Episode 2: Kanika Moore (Doom Flamingo, TAUK, Everyone Orchestra)

Bub & Pop | Episode 2: Kanika Moore (recorded February 28, 2026)

Join music journalist Matt Hoffman at the Rising Sun Presents office in Ardmore, PA, as he has a conversation with vocal powerhouse Kanika Moore about the music of ‪Grateful Dead, as well as her work with Doom Flamingo, TAUK, and Everyone Orchestra, as well as a forthcoming solo release.

An audio-first version of this podcast is available wherever you get yours.

Kanika Moore | Instagram

Host: ⁠⁠⁠Matt Hoffman⁠⁠⁠ | Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Tedd Kanakaris

TRANSCRIPT (minimally QC'ed)

00:00:00:17 - 00:00:19:19 Matt Hoffman Hi, I'm Matt Hoffman, and this is the Bob and pop podcast where we talk about music, careers in music, life, the universe and everything you.

00:00:19:22 - 00:00:39:19 Matt Hoffman Our guest this week is Kanika Moore. You may know Kanika from one of a few places. She rose to prominence in the scene as the singer of Doom Flamingo. She went on to collaborate with the band talk for a really well-received album and tour. She also performs a lot with Matt Butler's Everyone's Orchestra, and sits in with people left, right and center at festivals and otherwise.

00:00:39:20 - 00:00:57:16 Matt Hoffman She also makes original music in her own name. And we caught up with her between two nights of everyone's orchestra at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. It was nice to speak with her and get to know her a bit. Hope you enjoy the conversation. You just were on a jam cruise, right? And played with Matt and Everyone orchestra there.

00:00:57:17 - 00:01:16:05 Kanika Moore Yes. Okay. Is this you two closest in a row that you can think of? I think last year I was on a jam cruise, and I think right before then we had done, we've done had before then. So it's in between this one and last. No, not last year because last year he I don't I think he was just second.

00:01:16:07 - 00:01:35:12 Matt Hoffman That's right. Yeah. So there was a year of solo in 24 probably or 23. Yeah I think it was or this is my fifth year. Yeah. Crazy. Yeah. And right, it's you remember how long it's been since you've been playing out here in Ardmore? Do you remember the first time you played here? I think it was for our limited devotion.

00:01:35:14 - 00:02:01:24 Kanika Moore The, it was either a limited devotion or talk, because I think I think talk was here to. Okay. Unlimited devotion would have been like, what? Maybe June of 24, 23. Yeah, I don't know. I don't even know, but it's, I saw you at the Unlimited Devotion, whichever one it was. Yeah. Unlimited devotion. Everyone. Orchestra is what I'd mostly done an hour more, but I feel like I'm there at least 2 or 3 times a year.

00:02:01:24 - 00:02:27:06 Matt Hoffman Yeah, there's there's always something. Yeah. I love that spot. Yeah. Yeah. It's great. And the unlimited devotion shows are awesome. Yeah. Had you been much of a dead person, you know, historically, like grown up coming up. No. Like, I didn't know anything about it. And I listened and searched for all styles of music. Like, as soon as I got my own radio in my room, and my sister wasn't snatching it out of my room like I was listening to everything.

00:02:27:07 - 00:02:45:26 Kanika Moore I used to be a really big fan of Nickelback. Do you remember when that was? What year? Again, I'm so well, because they turned. There was a while where they were just fine, and then suddenly everybody, you know, turned against them. It wasn't until the turn is okay. So it was before that a couple of my other friends and they were like, are they amazing?

00:02:45:26 - 00:03:12:09 Kanika Moore Like, yes, they are. So I don't know why not. And after that, because I was on to the like. Then the next sound that I heard before. So yeah, somebody actually got me a, got me a gift. I think it was, Arcanae River. But they got me like a it says Nickelback, but it's shaped like the New Balance font or whatever.

