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Sean Moeller on Leaving Daytrotter Behind After More Than a Decade

Clay Masters
/
Iowa Public Radio
Daytrotter creator Sean Moeller stands inside the music venue attached to the front of his new studio in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

After more than 10 years, Sean Moeller is leaving Daytrotter. He says it seems like the right time, and he’s ready for a new project. During this Talk of Iowa interview, he talks with host Charity Nebbe about why he’s moving on, what he’s built, and how Daytrotter began.

“I was out on a run one day, and I was searching a little bit. I was in a place a little similar to where I am now. I was kind of thinking, ‘What do I want to do and what’s next?’ And I thought, 'I want to have a record store,' and then I thought, 'That’s crazy, I don’t know how to run a record store.' And then I had someone push me into wanting to do a website. We said, ‘Let’s give bands a reason to stop in Rock Island, and open up a studio for them and let them do whatever they wanted.’”

Moeller says he thinks Daytrotter gained steam like it did because it was a novelty in 2008.

“It was attractive just because nobody else was doing this,” he explains. “We were kind of able to luck our way into a realm of the music world that didn’t exist. Ten years ago, there weren’t a lot of people using the internet like this.”

“The set up was ‘You have two hours, do whatever you want.’ We started seeing really early on that people really wanted to make these sessions special. I think tone was set by bands who came in really early on. They rewrite songs or came up with different versions of songs, and it really made a magical capsule of who they were as artists.”

As for what’s next on his agenda, Moeller says he’s trying to figure that out. Right now, the next project is GARP, Codfish Hollow's first music festival, which falls on his birthday. Find our more information about the festival, and about Codfish Hollow here. 

Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa