’s like fifth grade, yikes.
Willie: Who let me dress myself in middle school? Honestly, I wish someone would’ve told me.
Tyke: I mean, it’s filter fed of stuff people just give you, and you’re like this is sick. And you just wear it every day. Mixed with the coat from your grandma, mixed with your cousin’s shoes. I mean, they have good style but it’s just different from mine.
Even though these songs have been unreleased for years, some have already made their way into your live shows. Which tracks from the album have been setlist regulars, and which ones are you most excited to debut on stage?
Tyler: We’ve played a lot of them, almost every night of this tour so far. And we’ve played all of them before they were recorded, we played all of them. At one point or another, at least like the last two tours. So we’ve been playing them and they’ve been fun to play.
Tyke: Yeah, we haven’t really been debuting.
Tyler: Yeah, no more debuts. Whenever we have new stuff, it is really hard for us to not play it live.
So, when you guys had the old versions of the songs before you rewrote them, like, did you play those ones too?
The Moss: Yeah.
Have the fans noticed the difference at all?
Tyler: I don’t know. Maybe some really like savvy people, you know, like in the crowd like oh, they changed that to a different guitar. You know, or something. Nobody’s expressed anything, and most of the time, people that notice that kind of stuff are like: Why’d you change that freaking song, man? Like, I’m sorry.
Speaking of new songs, “Your Way” leans into the idea of living on your own terms. What guiding principles shape the way you navigate the world, and how do those ideas connect to the album as a whole?
Tyke: I feel like “Your Way” especially is kind of a song for me that is like a thought process, that when I like really am thinking about something for a long time, it’s one of the processes that can kind of get me out of a loop. So it’s kind of like a baked down, question and answer that is helpful, I guess, sometimes.
Another track on the album that stood out to me was “Passport,” because of how detailed and compelling the imagery is. When you began writing, what was the starting point that everything else grew out of?
Tyke: I was listening to a lot of Samia, I remember, and I like the way she describes things. And then I remember trying to be like, okay, how do I describe this feeling if I were Samia? F***ing Samia writes insanely good music, so.. It’s not really that, but you know what I mean? It’s just like inspo.
Willie: This just in: Tyke James ripped off Samia.
Tyke: Yeah yeah, but I remember being inspired by Samia at the time. I was listening to Indigo De Souza as well. And she has this way of like kind of harping on stuff that kind of is like painful, but it’s in a sort of therapeutic way. Like it’s a very outfront way of explaining a feeling. And I found that therapeutic, so I kind of wanted to say something in that way as well.
Was that different from the way you usually write songs?
Tyke: Um, not so different, I would say that was just kind of a particular influence at the time. But yeah, I typically like to have a spectrum of emotion in a song. It’s not just like: I’m happy, I’m frustrated. There’s a little bit of exploration around the emotion.
Even though the song “Passport” isn’t directly about traveling, I thought it would be fun to ask you about your experiences on the road and exploring new places. How many stamps do you guys have on your passports? Do you have any fun stories from the countries you’ve been able to visit, or even just funny moments from tour?
Tyler: How many stamps do you got on your passport? I only have two, or like three.
Willie: They don’t give stamps much anymore.
Tyke: They don’t give stamps all the time, but I did count them a couple weeks ago and it was like 20 or something.
Willie: I’m on my third passport.
Tyke: If you add up the stamps, they could be limitless.
Willie: I’m sure Tyke’s got me beat still.
Do you guys have any fun stories from this tour?
The Moss (collectively): We popped a tire in Boston, that was a fun good time. Last night we tried to skate at a skate park, but it had no lights. That was fun.
There’s always something to be like, laughed about or to be like, whoa, what just happened. It’s kind of like almost all the time that that’s going on.
Our sound guy, Max, went surfing and he stood up. That’s a good story I will probably always tell from this tour. And Connor, our merch guy, and Tommy, our TM. Yeah, our entire crew stood up surfing and then they did layback.
Tyke: We had to get Tyler out there. But he’d short circuit.
Tyler: I would short circuit. I’m a robot from the future.
Willie: Frick Park Market, we went there yesterday. Mac Miller’s spot and that was really neat.
Tyke: The homie gave us a whole tour.
I’m sure touring has allowed you guys to bond a lot. Willie and Tyke, the two of you have known each other since your teenage years. What’s it been like bringing Tyler into the band and building a new dynamic together?
