Vincent "Vinnie" Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a member of the British hard rock band UFO.[2] Moore is one of the most influential and important guitarists to emerge from the virtuoso boom in the mid to late 1980s.[1]
Vinnie Moore | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vinnie Moore, 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vincent Moore |
| Born | April 14, 1964 New Castle, Delaware, United States |
| Genres | Neoclassical metal, hard rock, heavy metal, Progressive rock, Progressive metal, instrumental rock[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, keyboard |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Shrapnel |
| Website | vinniemoore |
Biography
Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware, only a couple of miles from fellow musicians George Thorogood (and The Delaware Destroyers). He began his professional career at age 12 after receiving a guitar as a Christmas present. During a 2018 interview, Moore stated, "I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was like 12, basically just because I saw a picture of a guitar in a catalog, a JCPenney's catalog. I thought, 'Hey that looks pretty cool. I want that.' That was my motivation at the time, and I got it for Christmas, and really didn't bother with it a whole lot. Then, I started taking lessons for the next year. Then I really started to get obsessed with it."[3] During that same interview, Moore was asked who his earliest teachers were, and he stated, "The first teacher was Mary Biddle, and I studied for a year with her, just some basic lessons at the local music shop. After about a year, I had advanced, and she referred me to another guy named Nick Bucci, who was a great player in my local area. He was studying jazz guitar with Pat Martino, and was also a rock guy, and he just taught me a lot of stuff; theory, and exercises, and all different kinds of stuff to make me become a better player and musician."[3] Moore played clubs and bars until Shrapnel executive Mike Varney discovered him via a demo and biography that Moore submitted to the Spotlight column, which Varney headed for Guitar Player. His connection to Varney led to an opportunity to appear in a Pepsi commercial in 1985[4] (only Vinnie's hands appeared in the commercial as his guitar playing is heard).[2][5] Following this, Moore recorded his first solo album, Mind's Eye (1986),[6] released on Shrapnel Records and featuring Tony MacAlpine on keyboards. The album received several awards from guitar magazines and sold over 100,000 copies.[citation needed]
Moore played lead guitar with the heavy metal band Vicious Rumors on their debut album, Soldiers of the Night (1985).[6] The album featured Moore's solo-song "Invader", which was in the style of Van Halen's "Eruption". The shred guitar craze of the late 1980s led to more releases for Shrapnel.[citation needed] Moore also began performing with other hard rock and heavy metal bands.[citation needed]
Moore joined Alice Cooper's band for a tour and then appeared on the Hey Stoopid (1991) album.[6][7] Moore released two instructional videos on guitar playing.[8][9]
Moore has been the lead guitarist for UFO since June 2003, releasing his first studio album with them You Are Here the following year. This has been followed by The Monkey Puzzle (2006), The Visitor (2009), Seven Deadly (2012) and A Conspiracy of Stars (2015).
On August 5, 2013, Moore came on stage to perform live with Peter Frampton on Frampton's Guitar Circus concert at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Moore played guitar on Red Zone Rider's debut album Red Zone Rider released on September 16, 2014.[2]
Equipment
Moore is currently endorsed by Dean guitars, with whom he has several signature models. Prior to his endorsement with Dean, he used guitars made by various other brands over the years including Ibanez and Fender, most notably the Talon model that was manufactured by Heartfield, one of Fender's sub brands. Moore also currently uses ENGL amplifiers and DiMarzio pickups.
Discography
Discography
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | |||||||||
| Mind's Eye |
|
– |
| ||||||
| Time Odyssey |
|
147 |
| ||||||
| Meltdown |
|
– |
| ||||||
| Out of Nowhere |
|
– |
| ||||||
| The Maze |
|
– |
| ||||||
| Defying Gravity |
|
– | |||||||
| To the Core |
|
– | |||||||
| Aerial Visions |
|
– | |||||||
| Soul Shifter |
|
– | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Collection: The Shrapnel Years |
|
Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live! |
|
Instructional videos
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Advanced Lead Guitar Techniques |
|
| Speed, Accuracy, & Articulation |
|
Other appearances
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vicious Rumors – Soldiers of the Night | 1985 | band member |
| Alice Cooper – Hey Stoopid | 1991 | band member |
| UFO – You Are Here | 2004 | band member |
| Jordan Rudess – Rhythm of Time | 2004 | guest |
| UFO – Showtime | 2005 | band member |
| UFO – The Monkey Puzzle | 2006 | band member |
| Destruction – D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. | 2008 | guest |
| Michael Angelo Batio – Hands Without Shadows 2 – Voices | 2009 | guest |
| UFO – The Visitor | 2009 | band member |
| Glen Drover – Metalusion | 2011 | guest |
| UFO – Seven Deadly | 2012 | band member |
| Red Zone Rider – Red Zone Rider | 2014 | band member |
| UFO – A Conspiracy of Stars | 2015 | band member |
References
- ^ a b Vinnie Moore. "Vinnie Moore | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Vinnie Moore Interview". Guitarhoo!. Guitarhoo.com. December 15, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "R.Y.A.N. - Season 2, Episode 5: Vinnie Moore". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ "80's Pepsi Commercial". YouTube. April 6, 2006. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ "Vinnie Moore". Vinnie Moore. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 301/2. ISBN 0-7535-0257-7.
- ^ "Vinnie Moore's Official Web Site". March 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ "Vinnie Moore". Vinnie Moore. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ "Vinnie Moore". Vinnie Moore. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ "Vinnie Moore - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "Mind's Eye by Vinnie Moore". Music.apple.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Sludge Scan As of January 16, 2000". Metalsludge.tv. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "The Maze by Vinnie Moore". Music.apple.com.
- ^ "Defying Gravity by Vinnie Moore". Music.apple.com.
- ^ "To the Core by Vinnie Moore". Music.apple.com.
- ^ "The Shrapnel Years by Vinnie Moore". Music.apple.com.
- ^ "Vinnie Moore (Live) by Vinnie Moore". Music.apple.com.