Magenta Moon Talk About Performing Live And Their Incredible Cover Of ‘Moonage Daydream’

Literal couple goals!

Power couple and talented musicians Joey Petrarca and Elaina Whitesell, the duo are known as Magenta Moon, a band with music that you need to add to your favorite playlist ASAP.

We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with the duo about the meaning behind their band name, their 2025 goal, and more!

When did you first realize that you wanted to start making music together? Has it made your
relationship even stronger?

M: “When we first started dating, we would spend hours jamming with Joey on the guitar and Elaina on a mini MIDI keyboard. We would make up tons of silly songs. A couple of titles were “Oysters on the Half Shell” and “Escalators at the Shopping Mall.” We were twenty-one. Our first date was at Chelsea Market in NYC eating oysters. We were so in love and needed ways to express it. This became a theme in our relationship, but it was always a more fun and kooky thing we did in private. It took us a long time to take it seriously. For instance, our name before “Magenta Moon” was “Paul Rudd’s Robot Girlfriend.” Our music represents the growth of our relationship over these eight years, and ultimately in 2020, we realized Magenta Moon is the gift we have to give to the world.”

Tell us more about your amazing cover of ‘Moonage Daydream’ and how it came to be.

M: “At the beginning of the year, Elaina got a copy of Bowie on Bowie (ed. Sean Egan), which is a
compilation of David Bowie’s written interviews. Quotes from the book and deep dives into different Bowie albums started punctuating our year in 2024. We were watching some live videos of Bowie and his 1973 performance of Moonage Daydream at Hammersmith Odeon in London made Moonage Daydream jump out of time and space. It felt so urgent and timeless.

When we brought it to the band with thoughts of playing it for our September 5th show at The Troubadour, our drummer Pstixx had the idea to pick it up and play the chorus in cut time. At that moment, we knew it was something special and that we had something to add to it. We love playing covers, but we don’t usually feel like recording them. Joey really wanted to pay tribute to Iggy Pop’s “Search and Destroy” because that’s been a major guitar influence for him, but he’s never really overtly referenced it in our music. This seemed like the perfect moment because of Iggy and Bowie’s relationship. The Magenta Moon cover of Moonage Daydream shows the merging of these two sounds as they’ve developed throughout time but with each musician’s personal twist.”

We love watching clips of your performances! What do you each enjoy the most about performing live?

M: “We love the crowds. Joey loves that the people who attend our shows are a close-knit community. They care about each other and love to hang out together. Elaina loves the energy that each crowd brings and we love that the audience brings their loved ones to the concerts. We affectionately call our show-goers “The Party.” We’d still be playing music even if the room was empty, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun to have the energy exchange. They make the music better and we consider them a part of the band.”

What’s the story behind your duo name Magenta Moon?

M: “Among other things, Magenta Moon is the name of a space cruise ship we’d love to build and operate one day. We’d love to help make space tourism accessible for artists.”

If you had to choose, what is your personal favorite song that you two have released so far? (Ours is definitely ‘Move Me’!)

M: “We love all of our children, but we are proud of how “More” showcases our sound in this era. It’s super fun to play live. We have a lot of new favorites in the hatch though, so keep an ear out.”

In theme with the 2024 Spotify Wrapped, what song or artist would you say you two had on repeat all year long?

M: “We’ve been super into Ween, Pixies, Charlie XCX, and of course David Bowie.”

2025 is here, so it’s time to announce some goals! Is there a goal that you all would love to accomplish in the new year?

M: “We want to go on tour! We’ve been working on our live show and we know we have something
really special that we’re ready to share.”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?

M: “We’d love it if you can follow us wherever you listen to music! That’s our favorite form of social media. Spotify and YouTube are the two best places to stream our music. If you want more behind the scenes content, follow our Instagram account @MagentaMoonParty or check out our website www.magentamoonparty.com. We love you!”

Make sure to stream their cover of ‘Moonage Daydream’, streaming now on all music platforms!

Photographer Credit: JA Photography

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene Magazine, back in October 2020. When not helping her team and working on their print issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral TikTok recipe.