I recieved an email from the Ian Moore website about the upcoming album, are you on that album? Ian mentioned some musicians on the album, but I did not see you. I want to say that your contribution to Ian's music is the reason I go to see him. The first time I saw him play was in Dallas at Poor David's Pub, he played solo, I had never seen him before, and was not impressed, a little too folk/christian, but a year later, my girlfriend took me to see you at the Gypsy Tea Room and I was stunned, the sounds you make made me enjoy the evening and start to enjoy Ian's music. I bought the Live at The Cactus Cafe DVD and was dissapointed again to not hear or see you in it much. I am hoping you are representing your fans out there on Luminaria.

Steve R.

Well Steve Ramalamadingdong, You just made my day. In response to your query, I am on the upcoming Ian Moore release, and since it is an Ian Moore release there is alot of Ian Moore on it, as for why I am not listed in his bio, is that, it is his bio, bios are things that you use to blow sweet smelling smoke up your own ass, a way of making your self sound larger than life, so you can deduce easily why I am not mentioned, especially from the names that are. So come and take a bio opsy with me....

Start with something enigmatic, a cool line uttered by someone other than you, we hope..

“The journey is the destination.” While this is a good mantra for remembering to live your life in the present moment, it could also go a long way toward explaining the career path of Seattle-based troubadour Ian Moore.

Then you have to add something about your past, maybe a way of putting it all in perspective.....

Texas native Moore first made a name for himself in Austin's vibrant roots-rock scene in the early ‘90s, gaining national attention for his self-titled debut on Capricorn Records. While the album established him as a heavyweight guitar player, Moore eschewed the role of rock guitar hero on his next release, Modernday Folklore, recorded with Mark Howard in Daniel Lanois’ studio. On Modernday Folklore, Moore asserted his growing sensibilites as a singer-songwriter; the album was subsequently chosen as “one of the best moments in contemporary art in 1996’ by Dave Hickey in Art America magazine. But Moore's follow-up album so confused Capricorn that the label dropped him. Refusing to see this as a set back, Moore took advantage of his newfound freedom to redefine just who he is and what it is that he does.

Take note to observe the names that appear, "Mark Howard in Daniel Lanois' studio". These ad validity to the paragraph, a way of saying look who I hang with yo. But you can also see that Mark Howard isnt listed as "a really nice guy that likes motorcycles and slightly attractive midwestern ladies", he hangs with Daniel Lanois, you know the guy that also hangs with U2, so by proxy and the 7 degrees of seperation Ian is a few away from U2, and that is much cooler than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another point is the positive press from an art magazine, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Matisse might not have alot in common, so it says, "check me out I am highbrow, Yo".

And what exactly is “it”? “I don’t know what 'it' is,” Moore admitted to one reviewer. “Stevie Wonder encapsulates some of it, but a lot of my music isn’t soul-oriented. I consider it Southern Gothic, like Flannery O’Connor; that whole creepy feeling with lots of shades and subtleties. It includes soul, gospel and Appalachian stuff, plus a lot of Celtic and Indian music. I don’t fuckin’ know, man.” Put the question to him these days and he laughingly tosses out the term “Goth-spel.” Surprisingly, its fits: Moore's music is passionate and full of yearning; it aches for answers but only finds more questions and, occasionally, some temporary salvation. His songs, like those of similar artists such as Grant Lee Phillips and Wilco, manage to be at once classic and modern. It's not the kind of music, however, that lends itself to easy categorization.

Enter catagory possibility 1, Goth-Spel, a play on the words Gothic and spelt, the passed tense for spell, "this is the south we are talking about". also in this paragraph is a chance to show that the artist is suffering for his art, you can get some serious ache from the use of 2 underdog done good bands like those mentioned. The paragraph concludes with the problem of categorization, if you walk into a record store be sure to look somewhere between the Goth (The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division) and the Gospel (Blues Brothers 2000 soundtrack) and lets hope that the approximation is right.

