Q&A: Lunar Vacation Welcomes Us Into Their World on ‘Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire’
THE LAST TIME THE LUNA COLLECTIVE SPOKE WITH — Lunar Vacation, their 2020 single “Unlucky” had just hit streaming. This is what vocalist Gep Repasky and guitarist Maggie Geeslin signified as a turning point for the band, a move that marked a new direction and beginning for the Atlanta indie-pop rockers.
The band, which evolved from a high school group of friends, consists of five bandmates-turned-roommates residing together in a home that helped shape and further solidify not only their newest album, but their trust in each other as friends. Repasky, Geeslin, keyboard/percussionist Matteo Delurgio, drummer Connor Dowd, and bassist Ben Wulkan all share the space together, alongside the band’s unofficially official mascot, Science the cat.
Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire reminds us that everything really does matter, from the gardens we grow with friends to the bickering we do about the dishes left in the sink. From our feelings of utmost excitement and joy to our feelings of fear and uncertainty, the album leans into the familiar, comforting sound that Lunar Vacation has skillfully crafted over the years, but also experiments with new areas of sound and genres that fans may not have been expecting, but are bound to enjoy thoroughly.
Read more below to get some insight into the new album’s creation, what Lunar Vacation is looking forward to most about their upcoming tour, and, of course, about Science the cat.
LUNA: To start off, congrats on your upcoming release next month. How do you feel about getting to share Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire with the world so soon?
GEESLIN: Thank you, first of all. We feel good; I feel excited. I’m just ready for it to be out. You know, we haven’t been sitting on it for too long, but it just feels good. I feel like it’s been a while since we put out an album, so it’s really exciting to get back in the swing of things and be playing shows and sharing what we’ve been making with people.
REPASKY: I also think it’s going to be nice to share where our heads have been at for the past year or two. I don’t think this album is insanely, wildly different from things we’ve put out before, but it is significantly different from the last stuff. It’s changed how we see ourselves as musicians, but the world hasn’t gotten to see that yet. So I’m excited for all of us to be on the same page.
LUNA: Absolutely. I’ve been listening to the singles you guys have put out, and they’ve been really awesome. I’m excited to see the rest of the album come out soon.
GEESLIN: Thank you.
LUNA: Speaking of those singles, was there any specific thought process behind releasing those three tracks first before the rest of the album?
GEESLIN: We played around with the sequence of the album a lot before we decided on it. We were at a point where any of these songs could have been singles, and we would have been happy. So we asked our manager and our team, “What do you guys think?” Our producer, Drew, actually told us in the studio — he was like, “I used to care about that, but now someone else can pick.” I was like, “That’s kind of real.”
Those three singles have been out for a while, and Geb and I have been listening to the album as we do these interviews and try to get back in the album mindset to know what we’re talking about. And every other song that’s not a single, I’m so excited for people to hear. When we put out the first single, “Set the Stage,” everyone was like, “We’re getting a shoegaze album,” and this is not a shoegaze album.
REPASKY: And then “Sick” came out and it was the opposite. I think people will be pleasantly surprised. All the songs live together.
GEESLIN: I wonder if we’re confusing people with these singles. Yeah, Gep said this earlier but I’m excited for people to hear them in the context of the whole album. To answer your question, there was no thought process. It was, “What do the people around us like the most?”
REPASKY: We were like, “We’ll trust y’all!” They’re better at that than we are, choosing which is more marketable.
GEESLIN: Also, we’ve also been dealing with a lot of indecision on this project because all five of us have been really involved. Sometimes it’s hard for five people to reach a consensus. So it was nice to pass that off to someone else so we didn’t have to debate.
LUNA: Oh yeah, for sure. The last time I think Luna spoke with Lunar Vacation was right before “Unlucky” came out, so it was quite a while ago — it’s been a couple of years. How do you believe that your sound as a band has evolved from then to now?
REPASKY: I think we’re definitely more sure of ourselves and less timid, less shy.
GEESLIN: We’re not as afraid to experiment
REPASKY: Or not experiment.