00:03:12:14 - 00:03:47:01 Matt Hoffman Who elsewhere into as a kid? Shady, Prince. No doubt. Queen. I was a fan of her. A lot of gospel while R&B. My sisters were listening to like, all the sexy music that we weren't supposed to listen to. So, you know, we would listen to that. And of course, as you do. Yeah, yeah. It's like like all the all the all the grungy, all the all the grungy adult R&B, like,

00:03:47:03 - 00:04:08:27 Kanika Moore Kelly. Yeah. Yeah. It was just like all that stuff. Just like when they came out, when, when they snuck that 12 play into their room, I was just like, what's 12 won't listen to that? And I just, I just loved music. So I was in like seventh grade when when I was like, listen to Nickelback, okay? And I'm 45.

00:04:09:03 - 00:04:35:13 Matt Hoffman Okay. So my. Yeah. So Nickelback, seventh grade, I don't know what it had been after that. I don't know. When I was in seventh grade, I was listening to like Aerosmith and like that kind of stuff. I was I was stumbling across all of it. It was hard to keep up with the name. Yeah. Was to it. Yeah, all of that.

00:04:35:15 - 00:04:59:21 Matt Hoffman But the, you know, like any sort of other like classic Rocky, you know, psychedelic rock kind of stuff. Yeah. It's just like whatever was playing on the radio. Yeah. Then, you know, you would try to find some way to find the music that they weren't playing on the radio was a little bit harder back then because it my family only listen to like, like gospel or be my mom was back then listening to mostly gospel.

00:04:59:21 - 00:05:28:13 Kanika Moore So but like that was still going to, Karen Clark. She heard her voice was amazing. How did your parents not like you listening to, you know, secular, popular music? Whatever. It would be harder to do. Just, like, blasted inside of the house. Sure was like, what do they just say? Yeah. No. Like, I wasn't really into rap as much, but my stepsister was so like, I remember she would be playing, like, Snoop Dogg's album, and we'd have to turn it off when my dad get home.

00:05:28:15 - 00:05:47:11 Kanika Moore So, like, they were like, not that shielding, but sort of. I mean, I remember I used to watch like uncle Buck, and I learned that bastard was a was a bad word. Yeah. I know the green outdoors when he was ski is like, you bastard. And I was like, how are you, bastard? I was like, what are you saying?

00:05:47:16 - 00:06:06:09 Kanika Moore So, like, a little bit. She was like, just like, you know, she was a weird, but like. No, not too much of that. Yeah, but at Disney, you can watch The Simpsons, if that gives it. Sure. Gator. No, no, no, I hear you. I hear you so right. Like, you know, dead music and that scene and whatever was probably very far from the radar.

00:06:06:09 - 00:06:29:04 Kanika Moore Anything of that. The first person that, like, really introduced the dead to me was, Ross Bogan. We both lived in Charleston, South Carolina, and that's my hometown. And he was starting his project. It was with, Aisha Kenyatta, another friend of mine. And, like, had a whole band together. And he was like, what? You listen to this music is like it has, like, a lot of history.

00:06:29:04 - 00:06:50:12 Kanika Moore And he proceeded to bore me with this story before giving me the music, and I started listening to everything. And I like, just like the catalog. There's so much, there's so much. And like, everybody has their favorite live version. And so I like slowly delved into that and also performing it on stage and trying to understand what they were saying.

00:06:50:12 - 00:07:11:02 Kanika Moore And how do I tell this story on stage? And like for the first couple of years, I was kind of annoyed with it because I every time I would try to take a pass at delivering this music, somebody would just come popping out of the shrubs somewhere, right? That's all came from it. And for me just not know.

00:07:11:03 - 00:07:28:18 Kanika Moore Sorry for me not knowing, you know, having so much information that I. That I didn't know, I became like a little frustrated. I was like, how am I going to catch up? Sure, to all of this history, I feel like every time I post a quote or anything, I get like, I get story time and I'm like, that's great.