But what’s in a label, anyway? Ask any of Moore’s current fans what it is that draws them to him and the response is unilateral: his voice, his songs, his presence. Seattle weekly The Stranger dubbed Moore “a stellar songwriter blessed with an absolutely stunning voice.” Another magazine went so far as to proclaim that “Moore has moved foursquare into the circle of guitarist-songwriters like (Richard) Thompson, Mayfield, Hendrix and Buckley, where pop isn’t a dirty word and where music comes straight from the soul.”
Luminaria, Moore’s first release for Yep Roc Records, is a richly varied, deeply soulful affair that should free him once and for all from any lingering misperceptions or misconceptions of who he is as an artist. The quiet strains of “What I’ve Done” both open and set the tone for the album, the music winding its way through the speakers in much the same way as the protagonist winds his way from destination to destination – and through life in general.
It's only fitting that the recording of Luminaria was just as much a journey as everything else in Moore’s life -- when you're a musician who's constantly on the road, you don’t have the luxury of taking weeks (or sometimes even days) to sit in a studio and record. Bits of Luminaria had their beginning in friends’ houses, on days off, or on the fly. Serendipity occasionally stepped in -- paths crossed, drum parts were recorded here and there, old friends in faraway places appeared to make their contribution. Moore's journey literally became the destination.

This part makes me smile again Steve, so thank you. I am going to skip to the second paragraph, the one that makes it seem that this protagonist is winding his way to his destination, alot like George and Lennie do in Of Mice and Men, you only have to guess which one is Lennie, a line like that should only be punctuated with "The road goes on forever, and the party never ends".

“It’s a very natural record made by friends,” he explains. “I made this album with pretty much everyone who’s played with me over the past six or seven years. It started in Austin with the Screen Door guys, then I took it to Seattle, and then on the road. The drums on ‘Caroline’ were recorded with Chris Searles in Tucson – I was on the road, stopped by KXCI for an interview and he happened to be in town with his girlfriend so we recorded on the spot.
“ Paul Brainard and Matt Southworth both came out to my home studio on Vashon to record,” he continues. “‘Caroline’ was started on tour at a friend’s apartment in San Francisco while they were still sleeping – hence the quiet first couple of voices. ‘Abilene’ was recorded with Jeff Saltzman, and quite a bit of the record was done in Portland with Paul and Jay Clarke from The Standard and Dolorean.”

Lets do some analysis of the names used in this paragraph,

1. The Screen Door Guys, If you don't know, those fellas have names too. Screen Door Guy 1. Bryan Standefer, 2. Bukka Allen, 3. Rob Gersoe, now for some reason they can be referred to as the Screen Door Guys, O.K. falsetto singing ex guitar slinging dude.

2. Chris Searles, if you put Chris Searles in a dumpster, the dumpster will command your attention, so there is a good use for that name, and besides, he is cooler than snot.

3. Paul Brainard, Paul is a phenomenal musician, and he commands the attention of quite a number of the people from the Portland scene, a scene that Ian would so desperatley love to be hip in, (see Ordinary People).

4. Matt Southworth, Yet another really nice guy, Hip, young, and in a band.

5. It is good to know that the friends apartment in San Francisco is noone other than Tammy Stepanek of the DVD fame, not worthy of the mention in the Bio due to lack of significant coolness factor.

6. Jeff Saltzman, He engineered the record, I would put his name in ther too, popular guy, and hip.

7. Paul and Jay from The Standard and Delorean, I would make it a point of dropping some band names that are cool, you know, to associate them with your fans, or vice versa, this is the machine you know.

8. So this brings us to the number 8. I won't be mentioned due to the apparent lack of cool, Note that for the last few years I have been the sole sideman in the Ian Moore arsenal, I am thanked graciously on the album, even given my own thanks section, hell I drive the van that gets Mr Moore to his destination, so to mention this unutterable name in your bio could result in smoke reaching someones ass other than your own, and hence then, would render the said bio useless, we have learned that Ian is the subject of the Bio, and by the use of covenient name dropping will get you far, we hope. so in closing Steve, thank you for a letter that lifted my spirits without the use of smoke, and whenever you find a great artist that at first seems hard to swallow, may you find the proverbial #8 to help it go down.

And this last paragraph is good in context too.

But while life on the road takes its toll (even when it helps shape great albums), it also makes for great live shows. As a performer, Moore consistently manages to reduce packed houses to stunned silence through the sheer power of his voice, his songwriting and the unadulterated emotions he conveys. He's an artist who's built a reputation through his live shows, one convert at a time.
It’s doubtful that anyone would have been able to predict so much subtlety and depth from an artist that started his career as a Texas guitar hotshot. That is, except for Moore himself, an artist who's willing to trust where his spirit takes him and to allow us to accompany him on that journey.

So, till next letter, Adios Tanto.

C.D.