Get busy living or get busy dying.
The adage became widely popular after it was used in the movie “Shawshank Redemption” by the character Andy Dufresne, who escaped prison and fled to the Mexican fishing village Zihuatanejo.
Kyle Moon could have used the phrase when he decided to escape a life as a line chef and go to work full time with the band Fish Out Of Water, which headlines Live at Lakeview Thursday, July 16, in South Lake Tahoe.
Moon and his cousin Brandon Moon started the band after a several-months long stay in Troncones, which is near Zihuatanejo.
Conditions in the village were conducive to practicing music. The floors were dirt and there was no running water. However, there was electricity and the nearby residents were tolerant about the noise from the guitars.
“We learned Spanish and played music eight or nine hours a day,” Kyle Moon said. “We got our first gig after about four months. We played Fridays at the Burrow Boracho (Drunken Donkey) for 300 pesos and a bottle of tequila that they would put on the stage. We were horrible but were the only ones who had electric guitars and amps and they had to put up with us. And we got better and better.”
The band Fish Out Of Water began in 2000 and now includes drummer Michael Turco. It has four albums, including one as an acoustic duo that sold well in Australia, where F.O.W. has toured three times.
Kyle Moon in his youth might have exclusively listened to hip-hop but his older brother wouldn’t let him.
“My brother shoved Led Zeppelin and AC/DC down my throat and said, ‘You have to listen to this too!’ ”
Listening to different styles helped developed the Fish Out of Water sound, which Moon calls “rophunk raehop.”
“We don’t want to be that band that after three songs it all sounds the same,” he said.
Although the band members are from San Diego, they have been on the road for a year and a half, fully focused on the music.
“It was heartbreaking being a line chef,” Moon said. “I was flushing my soul down the toilet.”
Get busy living or get busy dying. That’s goddamn right.
- Live at Lakeview
Lakeview Commons, South Lake Tahoe
4:30-8:30 p.m. Thursdays
Date Headliner, opener
July 16 Fish Out of Water, Taking Root
July 23 Rian Basilio & the Roosters, Weapon
July 30 Dad’s LPs, Worn Out Welcome
Aug. 6 The Lil’ Smokies, Musical Charis
Aug. 13 Polyrhythmics, Big Sticky Mess
Aug. 20 Scott Pemberton, 4 Piece Puzzle
Aug. 27 Lavish Green, Black Star Safari
Free Bike Valet, Beer Garden, Food and Art Vendors
Fish Out Of Water appear at Lakeview Commons Thursday, July 16.