00:07:28:18 - 00:08:02:20 Matt Hoffman I still know anything. I still don't know anything. Now I'm I'm similar. Like, I, I got into Phish when I was a kid, but like, sort of just bypassed the dad and like, it's been stuff like unlimited devotion and the different projects that people have that like, have gotten me more exposed to it now. And yeah, like, I just find I don't bring a different amount of baggage and I don't mean that in like a loaded way, but like, people have these, you know, decades long histories with the dead and like, when Jerry died and ever.

00:08:02:20 - 00:08:25:10 Matt Hoffman And that's just not not my experience at all. So it's just like, I find it interesting that there is this, you know, the whole, like, boring part of what your friend told you before he played it for you, like, the whole history and whatever. And especially now, it's like there are only so many original members left, like soon it's just going to be the music proliferating.

00:08:25:10 - 00:09:00:15 Matt Hoffman And, yeah, there's something there's something special about it. It's just it's kind of cool to be here seeing it happen, you know, as it's happening. I agree, it's, I'm glad I tapped in when I did. Yeah. This. I've had the honor of playing music with some of them, and it was it was an experience. I think the best part about it is that even though, sadly, some of them have, have, have left, their legacy, their story, all the details of so many things are still left behind.

00:09:00:15 - 00:09:19:16 Kanika Moore It's still very charming to get to know someone who has moved on. And like I, you know, I didn't get to play with Phil. Yeah, but I can listen to his music. I can look at the reels and and and see, you know, who this person was and get to know him through the music. And I think that's that's really cool.

00:09:19:16 - 00:10:07:07 Kanika Moore And I get to play with his son. Yeah. And there's still so many different ways that I can get to know this, this, this icon, this, this person that left something so powerful, you know, that it's still moving. Yeah. And creating and and, like, giving to people. So as a fan, do you find that you're drawn to singers, to instrumentalists like to lyrics, to melodies, to, what what kind of captivates you as a, just as a fan, this story, you know, when I found out that, you know, Robert Hunter was sending these letters to Garcia, and then I found, like, found this white gum website where you can, like, see all the

00:10:07:07 - 00:10:33:11 Kanika Moore different lyrics and see the letters. Ferraris are nerding out. They tell you, like, well, at this show, he's saying it this way, and it this show he did it that they just break everything. Yeah. I don't know who set that up at like they need they need to be recognized. Yeah. Slow clap. Yeah. Yes. Yes. The lyrics so like that helps me at website helps me when I go to hear a song.

00:10:33:13 - 00:10:48:09 Kanika Moore You know, you would think from this sound that this is what it is, but like, if you look into it just a little bit more, those things help me like break down the words, because to me, I'm a storyteller. I'm, you know, I'm I'm opening a book and I'm telling a story that somebody else has already put together.

00:10:48:09 - 00:11:07:24 Kanika Moore So I need to understand it. And so I can so I can tell it. Well. So for you as a songwriter, then where does the process tend to start for you? Do you start with words with music? It depends on who am working with. Because I cover so many different genres, there's so many different styles to where I do it.

00:11:07:24 - 00:11:29:03 Kanika Moore It just depends on who I'm working with. When I'm working with talk, there is usually something that they have for me that I can create a melody within that, and then I start writing based on the feeling. I spend a lot of time with them when we write, like all we do is we see each other's faces for like a week and nobody is leaving.

00:11:29:03 - 00:11:55:24 Kanika Moore Like they're all going on the field. We can go right back to the studio early in the morning. We're not leaving until late at night. So it's it's very intimate, like we're spending a lot of time. The kids are coming by, they bring the dogs by. We're going to eat dinner together and eat breakfast together. So I will capture the moments that we have together, and I will put those in the lyrics, and I'll make it groove the way that the song is grooving.

00:11:55:26 - 00:12:12:14 Kanika Moore And then, you know, for the most part, yeah, they have so much music that they're always grinding that, I mean, I feel like the story right now, they always have something in the folders that I can kind of like go shuffle into it like, oh, what's this, this, what's this? So like, oh, I'll send AC all of it.

