March 9th, The Holland Project will be hosting a show with local music artists, Frank Futility, BenderWorld, and Moshe. This show is extra special as Moshe, also known as Moises Moreno, will be headlining his first Holland Show with the help of three other music artists James Hart, Luis Gonzalez, and Jack Barrington.
Moises (in black tee shirt in photo) began making music during COVID. He fully embraced his new found passion in January 2021 and has since been experimenting and creating psychedelic indie music.
Now three years later, 21-year-old Moises, also known by his artist name Moshe, is diving into the live Reno music scene.
“I’ve only ever played live once. It was at a festival my older brother threw in the middle of the desert an hour and a half from Vegas. So I’m really looking forward to playing at Holland,” he said.
Moises never made his music with the intention of having a band play it. In fact he could’ve chosen to play this show with a backing track but he decided otherwise. “I was really inspired from watching local Reno bands, people my age playing music” and that is what inspired him to begin tailoring his music to live sound.
With this being his first live show in Reno, Moises knew he needed to reach out to people he could trust. James Hart is one of his closest friends. He wanted him to handle the effects side of things, and seeing as they’ve collaborated on music in the past, he knew he could count on James to handle all of the small details.
He later met Luis at the University of Nevada, Reno. They had been in a music class together and they discussed Luis’s prior involvement with music. Knowing he had experience playing live with others, Moises knew he’d do well with a band. “I really wanted someone who was very experienced and he really fit well with that criteria,” he explained.
Lastly, Jack was invited to play drums for the show. When Moises first moved from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Reno in 2020, Jack was one of the first artists he met. He was confident that Jack had the experience and knowledge to perform live.
Four incredibly talented artists are coming together to collaborate and bring Moises's music to life. This is their first time performing together and this will be a show to remember.
21 year old James Hart is a music producer from Las Vegas, Nevada who moved up to Reno in 2021. He got into music around the same time as his friend Moises. However, he only began pursuing music production more seriously the last year and a half. “I’m really into making dance music, house songs, and EDM.” Kaskade is one his biggest music inspirations and he channels the ideas he has into creating atmospheric/reverb tracks.
KeyJ is James' producer name and he and Moises have been collaborating since he began creating music. In fact they have a track out on all music platforms called Stick Around. Moises helped him with the production of it and it ultimately became his favorite track he’s ever made. “I really like collaborating and bouncing ideas off of each other,'' James says.
This show will also be his first time performing at The Holland Project as well as his first time performing live in general. KeyJ will be live mixing the show March 9th as well as DJing Moises music.
Local music artist, 23 year old Luis Gonzalez will also be on the playbill. Luis has many musical talents.“I’ve been playing music for a really long time. Since early childhood I'd say.” His dad taught him how to play the guitar at a young age and from there he continued to learn instruments and pursue music. He started playing the cello in middle school and continued his music knowledge in college.
Up until this point, Luis has been a solo artist but he says he is open to collaborating with new people. “Shoutout to Moises for inviting me into this because it’s a really cool experience.” He says that he’s happy to lend his musical expertise and experience to other people who have creative ideas. “It’s cool to collaborate with people who are in different realms than me. Being able to branch into different genres, and different musical ideas is such an awesome concept.”
Luis currently has not published anything as a solo artist but he has a handful of unreleased tracks. He prefers to create more “chill” tracks or low temp, slower paced songs. One of which he worked on with a full live arrangement. He had an electric drum kit, a guitar, and a bass he also played and overdubbed on his keyboard. “Just because that project had such a live feel and so much energy, I would have to say it’s my favorite thing I’ve created.”
He has only ever performed in classical settings such as Nightingale Concert Hall at UNR, and Disney Hall with fellow YSO members in Disneyland so he is looking forward to playing his guitar at The Holland project for the first time.
Lastly, 21-year-old Jack Barrington will be joining Moises on March 9th, playing the drums. Jack has been playing the drums since he was nine years old and then later he began producing his own beats at age 16 under the producer name MatreeBeats. With such a deep love for music, he decided to attend college at UNR to learn more about music production.
He really enjoys collaborating with other artists and has been since high school. He mixes and masters beats for rappers all over the world as well as creates a little indie/rock music for his local band, BenderWorld. Jack will be performing twice on March 9th. A lot of work to learn two setlists, but Jack is excited to do so. This is not his first show at The Holland Project. He has performed there many times with his band. He has also volunteered, and mixed live sound for Holland a few years prior. “Collaboration is cool, and it’s very important to grow as a musician by playing with different mindsets, and expanding from the usual people you jam with,” he says.
With four extremely talented musicians coming together to support each other and to bring Moises music to life at The Holland Project March 9th, this is one show you won’t want to miss. In fact, Moises will be playing a brand new song he made called, Remember Me that has not been released yet. Its debut will be at the Holland show and he says it is his favorite song he has written thus far.
Moises, or Moshe (Moe-sh), hopes to continue performing live. He feels that his music translates better when he can express it personally with others. And, for anyone considering entering the music scene, Moshe encourages artists to be authentic. “One thing I really struggled with was thinking about how that audience was going to react to my music,” Moises says. He recently started to detach from that mindset and encourages other artists to do the same and pursue what makes them happy rather than the people around them; to be authentic and have a good time.
Published March 6th 2024, On Our Town Reno. Written by Lauren Juillerat.
Photos by Jack Barrington and Lauren Juillerat
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