“An R&B child in the city” – Fly Moon Royalty
In a crowd, the two members of Fly Moon Royalty look like very well dressed strangers standing next to each other.
Action Jackson is a white male producer from Grand Rapids, Michigan who enjoys Stevie Wonder, grimy NY hip hop, and fedoras (he currently owns four in a still expanding collection). Adra Boo is a black female burlesque dancer, actress, mother, soul singer and owner of swag.
They make music to dance to the bedroom to. The Stranger named them as one of the 12 Local Bands they’re excited for in 2012.
“We’ve been on a good climb in Seattle,” said Adra.
As if in an Electronic/R&B music version of the movie GO, the two met at their job at Mel’s Market on N 4th Avenue in Seattle.
“It’s definitely humbling going back to work…I just played a show at the Neptune and now I’m plunging shit out of the toilet,” said Jackson.
Their roles at work are similar to their roles in the group: In the band, Jackson is the producer/keyboard player while Adra sings lead vocals. At Mel’s Market, Jackson preps food and unloads boxes in the back while Adra works in the front of the store with customers.
They both admitted they generally like their day jobs, and the freedom and flexibility their bosses allow them.
“It’s nice having that support at work. They love it and come out to our shows. I like the place that I work,” said Adra.
In 2011, they released their self-titled debut album in a partnership with Sportn’ Life Records — a Seattle based record label and management team founded in 2002 that works with artists such as Fatal Lucciauno and Spac3man. (Adra was introduced to Jennifer Petersen, longtime girlfriend of Sportn’ Life Co-Founder DeVon, singing karaoke at the Beacon Pub.)
“We have things planned out through the summer. DeVon has things planned out that we don’t even know about yet,” said Jackson. Being part of the Sportin’ Life family helped them land a slot at last year’s Bumbershoot performance, this year’s Sasquatch festival, and at the SXSeattle showcase last week in Austin.
The show in Austin ended up being memorable because of how well they dealt with a tough situation. After their microphones went out, they asked the crowd to move closer and rocked the next couple of songs without microphones–house party style. They were not at all phased. They were in Austin rocking at SXSW and nothing was going to prevent them from showing people a good time.
“When life hands you lemons, you can build a Lemonade stand.” – Fly Moon Royalty