Uncharted Territory: Evolving & Growing

So much to share!   The music mentor in me feels the need to remind people that it's never too late to pick up new skills.  I wanted to give an update on my drum journey and share some news about some developments.

DRUMS!  I started out with a midi kit which works well for recording but ultimately it's not the same as an acoustic kit.  I'm very fortunate that Murdock from The Adarna let me use his kit in the off times plus I'm surrounded by so many great drummers who are my friends.  So I got myself my own kit and have been going through upgrading everything as I go.   Things I've come to notice:  I way prefer playing hip-hop & funk beats more than rock beats.  I can see this will change the way I send out demos moving forward.  I put a couple of quick Instagram clips in this post on how things are going.

MORE INSTRUMENTS!  I finally got my first acoustic piano!  I learned about pianos from listening to my brother play.  This was actually a massive part of my musical development.  I found that when it came time to learn music, in general, I was able to move faster because I grew up listening to the melodies my brother played.   I've been playing keyboards and synths on a number of The Adarna's music.  However, playing an acoustic piano is a completely different endeavor.  Generally, as a guitarist you're operating within a couple of octave range, it's wonderful to really spread out chords over 6-7 octaves with the piano.  I think this will be great moving forward with writing!

A fun tip, I didn't have a whole lot of money to throw toward an acoustic piano.  But oftentimes, piano stores also have moving companies in their employ.  Meaning they really need to keep those guys busy so they'll get pianos from auctions or giveaways and fix them up to turn a profit.  You might be able to get a (practically free) piano if you talk to a local piano store about free delivery on the 2nd hand pianos.

Uncharted Territory: WVS Vocal Training Program

THE ADARNA is getting closer to releasing our 4th album.  It's in the mixing process right now which will include the singles "What's Your Name" and "Braver Than Yesterday" we recently released.

CINEMATIC - I've been keeping this under wraps for some time but I was asked to join my first cover group with some very talented musicians.  Doing covers has never been a strong suit of mine because I always want to mess with them to put my own spin on the songs.  So when an opportunity to put my own spin on songs I already like came about, I had to give it a shot.  Plus I only have to sing!  Woohoo!  Being a multi-instrumentalist is fun but just singing really allows you to focus on your craft, performance, and sweeeeeet stage moves!  We'll be making a more formal announcement but this new group, Cinematic, will be debuting in 2023.

Finally, with my vocal studio, I've decided to build a masterclass called "Uncharted Territory".  I've been thinking about this for some time now but I'm making this more of a priority lately.  I'm noticing more and more that there needs to be this synergy (yay buzz word!) between talent & technology.  A lot of people I have worked with over time get stuck in their ways and aren't willing to learn new skills and technology which leads to stopping a chance to grow!  Just like anything, new more effective ways to train keep coming out.  Technology and equipment are rapidly changing the entire field of music & touring as I've known it. I feel the strong need to evolve with the world as it changes.  This program I'm building is to help address that.

 

 

Releasing Muffin Fluff ☆ ReMastered ☆ What’s Your Name

Releases

Got that pep in the step again!  I'm very excited that The Adarna released our latest single "What's Your Name" and is available to listen to now!  Soon to follow in January we will be releasing Remastered versions of our debut 2 singles, "Honestly" and "Smell of Gasoline."  In a recent posting on The Adarna's website, I was happy to talk about how much these two songs meant to me not only as a writer but in an effort to start over again fresh with a new band after the fallout of Veritas.  What's Your Name will mark the second recording I've had with my new 6-string samurai, Jake Lord.  The Adarna will, in one way or another, be finishing our next album at the beginning of 2023.

10 Year Anniversary remastering of "Smell of Gasoline" and "Honestly"

In more release news, the band I play bass in, Death by Overkill, will also be releasing our latest single "Muffin Fluff."  This is particularly exciting for me because I got to spread my engineering wings on this song as well as on "Cucumber Ranch."  Engineering really isn't a passion of mine but it's important to better understand the songwriting process and think more about questions like "what does the song call for?" "Is that really necessary or is that overkill?"  "More like Death by Overkill that is," exclaims the stranger in the dark!  I leer at the stranger for beating me to the punchline of a dad joke.   I turn my shoulder away in disgust...mostly at myself for not being quick enough to the punch but also because I realize that I'm having an inner monologue.  Move along Will... move along.

I'm excited about what is coming around the corner in 2023!   I plan on rolling out a producer page on WPM that will talk about some artists I've been working with lately.  I've been working closely with my producer for a number of years and I'm happy to be able to help other people make their music come to fruition.