GEESLIN: Yeah, just to go with what we’re doing instead of trying to really overwork something or try to make it perfect. We’re just down to just keeping making songs and not be so protective over them. It’s funny because when I think about everything our band has made, I feel like “Unlucky” was such a turning point. That’s when we settled on the lineup we have now, as far as members and stuff go, so in some ways, that feels like the beginning. That’s sweet — it’s a long time ago, though.
REPASKY: I know, wow.
LUNA: Yeah, I was reading back through it and was like, “Oh my gosh, it’s been years.” I’m excited we got to connect with you guys again. You’re also about to start touring soon, correct? What are some things you’re most excited about hitting the road again?
REPASKY: Oh, honestly, I started practicing guitar scales again. I try to be better at guitar, I’m over this “I’m too afraid to practice” bullshit, you know? I don’t know, sometimes I think I just psych myself out and I’m too scared to make any more music, to practice; I can’t do anything. I’m going to push through that and just practice scales. I haven’t practiced scales since freaking high school, but I’m lit. I did that this morning, and I just cannot wait to freaking play. That’s one thing. I’m excited to just get back because it feels very real and impactful. Playing shows is the greatest thing we can do.
GEESLIN: It’s nice. We’ve been talking about this, because it’s the first album we’ve rolled out in a few years, obviously. When we share music, it’s exciting, but if we’re not playing shows and talking to people, and just posting shit online–
REPASKY: You post and you’re like, “Everyone, 10 a.m., come on the YouTube chat.” And then we’re all there and we’re like, “So fun!” and then it ends, and we’re like, “Alright, gotta go to work” or, “Anyway, next.” It’s hard to feel like we’re having a full album rollout because we’re not in full music mode.
GEESLIN: We just went on a little tour, and it was really nice to be able to talk to people after the show and just connect. It makes it all feel more real. It's beyond the internet, and you can actually interact with everything in real life. So that's really exciting. We haven't toured on the west coast in a while, so I'm excited to get out over there and see the sights.
LUNA: Yeah, that’ll be fun. The day of the release, you’re also playing a show at Criminal Records in Atlanta, correct? How do you feel about that hometown, home state show?
REPASKY: I’m really excited. Maggie used to work there!
GEESLIN: Yeah, I used to work there, so we’ve played there before. It was our first post-pandemic show; we played a few songs there. I think this one will feel really exciting. I love everyone there. People love that store so much — it’s such an iconic Atlanta spot. They’ve had so many amazing people play there for so long, so we feel very honored to be on that little stage.
LUNA: That’ll be so exciting. I actually bought your first album at Criminal Records. It’s so crazy full-circle. Part of your bio mentions that you all share a house together. Can you speak more about how living together has helped shape your trust in each other and your friendships? Any special memories?
GEESLIN: Yeah, we all moved in together so we could make this album. When we were in college and living at our parents’ houses or whatever — especially for Gep and I, we graduated college in 2022, Gep was at the end of 2021… So it was kind of a transitional period of … “Okay, are we gonna try to go get jobs?”
REPASKY: We’re no longer in the in-between college phase.
GEESLIN: So we were like, “Let's just all move in together and make this band our priority.” And pretty soon after that we started writing and demoing for Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire. And that was pretty much all of 2023, then we tracked it in Athens in December of 2023, and now we're here. But yeah, it's been really special. We have a garden.
Recently, Ben has moved out into… There’s a carriage house in the back, that's what … the landlord calls it, but it's a little one-bedroom, and he's turned that into a studio. So we have a studio in our backyard, which is very exciting, and we're planning on working on some new songs in there soon. But, yeah, it's been really special, really fun.
REPASKY: I think also it's definitely helped us be more focused and just trust each other more. But you know, as with any roomie sitch there, it's definitely not perfect all the time… There [are] its own issues, but it honestly just feels like siblings living together. You know, you get annoyed with each other about dishes or cleaning or little things like that. But I don't think we could have made our album, we wouldn't have gotten to where our album is now, if we didn't live together. I fully think that. [At this point, their cat enters the screen] Also, this is Science!
