Moon Theory Biography

Moon Theory was a trip hop, indie rock band from San Francisco. Even though they only released one album in 2001 one, Moon Theory has achieve cult band status in some circles that appreciate rare and ignored gems, such as this duo’s self-titled debut. It is safe to say that the lack of information available for this act has only given this band a quasi-mythical reputation, providing it with an aura of mystery. However, you find out more about the two artists that comprised Moon Theory right here at moontheory.net, namely lead singer Kaeti O’Ghara and multi-tasking producer TSO.

The Beginnings

As we all know, San Francisco has a burgeoning art scene, and is the place that many influential bands and artists call home, including the likes of The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young, Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, as well as more extreme acts such as Slayer, Exodus, Megadeth, Testament, Metallica and Machine Head. It was in this creative haven that Kaeti and TSO first met to plant the seeds of what would become Moon Theory. In the late 90′s Kaeti was a young girl working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, but had much, much bigger aspirations of hitting the big time in the music business. TSO, real name Thomas S. Okerlund, on the other hand, was already a seasoned pro in the club scene, and had no plans of disrupting his solo career to start working with a partner. That changed however, when he was able to get ahold of a demo tape recorded by Kaeti that a friend of a friend of hers passed along to him. Despite the amateurish nature of the recording, TSO was able to realize the potential that lied underneath the shortcomings.  With a little polishing, he thought, that diamond in the rough could turn into something special. They set up a meeting, and the chemistry was instantaneous. Not soon after, they started rehearsing and working on what was to be Moon Theory’s homonymous album.

Moon Theory – The Album

With a batch of innovative trip hop songs, Moon Theory started showcasing their talent around San Francisco, booking as many gigs as they were offered, and growing a small but avid fan-base in the process. Positive word of mouth grabbed the attention of execs at the indie rock label Orchard, who would sign Moon Theory to a contract to record an album. The much-needed studio time that ensued gave Moon Theory the possibility of  honing their sound and come up with an intriguing opera prima that warrants repeated listens in order to get a grasp of the different textures that permeate this highly experimental work. All twelve tracks were co-written by both members of Moon Theory. A sad coincidence saw Moon Theory being released on September 11, 2001, a date that lacks no further discussion, but that may have had a negative impact on sales and exposure for obvious reasons. Moon Theory itself perceived this as a bad omen, especially the highly spiritual Kaeti, whose Irish roots acted up every now and then. But we will get to that presently.

Break up and post Moon Theory careers

In spite of the ill-fated release date, Moon Theory embarked on a national tour visiting many indie rock and trip hop landmarks, where they played the album in its entirety, including audio theater-esque skit \u201cBlasphemy\u201d complete with a fake government agent who barged into the stage and tried to stop the performance. Sadly, the Moon Theory brand of music and entertainment was not fully embraced by the buying masses, and the album failed to chart. Linking it to the 9/11 tragedy was the conclusion that Kaeti quickly arrived at, a circumstance that prompted heated arguments with the more pragmatic TSO, who thought there was no cause and effect relationship at all between the two events. This situation, coupled with the album’s lack of mainstream success outside the realm of indie rock, led the tensions to escalate to a breaking point where something had to give. Suitably enough, their last performance by Moon Theory took place back in San Francisco, after which Kaeti decided she did not want to leave her place of birth again, at least not for the time being. This was not a small blow for TSO, who ins spite of the bickering that had come to characterize their relationship, had grown quite fond of the quirky singer. However, we thought about it and came to the conclusion that he was back where he started, so he he could pick up right up where he left off. As for Kaeti, she decided to enroll in the University of San Francisco, largely attracted by Saint Ignatius Church. There, she was very active in the Gamma Gamma Gamma sorority. The last info we have on her here at moontheory.net is that she participated in the student exchange program that took her to the land of her ancestors, fair Ireland.