Australian singer-songwriter Gilli Moon has always known that she wanted to perform. She started writing songs at 16, but things got serious when she turned 21.
“I had gone to New York after college and fell in love with the whole industry there,” Moon says. “Just the live music. I wanted to really get into the music business. I went back home to Australia and then came to L.A., when I was 25. I’ve been here ever since.”
The decision to move to L.A. was entirely down to the music scene. Moon had ambitions to go to SoCal, get a record deal and get noticed.
“I had done a demo back home and done a lot of work back in Australia, but I was unknown over here,” she says. “I wanted to be part of getting a deal. I soon realized, though, that I really wanted to go my own way, create my own record company, create my own path.”
It was the DIY route for Moon, and she’s thrived through taking it. The advent of the internet as a musical force, she says, has been pivotal.
“I was on the verge of when the internet was starting,” she says. “I was one of the first artists to have a website, creating a digital campaign for myself. I don’t think I would be who I am without it. In fact, coming from Australia, I was very isolated and so not only coming to L.A. but also taking on the internet has been my main marketing strategy and it’s been awesome. Obviously, that’s what you do now, but it wasn’t 15 years ago.”
While maybe not a household name, Moon has enjoyed a successful career that has seen her tour with Monty Python’s Eric Idle, and perform with Will.i.am. Plus she started her own label, Warrior Girl Music.
“I was DIY before it was popular,” Moon says. “Also, while I’ve been doing my own thing, it’s in my nature that I’ve always given back by sharing and creating a community for other artists. Building a global community has been fantastic. I didn’t have that growing up in Australia.”
Visit gillimoon.com for more info.