00:12:12:14 - 00:12:30:14 Kanika Moore I'll be like, oh, I like all of these dope. So they'll take an eye out on it and then they'll elaborate more with it, knowing that it's getting ready to develop into something you know, or current, like getting ready to do this. And, and then we all just kind of keep building on it and picking things out and putting things in.

00:12:30:20 - 00:12:47:03 Kanika Moore But yeah, I base it on the story. So if I an attitude like while I'm there, you hear the you see the attitude in the lyrics like, it's just like I'm not going to hide it because it's, it's there and it's, it's real time. It's definitely coming from the heart. So I feel so yeah, let's put it out in that way.

00:12:47:03 - 00:13:10:15 Kanika Moore So if you were angry about this situation, how would you feel about it? Or, you know, or if I'm really giddy about the situation, how I feel about it, but yeah, I, I go through the experience which makes everyone orchestra so easy to maneuver in when I can interact with them. When everybody is listening. Last night was probably one of my favorites was that it was amazing.

00:13:10:15 - 00:13:32:20 Kanika Moore Just, you know, Matt gives this, we do a huddle and he talks about what we should focus on, what we should let go, what, you know, and, you know, be free and be expressive, but also pay attention. And just the way he says it, a different way every time. And this time he said it in a way like we're also can get in.

00:13:32:20 - 00:13:50:16 Kanika Moore And they were listening. You know, sometimes people get really excited about the moment and they have these ideas and it's still improv, but like to hold them to themselves and like, all right, this is the one that I want to try. You need everybody to be on board for that. And sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

00:13:50:16 - 00:14:15:22 Kanika Moore You know, me being somewhat of a chameleon, I like to sit back and wait to see, like, what suits going to happen, and then I'll, I'll give my input. But I feel like everybody did that. Everybody was paying attention if they weren't playing like they were listening. And everyone responded, well and it just and and the audience also matters, the way that they engage with us in the way that they listen, if it if it resonates with them.

00:14:15:22 - 00:14:35:09 Kanika Moore And, and I felt like it was just ping pong energy, just like, yeah, I read it was like, yeah. We're like, yeah, like so it was it was great. And I mean, obviously the musicians that were there like it made a big difference. I love it. It's like just like little like different pieces that it's putting together.

00:14:35:09 - 00:14:51:13 Kanika Moore Yeah. Every single time. So you just don't know what you get. Yeah. Sometimes I look at the roster and I'll like, look up the names and like, if I'm there because I'm not good with names and I'll look at the Facebook or sometimes I'll just be like, I'm not even going to look at the names. Let's see what happens.

00:14:51:18 - 00:15:15:19 Matt Hoffman That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Let's let's show this though. Yeah. Christine comes with that. I knew Chris Jacobs was going to be there. Because in the tech start, his name is already like, we already know each other. So, like, his name popped up sick or do this or. Yeah. And like, right. Having some veterans like you and Chris and Magner and then some newer people there, you know, it was just like it's a good it was just good.

00:15:15:19 - 00:15:32:24 Matt Hoffman Everything was good. Yeah, yeah. I remember you and Chris had, unlimited devotion. A few years ago. I think that was maybe the first one you were at. Or as first or second I was at, But, yeah, you guys were great. Like. Yeah. You know, it sparked my interest to like to play some more music with them.

00:15:32:24 - 00:15:53:06 Matt Hoffman I was like, that was fun. He also, he does a lot of, you know, he can, like, play solo or play with the band or sit in and whatever, like he's got a lot of different kind of outlets for different projects, like it seems like you do, you know, there's different kind of different places you can scratch different edges and a lot of cool people to work with.

00:15:53:09 - 00:16:15:26 Matt Hoffman Yeah. What, what else do you have kind of cooking over the next few months or the rest of the year? I'm still in the studio. Talk. They keep sending me these little clips of, like, they put, like, like, orchestra together to play for certain parts. And he's like, show me the video. Like. Where are you guys recording?