LUNA: I was just going to ask! Science, that's so cute. Oh my gosh, hi.
REPASKY: He is literally the love of my life.
GEESLIN: He's our mascot. Yeah, he's, like, Jesus incarnate.
LUNA: The most important member of the household.
GEESLIN: Yeah, literally, he really does bond us all together. Yes, he's perfect. His name's Science, but we all call him “little boy.”
LUNA: How old is he?
REPASKY: He is nine this year. Yeah, he turned nine. But, you know, he's still a little baby. He's a little baby.
LUNA: What kind of stuff do you guys grow in your garden?
GEESLIN: Oh, well, this year, it's been a lot of flowers. Last year we did a lot more food, but we had basil … a lot of tomatoes. We had a lot of sage that I finally harvested, and we are drying it so we have, like, five big sage bundles.
REPASKY: We had these crazy green onions. And then I pulled out this one onion, and we're like, “Oh my god.” Like this fat, like, perfect white onion. We flipped out. And I posted it on my Instagram story, I was like, guys, this is everything. And then Mateo, two days later was like, “I have to tell you something. I put that onion there.” Like, why did you tell me this now? Let us be so excited.
GEESLIN: We also grow raspberries, blackberries… We had little strawberries, but those kind of just get eaten by the bunnies. And two plum trees. Yeah, little garden, but right now it's just … covered in flowers. Tomatoes. Yeah, it's really fun.
LUNA: That's so sweet. If there's anything that you would like listeners to get out of this album on first listen, what would it be?
REPASKY: I would like people to feel like it's their friend. If people listen to it, hopefully they just get a sense of comfort. That's all I can wish for.
GEESLIN: Yeah, a lot of the songs are… I mean, I didn't write the lyrics, but I feel like they're about acceptance, and that's kind of the theme that ties it all together. And so maybe people can be okay about accepting things, letting things go?
REPASKY: Yeah, I think that I would agree on that. Most of the songs are about acceptance in some form, or maybe not even acceptance, settling on an understanding or lack thereof. I want people to listen to it and put their own meaning to it, and maybe they'll take it in a totally different way than what I wrote it about. I feel like the goal is, once it's out there, it's now everyone else's to interpret and relate to in their own way. So I just hope that people give it a chance and put their own meaning to it, and then find some way to connect to it. And then if it makes you feel more seen or just not so alone. Writing those songs is definitely therapeutic, obviously. When I listen to some other songs that might be super heavy, I'm like, “Wow, I needed that, damn. Is everything okay?” I don't know. I just want people to listen and then be like, how do I relate this to me? Or if they don't like it, then that's also fine. I just hope people give it a shot, and I hope it makes people feel good, feel something.
LUNA: I love that. That's great. Those are all the questions I had for you guys today, but if you want to add anything else or say anything for anyone who may be reading this, feel free.
REPASKY: Yeah, I'd say that it's hard out here to live, but try to have a good time. And get a cat.
GEESLIN: He's literally loving this right now. My little baby.
LUNA: I just moved out of my apartment because I graduated in May from college, and my roommate had a cat that I love and miss so much — I haven't been able to see her in months, so I love him. Thank you for letting me meet him!
GEESLIN: You should get your own!
REPASKY: It literally changed my life. didn't even intend to get a cat. I just woke up one day, and I was at the shelter and then I came home with a cat. I just found myself there, and I did. I literally came home and I was like, “Hey!” There was no warning at all. Maggie was there. It was when we were living in our apartment. And I was like, “Hey, girl, this is your new home.”
GEESLIN: If you look on our album cover, there's a drawing of a cat and a moon — that’s Science.
REPASKY: Oh yeah, that's a fun thing. He’s everywhere.
GEESLIN: If you look in the top right corner, there's a little icon of Science. And I'm pretty sure there's either the insert or the foldout or something on the physical vinyl. That's just a photo of him. So he is memorialized in, hopefully, everything that we make from this point forward.
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