Black Moods & Backrooms: How The Black Moods Cut Their Teeth in Tempe

Origin: Tempe, Arizona Genre: Rock / Blues Rock Core Members:   Josh Kennedy — Guitar, Vocals Chico Diaz — Drums Brandon Kuntz — Bass   On this episode of Arizona Backroads, Birdman sits down with Arizona rock powerhouse The Black Moods to talk about how it really starts.   Before the tours. Before the big stages. Before opening for national acts.   It was four-hour bar gigs. Moving pool tables out of the way. Playing to eight people at the Yucca Tap Room.   Josh, Chico, and Brandon break down:   🎸 How the band name "The Black Moods" came from a shared obsession with The Doors and rock biographies 🥁 The first chaotic gigs that were "train wreck after train wreck" 🚐 Getting thrown into booked shows with no safety net 🎤 Why playing to tiny crowds was essential to building real stage chops 🛣️ Road etiquette — what separates seasoned touring bands from rookies 🔥 The moment they went all-in on music   They talk about inheritance money funding the leap, grinding through early gigs, surviving COVID by gigging harder than ever, and why you can't learn stage presence sitting in your bedroom studio.   This is the part of the music story people don't glamorize — but it's the part that builds you.   Arizona Backroads — Get out and explore.