The Adarna ReMastered

What's Your Name (Single) 2022 by The Adarna

Muffin Fluff by Death by Overkill

ASPJ Fundraiser Success!! #PornJamBabies

Check out how the whole night went down! Watch videos of members of William's bands and a debut drumming performance!

Well, I had a blast at the 19th Annual All-Star Porn Jam 2022!!  The lineup was incredible!  If you're not in-the-know...it's an annual fundraiser held at Seattle's oldest saloon, The Central Saloon.   Hundreds of Seattle bands get together and swap members for charity to play covers that not only rooock but help out PAWS (helping out fuzzy friends) & NW Harvest (helping families in need.)  It has become known to some of us reoccurring members as the "musician's company Christmas Party."

It's probably one of my favorite things about Seattle.  Coming from Los Angeles, we didn't have much of a music scene.  Everyone felt very separated and not much collaboration or comradery in the LA Scene.   When I was first introduced to ASPJ in 2008 (later performing in 2009,) my band at the time, Veritas, all participated and man we were hooked!  It feels great to catch up with all the band members performing and see how their passions have been developing.   This year proved particularly difficult because the last 2 years were canceled due to COVID and we were all nervous about how it would go...  it was awesome 🙂

So what's up with the Porn?  A fine question.  I like to think that this is your porn-star team... you're not supposed to make a band with them because that dude is a bad-ass guitar player but he's friggin' nuts!  So for one night only.  We make Porn Jam babies. #PornJamBabies

William Perry Moore Playing Drums

This year I got to really push myself.  One of the great things these events offer is a chance to do other bands' songs that perhaps don't fit your normal instrument or project.   You can see from the video that I was popping around a lot on different instruments.  This actually was my first time playing drums in front of people! Only threw one stick. Whew.  As you can see...I was jacked!  Wipe that smile off your face, William!  Rock is serious!

Another reason I have a great love for this event is that I feel I am obligated to invite new blood in.  I want others to be as excited about this as I am.  Some of the people performing were even my students from WVS!

This year I was proud to invite new bloods and first-time Porn Jammers:

My bandmate's from The Adarna, Jake Lord on 8-string guitar (yikes) & Oliver Spencer on bass as well as Devon from Devilry & Revolution Red on vocals.  I finally tracked down the OTHER Will Moore in Seattle and asked him to play bass on a song for me.

FUN LITTLE TIDBIT:  StayC from Death by Overkill was the first person to let me play bass on one of her songs for ASPJ.  I had such a great time doing it that we broke the rules and created the band, Death by Overkill, from fellow Porn-Jammers Jake Jovanovich & Elliott Nutt.   

Finally, the greatest compliment I could've hoped for happened when some friends and musicians asked if they could cover The Adarna's "Sugar" song at ASPJ.  I know the singer was getting over a cold, but I was very honored to see them pumping up the crowd and giving me a chance to watch my OWN song unfold!  What an experience! Loved it!

All Star Porn Jam 2022 Featuring StayC Moore, William Perry Moore, Jake Jovanovich, Jake Lord, and Elliott Nutt

William Perry Moore singing at All Star Porn Jam 2022

All Star Porn Jam 2022 Featuring: William Perry Moore, Will Moore, Jake Lord, Jake Jovanovich, and Elliott Nutt

Merry Xmas, I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight..

Well here's a fun cover that I got to do with my old bandmates, The Slants. Most of us are living in different parts of the country these days but it was fun to do an online recording with my brothers-in-arms. It was especially a treat because there were members of The Slants that I never got to play with since they were either before or after I left the group.

So without further ado, please enjoy our cover of Ramones "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)."  Performed by Aron Moxley (vocals), Joe X Jiang (keys), Ken Shima (vocals), Simon Tam (bass), Thai Dao (DOUBLE bass), Tyler Chen (vocals), Yuya Matsuda (drums), and yours truly on geeeetar!   Have a great New Year and we'll see you out there!

Preshow Rituals with WPM

Preshow rituals can really be very different for every person.  As a singer, I noticed it starts with choices.  Choices on what to consume.  What weighs me down as a performer or vocalist?  Often times I find myself opting for a salad over something heavy like a pizza.  For me, I perspire quite a lot I have to keep the salt intake as low as I can so that I'm not distracted by buurrning sweat! AUUGHH! Every day you're different so getting in tune with your instrument is imperative.  As a guitarist, it helps me to prep my equipment well in advance and go through my precheck rituals.  Have the batteries been changed? What equipment needs repairs? Do my strings need changing? Do I need to adjust the set order if I noticed something caused lagging in the set or I was struggling with something the night before?

