New Gary Moore interview

[tomjackson]

Just got Guitar and Bass  and it looks like Gary has now fallen out with Damon Albarn.  He sure likes to have a dig at people in his interviews, I've no problem with it in this case though.

I've just been thinking about his gear, I know he has some ace guitars but it is allso reassuring he uses plenty of gear available to us mortals like the Marshall DSL, Orange Tiny Terror and Gibson BFG.

Perhaps tone is in the fingers!

[Philly Q]

He does seem to be getting gobby about other artists all of a sudden.  Don't remember him being like that in the past.

[Fourth Feline]

He does seem to be getting gobby about other artists all of a sudden.  Don't remember him being like that in the past.

I went off him some years ago at a local gig , when he got visibly irritable and swore at a well meaning fan for shouting "Gazza !" instead of "Gary".  He seemed to treat the crowd with contempt all night after that - and a few of us nearly walked out early, especially as he was sounding very 'samey' all night.

I also heard from a mate who used to work in the hotel trade, that he had been a bit prima dona ish towards the staff.

Not acceptable from any 'artist' - and especially not one who's work is so derivative.

[Simon D]

Have you seen what he's said about Joe Bonamassa in the last issue of Guitarist? After he's done slagging off Brad Paisley, the interviewer asks him: Okay, so what about Joe Bonamassa? To which Gary replies (and I'll type out the whole thing):

"I think everyone's latched onto him a bit too much and I think they've put a lot of pressure on him. You can't be a blues legend at that age for a start, and I think the lad's getting a bit overblown. I've spoken to him about it and told him off for playing too many styles. You know, if you want to be a blues artist, be a blues artist, stop playing Yes songs and Indian songs and doing a bit of Derek Trucks and bit of me. He has a lot of influences but I think he's still got to find his own voice really. I think he has to focus on one thing, but I don't want to be derogatory(!). He's a really great guy and he's going to be really, really good."

First thing's first. Gary Moore's early 90s playing got me into the blues, because it provided a good bridge from rock for a 14 year-old Joe Satriani devotee. I really liked his playing.

However, his recent stuff has left me cold. It sounds hackneyed and tired, and when I saw him live in Bristol last year, he was stroppy and offensive (shouting and swearing at an audience who had the temerity to talk between songs) and his performance, while ok, was nowhere near as good as I'd been expecting. Behaviour like that pisses people off, and can alienate them completely if they were wavering to start with.

By contrast, Joe Bonamassa seems to get better album by album, and seems to bring a new element to his sound every time too. He's a fantastic guitar player who, despite what Mr Moore might think, already has a voice of his own. He's also a class act live. When I saw him (again, last year) he was genuinely appreciative that the audience had showed up on a freezing cold night, and he (and his band) gave the performance everything, with a complete absence of rockstar bullsh1t. He's also a far superior guitar player (imho).

Put it this way. They're both touring the UK in April. Who do you think I've already bought tickets to go see?

Sorry for the rant folks, but that's been boiling away since I first read the interview. In fact, since I'm in the mood now, I'm going to go the whole hog and write to Guitarist.

[Fourth Feline]

Have you seen what he's said about Joe Bonamassa in the last issue of Guitarist? After he's done slagging off Brad Paisley, the interviewer asks him: Okay, so what about Joe Bonamassa? To which Gary replies (and I'll type out the whole thing):

"I think everyone's latched onto him a bit too much and I think they've put a lot of pressure on him. You can't be a blues legend at that age for a start, and I think the lad's getting a bit overblown. I've spoken to him about it and told him off for playing too many styles. You know, if you want to be a blues artist, be a blues artist, stop playing Yes songs and Indian songs and doing a bit of Derek Trucks and bit of me. He has a lot of influences but I think he's still got to find his own voice really. I think he has to focus on one thing, but I don't want to be derogatory(!). He's a really great guy and he's going to be really, really good."

First thing's first. Gary Moore's early 90s playing got me into the blues, because it provided a good bridge from rock for a 14 year-old Joe Satriani devotee. I really liked his playing.

However, his recent stuff has left me cold. It sounds hackneyed and tired, and when I saw him live in Bristol last year, he was stroppy and offensive (shouting and swearing at an audience who had the temerity to talk between songs) and his performance, while ok, was nowhere near as good as I'd been expecting. Behaviour like that pisses people off, and can alienate them completely if they were wavering to start with.

By contrast, Joe Bonamassa seems to get better album by album, and seems to bring a new element to his sound every time too. He's a fantastic guitar player who, despite what Mr Moore might think, already has a voice of his own. He's also a class act live. When I saw him (again, last year) he was genuinely appreciative that the audience had showed up on a freezing cold night, and he (and his band) gave the performance everything, with a complete absence of rockstar bullsh1t. He's also a far superior guitar player (imho).

Put it this way. They're both touring the UK in April. Who do you think I've already bought tickets to go see?

Sorry for the rant folks, but that's been boiling away since I first read the interview. In fact, since I'm in the mood now, I'm going to go the whole hog and write to Guitarist.

I'll say "Amen ! " to that skillful summary of yours Simon .  :)

[Philly Q]

There was some discussion of Mr Moore's comments about Mr Bonamassa in this thread (second page), a couple of weeks ago:

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=15319.15

[MrBump]

Gary is always having a pop at people.

He's still my fav guitarist, but I'll agree, his playing these days often leaves me feeling disappointed.

Bring back the 1980s and Wild Frontier, I say!

I'm sure I remember him playing a Squire once.

Mark.

[Philly Q]

Bring back the 1980s and Wild Frontier, I say!

Corridors of Power and Victims of the Future for me!  :)

[Twinfan]

Run For Cover is a belter too, we play that in Doppelganger  :D

[gwEm]

its all about Wishing Well for me

[Twinfan]

We do his version of that as well!  :lol:

[Philly Q]

its all about Wishing Well for me

Ah, not as good as the original Free version (or the Blackfoot version, come to think of it)!!


Going back to Run For Cover, that was the album where I started to go off Gary Moore.  There were some great tracks, but a definite shift from out-and-out heavy rock to a slicker, more commercial sound.  And the re-recording of "Empty Rooms" was totally unnecessary (and sort of unforgiveable, IMO).

Nice Hamer guitars on the cover, though!

[gwEm]

its all about Wishing Well for me

Ah, not as good as the original Free version (or the Blackfoot version, come to think of it)!!

Nah, Gary's is my favourite, then Blackfoot, then Free ;)

[hendrixfan]

i like gary moore always have from the days of thin lizzy onwards,and i don,t really take much notice of players putting other players down,joe bonnamassa is one of my favourite new breed of blues players proggresive and traditional,if ya get me,contraversey sells magazines so i don,t get drawn into that.there both killer guitarists, :)

[broken cord]

I've never had an opportunity to see Moore live, although I do have most of his recorded work and I respect his playing prowness. However, I have seen Joe on more than one occasion. I will say that while neither is may favorite player I think Joe will end up doing more to advance the blues than Moore when they both cash in their chips and their playing days have ended.