Willie: It’s been interesting. There’s been kind of phases of The Moss, for sure. You know, they’re all new and getting better in their own ways. But there definitely has been like phases and I’ve seen Tyke grow up, which has been fun and change a lot. Not a lot, but. And our music’s changed too. And we kind of watched our fans grow up with us. They used to be like young teenagers, and now it’s like as we’ve grown, they’ve grown, which has been fun to see. It’s been great having Tyler, Mr. Robot.
Why is he a robot?
Tyler: Yeah, explain why I’m a robot.
Tyke: Because he hates nature.
Tyler: I do not hate nature!
Tyke: And because if he gets in the water he’ll short circuit. No, no, he’s like really like computer savvy in the music world, in the computer spectrum, he’s far ahead of us. So that’s why he’s the robot. He also uses a computer on stage.
Tyler: I do not.
Tyke: He has a computer, pedalboard. And he programs the AI to play for him.
Willie: He just stands there and pushes AI button.
Tyke: Yeah, and then he dances around.
When you look back on everything you’ve done this year, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned? In terms of this current era, how would you describe it and what new approaches will you be taking as you continue to create and look towards the future?
Tyke: Mmm, I think I’ve learned, you know, like some things you want to happen. Like when you want something to happen, you want to happen, like right now. But there’s a timing for everything and things are going to happen when they’re supposed to happen and stuff. That was one of my lessons.
Willie: I feel like Garth sometimes from Wayne’s World, where he smashes the hand and he’s like, I fear change. But I’ve learned that, you know, not to fear change.
I feel like change is such a common thing as a musician too, right?
The Moss: Oh, yeah. Everything is changing all the time. Like, both internally and externally. And also, like not riding the highs too high and not like letting the lows be too low. Trying to stay constant. Like, you know. Because there’s like good and bad things happening all the time and personal life and in the music life, it was just like, just stay constant. Don’t ride, don’t gloat when you’re super high and don’t beat yourself up when you’re low.
Do you have any mindsets or things that help you to stay constant?
Tyler: A big thing that I’ve learned in the last couple of years is it’s better to not try to do everything yourself. Like, having people to help you out and like, helping other people out as much as you can is like always the move.
* * *
After a lot of laughter and reminiscing, it was time for the group to prepare for their set.
We had the opportunity to attend their show at The Blind Pig. Here are the highlights from the night:
The concert started out with Good Boy Daisy, an alt-rock group made of twins Dylinn and Hallie Mayes. Their energy was infectious as they encouraged the crowd to sway their arms and clap along to the music. There was a moment where they paused and asked the crowd if anyone had been through a breakup recently. An audience member then raised her hand and the band asked her questions about her ex, like his biggest red flag. Hallie then dedicated their song “Selfish” to him. This short interaction was just one of the ways that the duo kept fans engaged. They then continued on with their show, jumping around and getting the audience excited for The Moss’ set.
As fans waited, they were greeted by a mix of familiar tunes layered with the comforting voices of nature. Birds chirped, the wind blew, and the audience heard a new version of songs on Big Blue Moon. What seemed to be old demos off the album were played before the band arrived on stage, adding suspense for what was to come. This element contributed to the nature aspect that’s been woven in throughout the band’s identity, alongside the fake moss that was displayed across Willie’s drumset. The group started out their set with “Chaparral,” alongside other fan favorites like “Another Way To Waste Time” and “Carousel.” From there the band played songs from their new album and EP with hits like “Your Way” and “Darkness.”
Throughout the set, Tyke played a game of Simon Says with the crowd, having them repeat after him.
As the night went on, the energy went up. Tyke played his harmonica, walked across a railing in the venue, and even propped himself up on top of Willie’s drum set. For the encore, Tyke originally came out by himself and performed his rendition of “Piano Man.” The band joined him shortly after to perform “Dog Valley,” their last and most energetic song of the night.
The Moss has proven that change can’t stop them, even when it feels otherwise. The trio has built a community not just between the three of them, but with their fans and team. One thing I noticed during my time at the show was that this band doesn’t just make great music, they create experiences. Whether that’s on the stage or behind the scenes, every little moment brings them together. Change will come again for The Moss, but this time they’ll know not to fear it. Because when the chaos of life settles down, you can take a breath and look around you. And when Willie, Tyke, and Tyler look to see one another side by side, they’ll know that it will all be okay.
— —
:: stream/purchase Big Blue Moon here ::
:: connect with The Moss here ::
— —
— — — —
Connect to The Moss on
Facebook, 𝕏, TikTok, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© Miranda Urbanczyk
© Miranda Urbanczyk:: Stream The Moss ::
