Welcome back to our appointment with Independent Interviews.
Today with great pleasure, I will have a chat with a legendary artist. He comes from Texas and is the ultimate expression of true Texan country: Dallas Moore.
Hi Dallas, thank you for your availability and your time: I know you’re always on tour, so it won’t be easy to carve out moments when you’re not on stage. Tell us about yourself: where you were born and raised, how and when you started taking your first steps in the world of music.
Thank You Trex!
I was Born and Raised in Norwood,Ohio (Cincinnati) and also grew up spending lots of time at our family farm and camp in Kentucky where my parents were from.
I got my first guitar when I was 16 years old.
My Mama Madgelee Hanes Moore was a great musician having played guitar and sang on The Midwestern Hayride and recording with her group The Buckeye Belles at Historic Herzog Studio in the early 1950’s.
She always had lots of great music playing around the house while I was growing up.
Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Waylon Jennings were some of my early favorites.
After I got into playing music, Mama Madgelee took up playing Mountain Dulcimer and went on to turn me on to all of her original influences of Bluegrass, Appalachian and Gospel Music.
After High School I attended Northern Kentucky University on a Classical and Jazz Guitar Scholarship.
I’ve always loved all kinds of music and those early years found me playing Classical Compositions from the likes of Bach & Beethoven along with Jazzy Jams and Improvisations by Count Basie, Miles Davis, etc. by day at school and hitting the Honky Tonks at night to play the music of my Heroes alongside my first original songs that I was writing at the time.
I was learning so much and connecting the dots realizing that Willie Nelson (One Of My Favorite Guitar Players) was greatly influenced by the Gypsy Jazz Guitar Great Django Rheinhardt and that Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys had a whole lot in common with guys like Benny Goodman & Charlie Christian.
Throw in My Mama’s Bluegrass influence and add a healthy dose of Southern Rock, Blues, Rock & Roll and Heavy Metal and you get a Big Ol’ Melting Pot of Jambalaya that made for my earliest influences that I still draw from today.
You made your debut more than 20 years ago and you’re still on the cutting edge. Among the many records you have recorded, which one has given you the most satisfaction? And maybe what you would record differently today.
I Released my first album “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” in 1996.
Since that time I’ve released a total of 17 albums and have my 18th “Gems & Jams” set for release on August 9, 2024.
Every album has been different and I always say “The Best One Is The Next One” as I’m always trying to grow as a songwriter, musician and entertainer.
Each recording captures a moment in time and where I was at throughout my life and career.
Hopefully I can keep on learning and growing and improving and keep on kickin’ the can a little further down the road.
I’ll be 54 Years Old this Year and I feel like I’m just now getting started!
We know that the life of a completely independent musician is very hard, how do you reconcile family with life always around playing? Do you have a “historic” band that follows you both in the studio and on tour?
I’m very blessed to have my wife Jenna Danielle Moore and our daughter Victory Lee Moore right by my side every step of the way with unwavering Love and Support.
Jenna has always been a huge part of taking care of both our Family and our Independent Music Business wearing many different hats at any given time from running our online store to Tour Managing, Merch Design, Tech Support, Social Media Guru and Musical Advisor to her most important job as being the Best Mama to Victory.
I love it when my girls are able to join me on the road and at many of the shows when they are out with me Victory Lee will join us onstage to sing and play a song or two.
Since we moved our Family to San Antonio, Texas we are able to be together more than ever.
Truly blessed to live this life and make music and memories with my family.
The Dallas Moore Band has changed and evolved over the years.
I’ve been fortunate enough to play with some great musicians and friends throughout my career. I’ve always taken pride in surrounding myself with great players and great people and that helps me get better with every show.
For my 2024 Tour Dates I’m currently splitting time between solo scoustic and full band shows.
The Current Lineup for The Dallas Moore Band consists of Mike Bernal (Austin, Texas) on drums, Will Owen Gage ( San Antonio, Texas) on guitar along with Ted Russell Kamp (Los Angeles, California) Mandy Shucer (Nashville,Tennessee) Jim Bachmann (Tulsa,Oklahoma) and Russ Griffith (Batesville,Indiana) holding down the bass guitar duties depending on our Tour Schedule. We’re also joined by my longtime Band Member Mike Owens (Louisville,Kentucky) on Harmonica whenever possible.
Each and every night onstage with these players seems to take one life of its own and we’ve always got some new and improvisational tricks up our sleeve that take the songs and the audience higher and take the music to a whole new place.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment of the jams that I feel like I’m levitating.
There’s nothing better than making music with your Family and Friends!
Which venue did you like the most? And what is the place where you dream of performing and haven’t had the opportunity yet? Have you played all over the US?
I always say “I’ve played ‘em all Big and Small” and that’s been a fairly accurate statement over the years traveling all over the United States performing over 300 shows a year.
The biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of was on my 31st Birthday opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd on The Great Lawn in Louisville, Kentucky.
There were over 111,000 people in attendance.
I’ve also played to less than 11 people on many occasions and I always try to treat them all the same, giving my best to whatever audience I’m playing for.