00:16:15:28 - 00:16:44:25 Kanika Moore At Long Island. Okay. The boys have a studio that we work, cool. Which is like another part of, like, why we get so much work done and why it's so easy to get it done. Because the guys pretty much slow everything down. Matt and Isaac fly in from, you know, from their home. And we all get into the studio and for six, seven, eight days, we might put one show at the end of it just to have a little fun.

00:16:44:28 - 00:17:06:19 Kanika Moore But like, it's it's just working on the music, which is why I like new ideas will get thrown in there. Isaac is always walking around singing. He's the first one in there playing drums loudly, just like he's just playing immediately, just working on things. So like and for me, it just, it just it sparks random like I gotta do something.

00:17:06:19 - 00:17:25:21 Kanika Moore So like early in the morning we'll wait and breakfast together. I have like a notebook out and I'm like, somebody start talking about something and we'll be laughing. They talk about sports a lot. I will never write about sports, but like whenever they're talking about anything and also like Garrett, I can't give them. I can't give them that, you know, that's fair.

00:17:25:24 - 00:17:45:00 Matt Hoffman I'm not a sports guy. But growing up in Philadelphia, I found that you could act. You could fake like you're a sports guy if you're just always, like, disappointed, hopeful for the next year, but disappointed things turned around for us. Eventually. Also, like, what was it like with the first Talk More album kind of releasing it?

00:17:45:00 - 00:18:06:26 Matt Hoffman And then I think you guys played like 15, 15 shows together on it. I think after the album was released as the, yeah. Well, we went on tour. Yeah. I guess how did how did the tunes evolve and the, you know, performances evolve again. We were just writing more stuff while we're on the road, and then we would just play it like, oh, you guys want to play it tonight?

00:18:06:26 - 00:18:28:06 Matt Hoffman like, yeah, let's just do it, let's do it. Let's see what happens. Yeah. It was more more of the same. Just, you know, not in one spot. So there was more to write about because we were in different areas. Sure. And everybody at that time was going through something like everybody had some, some serious, like, family stuff that was going on.

00:18:28:06 - 00:18:54:08 Kanika Moore So that that brought us closer, which gave us more things to write about. Like if you're writing about meaningful things, you're going to write about all these things that are happening in some form or fashion. Yeah. It was more of the same while there were with them. They're very clean. I love that, I think if I were to win on, like, a major tour like that would do, we will play each other in the dryer.

00:18:54:08 - 00:19:21:00 Kanika Moore Who is stressed him out. Or everyone where I made it, it was just. I mean, it's the energy in that group is is amazing. But to put us in a van like you just think about, like, logistics for the guys. And now the top boys is super clean. Hey, like, you know, nothing against the team, boys. I'm just thinking, like, all right, if you put us in a box.

00:19:21:00 - 00:19:49:29 Kanika Moore Sure. How long are we going to last out here? Like, he put us on stage. We're good. You know, with the top boys, they would be out, you know, on stage, setting things up and working. Like tuning everything. Get everything, get everything ready. And I would be on the bandwagon like vacuuming anything and like spraying girly spray everywhere and like, wiping down the counters and cleaning up and like, it was nice to travel with them.

00:19:49:29 - 00:20:23:03 Kanika Moore It was, it was some of the same of like whenever we're in the studio when we're working on something, but like actively getting fed by by playing music live for people. This year I've made it my intention to work on an original album for myself. Awesome. Yeah. So I have like, I've got things together, but there are no melodies because I work with so many different people, I want to be able to put put it together based on what's going on this year and then see what happens.

00:20:23:03 - 00:20:42:15 Kanika Moore And then next year I'm going to make a completely different album, and I'm going to put somebody else together. So yeah, I'm trying to make sure that I leave it open for when I pull in. The musicians that I've already like, called on to like, work on this project. Yeah, I need like a, I need a can you go more album?

