According to Moonalice legend, Anchorage was the northern outpost of the Pacific hemp trade in the late 18th century. Apparently there is an untold chapter of Captain James Cook's third voyage of exploration, during which the good captain sailed north from Tahiti to Alaska. He came up the inlet to what is now Anchorage and dropped anchor. What the history books don't reveal is whether Captain Cook sold a major cargo of Tahitian hemp to the natives he met in Anchorage ... or whether the captain sampled some of the cargo. We believe the evidence suggests that both are correct. Why? Captain Cook, who was the finest seaman and mapmaker of his generation, mistook the inlet (which is salt water) for a river (which is fresh). Moonalice legend suggests that the captain had to be buzzed to make a mistake like that. Then Captain Cook went to Hawaii, where a different group of natives killed him for reasons that remain shrouded in the fog of history. We'll leave exploration of that part of the legend until the band goes to Hawaii.

The band's first gig of 2008 was in a theater attached to Anchorage's city library. It was a beautiful winter evening … almost all day long. The sun came up around 10:30 in the morning and set around 4pm. Talk about rock 'n' roll hours!