Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, the husband-and-wife duo behind the band Tennis, are at a pivotal moment in their lives as they prepare to conclude their musical journey after 15 years together.
Based in Denver, the couple has been an integral part of Tennis from the start, managing everything from songwriting to driving their tour bus.
The band’s entire catalog of seven albums has been self-funded, written, and released by the duo.
As Tennis the music act comes to a close, the couple asserts that Tennis the marriage will continue to thrive.
“That is getting confused quite a bit,” Riley said during an interview with CPR News.
“I think it was unavoidable because our band is synonymous with our marriage at this point.”
Moore and Riley expressed that this indefinite hiatus offers a chance to delve into new creative outlets, while also redefining their relationship.
“That’s actually what’s been so profound about it, and then it’s also, honestly, one of the motivations for taking a break is just getting to rediscover what is our marriage outside of the backdrop of this big looming project, this endeavor that we’ve had going since the year we got married,” Moore shared.
As the couple prepares for the release of their final album, “Face Down in the Garden,” scheduled for April 25, they are also embarking on a farewell tour.
The first song written for the new album, titled “12 Blown Tires,” emerged from an exhausting return trip from their last tour, during which they surprisingly blew every tire on their van and trailer.
“And we blew the differential on our axle.
There were just so many issues, and it really just felt like the world was against us,” Riley recalled, describing their frustrating journey.
Moore added, “We actually didn’t want to write this album; we had a lot of talks about it.
But we were like, we have to; there are these songs—‘12 Blown Tires’ was one of them—that are just begging to be born.
We had to do it.”
Two other singles, “At The Wedding” and “Weight Of Desire,” were released prior to the album.
Additionally, they are sharing a collection of unreleased demos from 2009 and 2010, a time when their marriage was fresh, and they were still discovering their musical styles.
“This is literally the most unrefined version of our band.
It is loose,” Riley remarked.
Reflecting on their earliest days, they recalled how they would return home from work and play music, nurturing their creative partnership.
Moore said, “I think running a business together is not great for a marriage, but we’re really lucky that that’s something we’ve been able to do.
There’s no turning off.
From the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed, we’re worrying about, thinking about, making decisions for the band or the business of the band, and I think it has changed our dynamic as a married couple.
I don’t think in a bad way; in a way of partners, we feel like a team.
It’s bonding to us, and I think that has been really, really special.”
The duo takes pride in their comprehensive involvement in the creation of Tennis’ music, handling all business aspects of the band.
In the process of wrapping up their final album, they took stock of their last decade and a half together in the music industry.
“We’ve played a thousand shows, and because we self-produce everything, self-record and self-release, and self-tour manage, we just realized we’d been burning the candle at both ends for a very long time,” Riley explained.
Looking to the future, Moore and Riley are excited about their next steps.
Both are avid sailors, often living on sailboats, which they credit for inspiring their creative processes.
Moore is even working on a book exploring the parallels between sailing and performing.
“Going to sea and leaving port feels exactly the same in my body as stepping onto a stage to begin a show, gazing out at this huge, vast crowd.
You can swap the other out with the ocean, which weirdly feels like it can perceive you and has this unified mood the way the energy of a crowd can have,” Moore described.
As they conclude their journey with Tennis, Riley emphasized, “We felt like we did have the energy for one last album that at least both of us could stand behind and not phone in.
We both feel very proud.”
Tennis may be ending, but the enduring strength of their marriage and their individual passions signify a new beginning for Moore and Riley.
image source from：https://www.cpr.org/2025/04/17/tennis-new-album-face-down-in-the-garden/
