NAME: Ian Moore
SPIEL: Recovering
Texas blues guitar hotshot and Joe Ely
sideman Moore further remakes himself as a singer-songwriter with considerable
vision, both sonically and thematically. Imagine a sound somewhere between the
bare-bones folks of Townes Van Zandt and
the stratospheric rock of Spiritualized
-- No, really -- with Foxtrot-era Wilco and the production ambience of Daniel Lanois as further touchstones. Songs
often find Moore feeling the weight of the world -- in "April" a
Portland woman's "smile's been broken by 100 cloudy days" while in
"Abilene" Moore laments the Lone Star city's "too many sunny
skies." Those Pacific Northwesterners are always pondering the weather.
HAUNT: The
contemplative side of Seattle.
MERSH: Luminaria is Moore's fifth studio effort
since 1993, and his first for Yep Roc.
HYPE: "…The
choruses of the otherwise straightforward 'New Day' are colored with enough
guitar fuzz and 'Penny Lane'"-style trumpet fills to appeal to the most
confirmed psychedelia fan, and the seven-plus minute 'Caroline' shifts from its
weepy country-rock melody into a lengthy waltz-time passage filled with
dub-style echo and keening, wordless vocals. …There's not a duff track on Luminaria, and the songs are so varied
and interesting that this is Ian Moore's best album by some distance." -- All Music Guide
Describe the moment in which music changed your life.
The Beatles on
Fischer-Price… there's a certain honesty in the one-piece childproof stereo
system that is missing in modern day hi-fi. That, and seeing the Warhol cover
of the Stone's Sticky Fingers. I'm still confused about the close-up underwear
shot and I guess it started my own Stones/Beatles battle that had to be
answered by my teenage years.
I wish I wrote this song, and why:
"Tears Of A Clown" or any of the Goffin/King stuff…pretty much any Carole
King until she got a synthesizer. It was simple, clever, perfect.
If I could have been at any concert in history, what would it have
been, and why?
I would have been happy at any of the late '60s psych-fests
where everyone dosed at the door and there was nudity. Not the Beach Boys' '76 on-my-man's-back kind
of nudity, more the whirling dervish "let's make love for peace" kind
that we read about in those wonderful rock 'n' roll books.
What have you blatantly stolen and incorporated into your songwriting
or performance?
The A-minor chord for sadness and the G for celebration. Paul Weller's haircut. The bridge from Cheap Trick's "If You Want My Love."
With a gun to your head, describe your music.
Bang! When caffeinated or drinking I fancy myself pretty
cool and like to talk about Scott Walker
and Bert Jansch…blah blah blah. The
next morning I am faced with a brutal reality that I can talk some good smack.
Who is the artist your parents or older sibling listened to that you
swore you would never like but have come to appreciate?
I am entering what is commonly know as the Wayne Coyne stage of my musical
acceptance. I find goodness in most everything except for Joan Baez. My folks were cooler than me so I lost that game. I
tried competing with my dad by bringing in music he "wouldn't understand."
He would pretty concisely deconstruct it and then put on "two steps from
the blues." It was a difficult adolescence.
Name three artists that the entire band can agree upon as being great?
We agree to disagree for the most part, but there's Steven Merritt, Bee Gees, Destroyer.
Name three artists that the entire band can agree upon as being bad?
Us. We are working on our collective self image. Or any new
music combining the words "pop" and "punk." Or Gram Parsons. Gene Clark anyone?
What song could you never cover because it's just too damn good and
you'd be afraid to ruin it?
We pretty much have equally desecrated all of our faves. I
had a standing promise to never do "Julia" as it was such a gentle
perfect song, but there was a hoot night and alcohol and, like many of my other
promises, it fell to the wayside.
What's one creature comfort you crave while on the road?
Coffee. Clean couches for sleeping.
I can die after I've met:
A bit impractical, but I think it would be wonderful to have
lunch with all of David Bowie's
different incarnations at once. Bono
would be pretty cool, but I think after the initial "Man, that's Bono"
shock I would probably feel guilty about my lack of international awareness. How
bout Uma Thurman? We played as
infants, you know.
What's your favorite poison?
When I played "the blues" I of course drank Courvoisier.
Now that I have gotten back to my roots as a WASP-y Anglo I have fallen into
the comfort of the Cape Cod -- so crisp, so clean, and good for the kidneys!
The best way to ride out a hangover?
In the South I would definitely say migas with cheese, but
that gets dangerous north of the Oklahoma line. At that point I just try to
sleep and remember in the future to stay dour, which keeps exuberant shot
drinkers away from you. And take Canadian aspirin, when available.
If you were a Simpsons
character, which one would you be?
I always had a soft spot for Apu.
Rate these bands best to worst: Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Kansas.
Explain your reasoning.
1. Styx: they have the best Behind The Music, plus we saw them rock the Little Rock River Fest
opposite Run-D.M.C.
2. Journey: though I was told in junior high that the
earlier stuff was better before the went "pussy."
3. Kansas: I really like the "Dust In The Wind." I'm
just not sure what else they do.
4. Foreigner: when journalists are cranky they say my voice
sounds like the singer. That freaks me out. I guess I shouldn't punish them for
that though. They can be third for "Jukebox Hero." Reminds me of my
little brother at ten years old kicking ass at pinball.
You've become king of the world, what's your first move?
Add an extra day of rest, probably on Monday.
