Moore making his way back to the Cincy area

Middletown Journal - January, 2002
By Ginny McCabe

Dallas Moore isn't afraid to be himself.  He is a nice, down to earth guy, but at the same time, he's a quite devoted and talented country musician, who is making his way back to Cincinnati from Nashville to play an acoustic solo set at The Wooden Horse in Woodlawn from 9 to midnight on Tuesday.

At first glance, his long hair may lead you to believe that his musical style is hard rock or even metal, but his songs are rooted right in the heart of country music.  With his heart and soul, and a little bit of attitude, some have described him musically as a mix between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams, Sr.  He doesn't mind the comparisons, but to Moore, the beauty of the music is more about getting on stage, and pouring his heart and talents into music of his own.  Moore's early musical influences were Elvis and Hank Williams Sr.  He remembers getting his first guitar when he was a teenager, and he said he has been playing original music ever since.  In his college years, he studied jazz and was playing big band jazz.  Now he says he listens to all kinds of music from Metallica to Merle Haggard, and just about every style in between.

Locally, he plays in clubs and a variety of venues in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.  His tour calendar is usually full, ranging from regular week night gigs to weekend concert dates.  His family, friends and fans in the area know that he means business when it comes to playing music.  In the last few years, he and his band have earned numerous awards and accolades for their musical endeavors.  When Moore is not on the road touring, musically, he spends time riding his motorcycle, another one of the things that he said he loves. 

Moore also reported on his web site that 2001 has been an eventful year for him and the band.  "One of our biggest accomplishments was bringing Joe Boyland (former manager/producer of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company) on board with our management team," Moore said.   Another highlight of the past year is that Moore and his band started working on a new CD at SAE Studios in Nashville, Tenn.  "We (were) back in  Nashville this (past) week, working on more of the album's tracks with Boyland, who is also producing our CD," he explained. 

Dallas Moore and his band toured over 300 dates this year, and plans to continue to travel across the country.  Another opportunity Moore and the band had was touring with some of the acts that they consider to be musical heroes and influences, including the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, David Allen Coe, Montgomery Gentry, Molly Hatchet, Kentucky Headhunters and Jackyl.

To go along with his love of biking, Moore and his band also played at some of the countries major biker events, including Sturgis, S.D.; Daytona, Fla.; and Laconia, N.H.; Freedom Rally in Humbolt, Iowa and the Bean Blossom Boogie (the Midwest's biggest biker event).

Moore and the band continued a three year streak of winning CAMMY awards in 2001.  "We took home CAMMY Awards for Best Country Band, Best Country Vocalist and our guitar player, Chuck Morpurgo, won for Best Country Instrumentalist.  And, the best part was that we got to perform a set on the CAMMY show," Moore recalled.

The band played in some new places, some for the first time, including The Taste of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Art Museum (CAMMY's at the CAM Concert Series) and their first tour of the East Coast, which included stops at The Pontiac in Philadelphia and The Continental in New York City and The Broken Spoke in Laconia, New Hampshire.

Moore and his band are welcoming in the New Year by working on and recording songs for their upcoming project.  They also will continue the tour extensively.  Another thing they are looking forward to in 2002 is the release of a King Records Tribute, a project that they recently had the opportunity to be a part of.  "We teamed up with Sweet Alice Hoskins and recorded the classic 'There's Good Rockin' Tonight," Moore said.  Other acts slated for the King Tribute, which is being released on the J Curve label, include Peter Frampton, Bootsy Collins, Scotty Anderson, Blessid Union of Souls, 98 Degrees, The Stapletons, Chuck Cleaver, The Greenhorns and Mr. Eddie Cunningham.  the proceeds of the project will benefit the Inclusion Network.