From Bigger Festivals like Outlaws & Legends and Bristol Rhythym and Roots to Historic Venues like Gruene Hall in Texas, Renfro Valley and The Southgate House Revival in Kentucky and The Mighty Florabama in Perdido Key, Florida to intimate listening rooms like The Bluebird in Nashville and The Backroom Lounge in Illinois – and all points in between – I guess my favorite venue is whichever one I’m playing that night.
I truly do try to soak it all in and appreciate it.
I’ve yet to play The Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry or Red Rocks and I would really love to play in Europe and Australia as well.
I’m sure there’s a few more Honky Tonks and Dives that I haven’t hit yet but we’ll keep on truckin’ and take each opportunity as they come.
One way or another we WILL see ya down the road!
Your last album, «No God In Juarez», was a tribute to an outlaw music legend Billie Gant who however never had the right celebration for his talent. Tell us about how you met him and why you chose to pay tribute to him by remaking his songs.
Billie Gant was my original Honky Tonk Hero.
We met when I was 17 years old and just starting out in the music business.
I remember me and my best friend Bronson Burns had our first Band in High School and we snuck into a Honky Tonk where Billie was playing on a school night.
The club was gonna kick us out as we were underaged but Billie told ‘em we were his kids so they let us stay.
That night I witnessed the most charismatic entertainer and showman that I’ve ever seen still to this day in Billie Gant and my mind was blown.
It was literally like watching Elvis Presley, James Brown, The Blues Brothers and Hank Williams Jr. onstage rolled into one WILDMAN with a microphone!
I’ve never seen another performer command the audience the way that Billie Gant did.
That night began a lifelong friendship of Billie being a Hero, Champion and Mentor to me that carries on to this day.
A few years later while Billie was at the top of his game and his career was exploding he was involved in an automobile accident that nearly took his life and he suffered a traumatic brain injury which left him unable to perform or participate in the music business for 13 years.
Something happened to Billie during his recovery and he became this prolific songwriter who developed these outrageous, cinematic characters and delivered their stories in his songs.
I had been telling him for over 20 years that someday I wanted to record a full album of Billie Gant songs and finally in 2023 the stars and our schedules aligned and we were able to record and release No God In Juarez featuring the songs of Billie Gant.
I still perform the album in its entirety most every night that I’m onstage and Billie and I are working on more of his songs for an upcoming album project of mine.
He’s still got a lot to say and I’m honored and humbled to sing his songs and tell his story to the world!
Instead, I know that your new acoustic album will be released: tell us about this project.
My new album “Gems & Jams” is set for release on SOL Records in August of 2024.
This will be my 18th album and it’s my first time doing a completely stripped down solo acoustic recording.
Just me and my guitar, performing 15 original songs that I’ve written, live in one take with no overdubs or post production.
The songs are a mix of newly written tunes and a few newly arranged deep catalog cuts that have been out of print for many years.
It’s also the first time I’ve recorded an Instrumental Piece called “Shade Tree” that I composed many moons ago.
I recorded this album with Brother Brian DeBruler at our SOL Records Studio and it’s about as raw and real as it gets.
It was really fun to record and it’s fun to play these songs live as well.
The independent movement today is a real tide that is overflowing with very good artists at very high rates: are there any that you particularly like? Maybe Texans like you who can carry on your legacy for years to come.
There’s an overwhelmingly abundant and vibrant independent music movement happening right now.
It’s truly a Renaissance Period and there’s room for everybody to do their thing with artistic and creative control over their own music.
It’s awesome and inspiring to bear witness to and be a part of this time in our Music History.
I think it’s going to continue to grow and prosper with new music, ideas, collaborations etc. allowing independent artists to thrive.
What are the biggest influences in your music? Do you have favorite artists and songs you always listen to?
My First Influences were my Mama Madgelee and Billie Gant.
Jody Payne (Of Willie Nelson and Family) declared himself to My Godfather and he was and still is a huge influence and inspiration to me.
My longtime guitar player and Brother of The Road, Lucky Chucky – Chuck Morpurgo (R.I.P.) was another big influence on my guitar playing as we worked as a team together for so long it was just effortless when we would play together!
It’s also pretty cool when your Heroes become your friends and I’ve been blessed to have that happen and continue to happen today.
I’ve had the opportunity to share stages and learn from the architects and masters of all of my influences: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Charlie Daniels, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, Dean Dillon, The Marshall Tucker Band and so many more.
I always still listen to their music and find something new in those old classic songs. They are timeless and to quote Billy Joe they are gonna LIVE FOREVER…
The merchandise is one of the fundamental parts of income for an independent artist: do you deal with it directly? Do you have a site where the public can buy and support you?
We proudly handle all of our own merchandise.
From Vinyl and CDs to all Apparel everything is available exclusively at our Dallas Moore online store at http://www.dallasmoore.com
Thank you very much for your availability and good luck with your new project.
Maybe one day I hope to return to Texas and attend an explosive live performance of yours.
Trex
