Moonlight Desires might only play 80s cover songs, but you’d be wrong to dismiss them as just another cover band. Formed by long-time Hamilton, Ontario musician Trevor Ziebarth (Actor/Writer/Composer on Teletoon’s adult comedy series Sons of Butcher), Moonlight Desires is his ode to the raunchy romances and youthful misadventures of summers past. By re-working synth laden pop hits of the 1980s, Ziebarth manages to turn familiar guilty pleasures into modern, guitar-driven rock anthems.
Trevor explains: “For those unfamiliar, I created a television show with my brother Jay Ziebarth back in 2005 called ‘Sons of Butcher’. It was a unique adult comedy cartoon series that aired on Teletoon and has aired in over 200 countries around the world. The show was the first to blend video heads into a cartoon world. The Sons of Butcher characters worked in a butcher shop by day and were a spandex clad rock outfit by night, with my character (Ricky Butcher) relentlessly trying to make it as a big rock star. As a companion to the show, Sons of Butcher recorded and released a few comedy rock albums using songs from the show as inspiration, and travelled across Canada twice on tours sponsored by Teletoon. As a live band, Sons of Butcher would perform heavied-up covers of 80s songs alongside music from the show, and they often became fan favourites. Ultimately, the positive response led to the formation of Moonlight Desires in 2013.”
As an homage to their Canadian music heritage, the band decided to take their name from the popular 80s song “Moonlight Desires” by iconic singer/songwriter Gowan. “I wanted to have a direct (1980s song) reference, …but I also thought it would fit in nicely with the band’s heavier direction.” says Ziebarth. Joined in the studio by drummer Dave Dunham (Not Of, DAVIDS, ex-Chore, ex-Sons Of Butcher) and lead guitarist Marco Bressette (Dead Tired, ex-Threat Signal), he says Just The Hits: 1981-1985 is “…a more layered, fully realized version of the band. We really just wanted to show people a good time, while still staying true to our metal, grunge and hard rock influences. Thanks to Mitch Bowden at Mechanical Noise the production sounds big and warm. I think this album really captures the fun of what Moonlight Desires is all about.”
While their 2014 debut album Frankie Goes To Hamilton delivered a rollicking arrangement of classic love songs. the band’s follow-up Just The Hits: 1981-1985 transforms timeless hits such as “Sunglasses At Night” by Corey Hart and “Something About You” by Level 42 into party rock anthems. Satisfying that hunger to escape the shackles of reality with fun times and familiar hits, Moonlight Desires’ 22 song catalogue will be available on all digital platforms (iTunes/Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, etc) on September 15, 2017 through IDLA Associated Label Distribution, including for the first time a reboot of the original Frankie Goes To Hollywood which underwent a larger than life remastering.
Pre-Order Just The Hits: 1981-1985 NOW and get the first single “Something About You” as an instant download.