Something I didn't mention in the interview below with Digital Tour Bus, was post-show rituals.  Just as important as preparing for a performance is what you do immediately after.   The majority of the time everybody wants to talk to you right after the show.  Personally, I've seen way too many musicians leave equipment behind or blow out their voice from talking to quickly after a performance.  Often I'll do cool down voice exercises while packing my equipment and passing it off to any roadies we might have.  Getting the equipment into a safe place is imperative since it's our livelihoods.  If I'm able to pass off a job quickly, I can make my way to the merch booth to meet fans and thank them for coming to the show.  But I can't do that if the equipment is safe.

If you've ever hung out with any of my bands or myself, William-does-fancy-himself some drinks but again this comes to choices.  Is it my shift to drive the tour bus?  How far do we need to go?  Am I performing the next night?  Do we have a driver?  Are we staying in town?  At the end of the evening when all the hanging out is done and we're in our bunks on the road to our next show, the prep work before and after a show will allow us to be consistent as performers.  At this current stage, every group I've been in still has to pull their own weight even if we do have roadies or drivers.   So it becomes my responsibility to be consistent so that fans get the same show energy even if we are midweek on a 2-month tour.

Drum Cover of “What If”

Well here's my first attempt at playing and tracking along with a song.  I chose this song, "What If" by Tokio Hotel because it does a lot of grooves that I tend to be drawn towards in electronic music.  I'm using this forum in a way to document progress.  My goal is to share my struggles, achievements, and thought process.  As much as I'd love to only tell you about only the great stuff, I feel I'd do a disservice to future musicians and anybody who is struggling to express themselves.  I ride a fine line of being a music mentor and a performer.  Ultimately, I need to create music and express myself first and foremost but helping others find their musical voicings is extremely rewarding.

That being said, this is where I am playing drums with about 1-2 weeks of practice with a click.  Since I'm already familiar with how to drill myself with other instruments, this seems to be coming to me pretty naturally.   In about a year, I'll either think about venturing into a brass instrument or the cello but I'll shelve that for another time.

Quarantine Sessions Continue to Rage On

As the COVID-19 quarantine rages on so too does more desire to express myself.  I'm sure you're all equally feeling frustrated by the state of the world and trying to keep yourself motivated and positive, but it sure gets hard when everything in the news either terrifies you or demoralizes you.  That being said, stayC and I teamed up to make another electronic session entitled "We're Doomed <3".  This was a particularly fun one to make happen and it's likely it'll pop up in Death by Overkill's repertoire.

I've also included other songs/licks/covers by members from The Adarna as well.  Give them a like and enjoy!

In other news, I've decided to purchase an electronic drum set so that I don't drive my household nuts when I play the acoustic drum set.   Right now has been a great time for developing new skills and refining others.  Much love guys!

 

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Working on newww tricks

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COVID-19 Sessions

Well I can tell you the good thing about being stuck in doors during this global pandemic is that you do have time to try some of the sillier ideas on your mind. Common down the rabbit with me!

TIME AFTER TIME: First up we have a dark retro synth wave version of Cyndi Lauper's song in a duet with StayC Meyer from Death by Overkill & Furniture Girls.   I had considered releasing this song properly but decided to just go release it as a for-fun thing.  I've been really drawn towards dubstep and heavy modern synth (in the vein of Stranger Things) lately so here's an attempt at digging into it.  You'll probably see more of this popping up in my repertoire.

FALLING SLOWLY:   This was a really pretty song from the Irish band The Swell Season.  They made a great artsy film called "Once" and this was their title track.  "What's that strange keyboard thing?"  That my dear, is a melodica, that StayC uses in Death by Overkill.

I RANAndreka joins Stayc and I to try the Flock of Seagulls song.  The small instruments StayC and Andreka are playing are called kalimbas.  Andreka used a pill bottle to help keep time.  It was pretty hilarious that by the end of it all the pills were pretty much turned to powder.  Ironically, those were back pain meds that would've been really useful since being stuck in quarantine, my usual trek to the gym has been disrupted and my back is really acting up.  #ArtIsPain    I was playing a cigar box ukelele that my buddy Sean Fairchild made.  Huge thank you my brutha!