GET TO KNOW: GIRLFRIEND ON THE MOON

girlfriend on the moon is a Los Angeles-based band featuring vocalist and guitarist Tess Mueske (all pronouns), bassist Cori Robbins (she/her), and lead guitarist Harri Elizabeth Weber (she/her). Founding member Mueske moved to Los Angeles from Minnesota in the fall of 2020 and connected with other band members on Lex, a queer community and dating app. The members are all lesbians and two identify as trans — their shared experiences at the heart of the music. The band draws from a wide range of artists such as Soccer Mommy, Julien Baker, and The Japanese House.

girlfriend on the moon toured the west coast with their debut EP 'killer' in the fall of 2022. Their southwest tour, in the summer of 2023, was in promotion of the highly anticipated single ‘strawberries’, accompanied by a music video. The band is writing and recording their next era of songs about heartbreak; yearning; chosen family; and as always, their past, present, and future girlfriends. 

girlfriend on the moon is:

Harri Elizabeth - she/her

Cori Robbins - she/her

Tess Mueske - any pronouns

Where are you all from? How did you meet + get the band started?

Tess: I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I moved to LA in September of 2020 (for a girl, unfortunately haha). I posted on Lex that I wanted to start a band, and over the years, we added members and parted ways with others. Me and Cori have been working together for 2.5 years, and Harri joined us in Feb of 2023! Cori is also from the Midwest, and Harri is from the East Coast.

What sets girlfriend on the moon apart from similar bands within your genre?

Tess: Something that I think sets us apart is the versatility of our songs - we’ve written harder stuff, softer stuff, and we use a range of instruments. I think we’re still trying to find our ‘sound’, and the experimentation along the way has been really fun. I also don’t see a lot of other artists specifically use the word ‘lesbian’, and I haven’t seen many artists with trans women in their groups.

Cori: It's been really cool experimenting with our sound and all our separate influences trying to find something that works to represent all of us. I feel like when we get together we always make something really special to us all. :)

Is songwriting a collaborative effort amongst the three of you?

Harri: For us songwriting starts individually. One of us (usually Tess) writes a nugget of a song — a verse and chorus, some chords, that sort of thing. From there the group ideally starts pouring in ideas. Cori might build on the chord progression and write a synth and bass line, I might riff on top of that on guitar, or contribute lyrics. It’s all very fluid at first; lots of fooling around. Then we record the track ourselves in a DAW, like Ableton or Logic, refining and riffing until it feels right.

Describe your favorite quality/ artistic skill set about each other.

Harri: I envy Tess’ vocal range and adlibs, and her productivity when it comes to songwriting. Cori can seemingly play any instrument – bass, guitar, voice, keys, steel drums. Goals.

Tess: I’d agree with Harri re: Cori, and both of them have a real shorthand when it comes to music theory. Both of them have been in bands before and this is my first time, so that experience is helpful to draw upon.

Cori: Always so honored to be able to play with such passionate and amazing musicians! Both of them inspire me everyday to be more creative and put myself out there more. I feel like even though I benefit from having some prior music theory knowledge, Harri and Tess have incredible talent when it comes to songwriting and comfortability on their respective instruments. This makes it super easy to write as a group or just edit little things all together and make the music sound the way we want to.

What is your favorite song to play live?

Tess: ‘daylight’ is one of my favorites. I feel like vocally there’s a bit more for me to experiment with because the song is so repetitive in terms of instrumentation, and I love it when people sing along. It’s cool to scream ‘BUT SHE KEEPS ME WHERE SHE WANTS ME’ with a bunch of people, haha.

What artists do you draw inspiration from the most? (Individually and/or collectively)

Tess: I’m a huge fan of Julien Baker, Soccer Mommy, and the Japanese House. Those were also the artists I referenced when I first made my Lex post about wanting to start a band. I think the three of us collectively have different tastes, ranging from genres like indie rock to hyperpop to country, and over time I imagine these influences will surface in our music.

What has been your most memorable band experience thus far?

Harri: For me, that might be wandering into the basement of a haunted ice cream shop while touring through Colorado.

Tess: Hahaha that was pretty wild, I ended up having a nightmare about it! I think the filming of our first music video was memorable for me. I’ve never been in a music video before, and it was exciting to be able to work with such skilled people. We also saw a snake in the field we were filming in!

What is a long term goal you envision for yourselves?

Tess: I’d love to record an album, and tour internationally. I guess that’s two goals!

Any words of wisdom for emerging artists in the LA scene?

Harri: Some people are more accessible than you might think, so reach out and say hey to whoever you find interesting. I think that’s especially important in LA, because the music scene here is so big that it’s easy to feel lost in it. Community is something we all have to work towards, and that’s especially true for queer folks. This is a shameless plug, but if you’re a queer songwriter in LA, reach out (harri@harri.fm) and I’ll add you to my Queer Indie from LA playlist.