00:20:42:15 - 00:21:04:17 Kanika Moore Yeah. The world needs it. Yeah. What what would producing that look like? Oh my gosh, it's going to look different every time because I do so many different things. I think I'm intentionally going for that vibe that that Matt Butler has, where I will make an album, you know, with a select amount of people. I know it's the first album, so I needed to be.

00:21:04:17 - 00:21:29:13 Kanika Moore I needed to grab them. I can't get too sad. Do you have a lot of sad stuff to write about? But I think that's going to come after I meet people like dance for sure, I want them, I want them to be merry with this album. Yeah. Start there. Yeah. Like there are ways to channel the sad stuff and but yeah, it's, I'm trying to think of like, who's somebody who does sad stuff but still makes it happy and bounce somehow.

00:21:29:15 - 00:21:48:06 Matt Hoffman I mean, I feel like those couple of songs, I'm like, oh, that's sad. Yeah. It's like they're like, no, no no no no no no no. I think that's why we like, slowed down such a great, we'll get by. Yeah. There's a, there's a couple of other people that do that like things like, I mean, they could also like, all that stuff could evolve.

00:21:48:06 - 00:22:15:01 Matt Hoffman Like, somebody could do an arrangement of, like, ripple and make it all like walking on sunshine or something and, you know, not saying they shouldn't necessarily, but like who? It's like the Bruce Springsteen song, born in the USA. It's all like synths and, you know, whatever, but like, it's written as an anti-war song originally just him and a guitar and like, you know, it's just funny how the the arrangement, the instrumentation, whatever can make all the difference.

00:22:15:03 - 00:22:35:25 Matt Hoffman Yeah. He always gets pissed off when politicians will like, use his music without permission. David Byrne got pissed off. Somebody did that a few years ago with talking that song. Well, so do you have any, any thoughts on when the album? You know, when would you like to, to see it released? I'm going to be finished with it before this year is over.

00:22:35:28 - 00:23:01:26 Kanika Moore So I need to be it needs to be complete before I go on the road. But talk definitely before the end of the year. I'm saying sometime in the fall. Super cool. Yeah. Have, that sounds like some of the parts and pieces have come together. Like, I guess. Have you written any songs as you would put it, like, or I guess how much is kind of left to the team that you put together when you all get in the room together?

00:23:01:28 - 00:23:25:11 Kanika Moore I know that when I bring everybody else in, it's going to be I it sounds like it's like it's going to be a lot of I mean, it's going to be a lot of work, but but it's going to come together pretty easy. Like, I feel like every other project that I worked on, you know, even with different groups of people that I don't normally work with, like I try to make it as easy as possible, but also make it make sense.

00:23:25:14 - 00:23:41:12 Kanika Moore And if it needs to be complicated, we're taking that song and we're going to put it through the back wall. Yeah, yeah. Get a few, a few went under the belt first. Yeah, absolutely. I'm just I'm just trying to get done this year. And I wanted to be happy. And maybe I'll sneak a segment on there was like a bop.

00:23:41:16 - 00:24:03:03 Matt Hoffman Yeah. And then they will. Lily Allen's, latest album, which is all about just heard. I don't know if you spend time listening to it, it's all about, this, like, bad divorce and infidelity and stuff, whatever, with their ex. And she, like, talks about some heavy shit, and it's, like, really compelling and, like, fun. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

00:24:03:06 - 00:24:25:09 Matt Hoffman Yeah. Really, really good. The song, the, like the stealth, like awesome song on the album is called Dallas Major. Nobody's talking about it, but it's really good. Okay. Yeah, I recommend checking the links for that. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm super excited to, you know, hear the album when it comes out and just kind of see what else is going on.

00:24:25:09 - 00:24:30:08 Matt Hoffman But, thank you so much for making the time to talk. This was fun, and so I appreciate it.