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 Born
and raised in New Orleans (and living there still, when he's not on
the road), Stanton Moore is very much a product of geography, culture
and creative networking. He grew up in the thriving music scene of
his hometown that included Professor Longhair, Doctor John, the Meters
and countless other Big Easy mainstays.
In the early '90s, Moore hooked up with guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist
Robert Mercurio and keyboardist Rich Vogel and saxophonist Ben Ellman
to form the New Orleans-based "steam-roller" funk band known
as Galactic. After receiving his bachelor's degree in music and business
from Loyola University, Moore and the band made their first record
(the widely acclaimed Coolin' Off) and hit the road to do nearly 200
gigs a year for the first ten years of Galactic's existence. The band
has since released five more albums since Coolin' Off, and continues
to amass a worldwide audience via recording and touring globally.
Aided by eight-string guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter and saxophonist
Skerik (Les Claypool, John Scofield, Roger Waters), Moore launched
his solo career in the late '90s with the All Kooked Out!, an album
recorded in New Orleans just after Mardi Gras in 1998 and released
later that year. In addition to the Moore-Hunter-Skerik core, All Kooked
Out! also featured a handful of New Orleans horn players, including
Brent Rose, Brian Seeger, Matt Perrine, Ben Ellman, and former Sun
Ra trumpeter Michael Ray. Moore extended the solo discography with
the 2001 release of Flyin' the Koop (Verve/Blue Thumb).
In the midst of Moore's All Kooked Out! sessions, yet another concept
was taking shape. Outtakes from the session turned into the first Garage
a Trois release, Mysteryfunk (1999). In 2000, the trio was augmented
by percussionist Mike Dillon (Les Claypool, Ani DeFranco) and has since
released two more albums - Emphasizer in 2003 and Outre Mer (on Telarc)
in 2005 - both with Moore behind the drum kit.
Moore continued his Telarc affiliation with the September 2006 release
of III, his third solo recording. Boasting a trademark sound that Modern
Drummer has called "infectious, jazz-meets-Bonham, nouveau second-line," III
featured organist Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars, The Head Hunters),
guitarist Will Bernard (T.J. Kirk, Doctor Lonnie Smith), along with
a few special guests: Skerik and trombonist Mark Mullins (Galactic,
Bonerama, Harry Connick, Jr., Better Than Ezra).The album was recorded
at the legendary Preservation Hall in New Orleans.
Emphasis (on parenthis), the followup to III, includes the scaled
back session crew of Moore, Robert Walter and Will Bernard. "When
it came time to do another record," says Moore, "I had already
known for a while that I wanted to build on the momentum of this band
- three musicians who were becoming a unit unto themselves - and I
wanted to get a little more adventurous with the music itself."
Moore has also been keeping busy with numerous side projects, including
new albums with Galactic and Garage a Trois. He's also working on his
second book/DVD project, Groove Alchemy, an instructional package focusing
on groove drumming (Groove Alchemy is the followup to a similar instructional
package in 2005 that focused on New Orleans drumming styles).
He stays very involved in education, constantly teaching private lessons
in New Orleans and on the road. He was a contributing writer for Drum!
magazine and is currently a regular writer for Modern Drummer, which
featured him on their April 2004 cover. Showing a rare versatility,
he appeared (within the same year) on Heavy Metal Grammy nominees Corrosion
of Conformity's In the Arms of God, Irma Thomas' After the Rain and
Robert Walter's Super Heavy Organ. In 2005, he launched a signature
line of cymbals with Bosphorus Cymbals and a signature drum stick with
the Vic Firth stick company.
Despite some severe property damage and other personal setbacks in
the aftermath of Katrina, Moore was quick to lend a hand to other drummers
in New Orleans by donating cymbals and other gear to musicians whose
equipment was damaged by the storm. He has also played a number of
benefit concerts in the past year to help raise money for Katrina victims.
He recently spearheaded the Tipitina's Music Workshop to work with
young and developing musicians in the New Orleans area. The workshop
will focus on the preservation of New Orleans music and culture and
will host a rotating cast of well known local and national musicians
to work with the attendees. He continues to play dates throughout the
Big Easy as well as globally with an ever-evolving cast of musicians:
John Scofield; Karl Denson; George Porter, Jr., and Leo Nocentelli
(of the Meters); Charlie Hunter; Warren Haynes; John Medeski and John
Wood (of Medeski, Martin and Wood); Donald Harrison Jr.; Robert Walter;
the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars; the Preservation Hall Jazz Band;
Corrosion of Conformity; and Irma Thomas to name a few.
LP Equipment: LP
Classic Model Congas, Generation
II Bongos, LP
Timbales, assorted Cowbells,
Tambourine and Maracas
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