Once Vinnie Moore picked up his first guitar (a Kay) at the age of 12, he became, as he describes it, a “guitar freak.” His earliest influences included – among others – Jeff Beck, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Queen.
Vinnie took lessons with a private instructor and at 14, he joined his first band, jamming on cover tunes with drums, bass, 2 guitars and vocals. After a few years of playing with different bands, Vinnie decided it was time to make the jump from covering songs to creating his own music. He quit the band, got a 4-track tape recorder, and began experimenting by recording his ideas and building them into songs. It was evident that he had found his calling; this was the start of his journey as a songwriter.
After many hours of creating tunes with his 4 track, Vinnie sent a demo to Guitar Player magazine, and came to national attention via its “Spotlight” column, written by Shrapnel Records exec Mike Varney. This led to Vinnie’s first professional work in the music business which was writing and playing the music for a national Pepsi TV commercial. In 1987, Shrapnel released Vinnie’s breakout album, Mind’s Eye. Vinnie was quickly heralded “best new talent” in Guitar Player, Guitar, and Guitar World magazines, and Mind’s Eye sold more than 100,000 copies.
In 1988, Squawk/Polygram released Vinnie’s second effort (and major label debut) Time Odyssey, which solidified his reputation as a musical innovator. His third release was Meltdown, in 1991 (on Relativity/Epic Records); the song Meltdown received national radio airplay on both album-oriented rock (AOR) and hard rock formats. In 1996, Mayhem Records released Out of Nowhere, with Brian Tichy (Billy Idol) on drums and Dorian Heartsong (Powerman 5000) on bass.
On The Maze (in 1999), Vinnie was joined by former MSG drummer Shane Gaalaas, bassist Dave LaRue (The Dregs and The Steve Morse Band) and renowned master musician Tony MacAlpine on keyboards. The Maze was stunning, rooted in the progressive neo-classical style that had already generated legions of loyal fans. Vinnie also displayed a new-found maturity in his songwriting; now, many of his diverse and exotic musical influences, including Latin, Jazz, and the Blues, began finding their way into his signature sound.
Other albums followed: Live (in 2000), with Shane Gaalaas (drums), Barry Sparks on bass, and Wayne Findlay on keyboards, and Defying Gravity in 2001 with Dave LaRue (bass), Steve Smith on drums, and David Rosenthal on Keyboards.
As a performer, Vinnie Moore’s resume is impressive. A member of Alice Cooper’s band, he toured the U.S. on the Operation Rock’N’Roll tour, and also performed on Alice’s album Hey Stoopid. Vinnie’s own band has toured extensively as a headliner and also was chosen as opening act for legendary rockers Rush on the Northeast leg of their Roll The Bones Tour. Vinnie also toured Japan as a member of the T.M. Stevens’ band, which included Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic) on keyboards, Wil Calhoun (Living Color) on drums, and Al Pitrelli (Megadeth) on guitar.
Vinnie has done hundreds of guitar clinics all over the world including such places as, Japan, Scandanavia, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, England, Germany and Australia.
In 2003, Vinnie joined the legendary group UFO (Phil Mogg, vocals; Pete Way, bass; Jason Bonham, drums; Paul Raymond, keyboards). Their first effort together as a band was the SPV Records release You Are Here (in 2004); Vinnie was a major songwriting contributor on this record. The band followed You Are Here with a worldwide tour which spanned from March 2004 to August 2005. A LIVE DVD from this tour was released in Nov 2005. Titled UFO Showtime, this two-DVD set also includes bonus footage of the band. The band’s second studio effort called The Monkey Puzzle came out in 2006 and marked the return of original UFO drummer Andy Parker. The boys toured Europe and Russia and the USA in April and May 2008. The third UFO studio record with Vinnie in the band is called The Visitor and was released in June 2009 on SPV Records. The band has toured the UK, Europe, and USA, and will continue in Europe in the spring of 2010!
Vinnie’s latest CD To The Core (2009 Mascot Records) was released in May 2009 and has received critical acclaim worldwide.
Over many years, Vinnie’s 4-track recorder has grown into a home studio, where he’s recorded his last two solo CDs, and parts of the UFO CD. Vinnie’s home studio is the place where he writes new music.
As well as songwriting and playing, Vinnie is dedicated to teaching. He’s conducted guitar clinics around the world, and has released two instructional videos on the HotLicks® label (see the Music page for more information). Vinnie joins his fans at clinics worldwide for, Engl Amplification, and Dean Guitars.
On doing clinics: “I like talking to the fans firsthand and learning from them. It’s insightful to hear what they like about what I’m doing, and what they think about the guitar genre…and the whole music scene in general. I definitely feed off of their energy. It’s cool to be part of a global guitar community, and it’s an honor to know that I can sometimes inspire others to get excited by music and guitar. It always amazes me to me to hear that I have touched someone else by doing something that I love doing so much. I consider it a gift to be playing guitar and writing songs, and feel like one of the luckiest cats in the world to have fans.”
On songwriting and musical influences: “I hope to keep growing and learning as a songwriter and as a player, and to explore different musical directions, kind of following the inspiration wherever it leads. I don’t plan ahead musically, which keeps things interesting for me. I want to continue following my muse into areas that inspire and excite me. I am basically a rock guy…but love many different styles of music, and am often inspired by – and learn from – all of them. Music is so vast, and there are so many things to pick up from all the different styles. I’ve kind of always been like this, drawing on different musical influences, partly because I like lots of different things and partly… because I get bored easily! Exploring different directions is fun, and it keeps me excited as both a writer and a player.”
On having his own studio: “I love having a studio environment in the house so I can turn my ideas into songs. It’s really like my own little space in the universe and I love being there and being creative.”
On songwriting: “In other parts of the house, I mostly sit around and play, and I always keep a Walkman cassette player close by, because you never know when an idea for a song is going to pop out. Musical ideas usually happen when you least expect them. I don’t consciously try to write; my ideas just come from playing. I record stuff; I never write it down.”
On playing: “I have pretty much always considered myself a melody and feel guy. Regardless of which style of music I am playing, the essence of what it is all about for me is definitely the melody and expressing myself emotionally. I love creating melodies that are memorable and can be sung, and if I can make a listener feel emotion when they hear my stuff, it is the highest reward I could ever get.”
