Influences: Gary Moore
My early foray into guitar music involved a few very influential players. Today I am talking about Irish rocker and bluesman, Gary Moore.
I first learned about Gary Moore on the KSJO Progressive Rock show, DJed by Greg Stone. One of the songs he played frequently was “Spirit” by the Gary Moore Band, one of the first incarnations of Gary Moore. The song was a long (17:17) anthem that just rips.
The first album from Gary Moore that I bought was “Corridors of Power”, a hard rock tour de force, that had the killer tune “End of the World” which has a just ripping intro solo.
Throughout the 1980’s, Gary Moore was a dyed in the wool Rocker, but in the late 80’s and beyond, he moved into a blues groove that led to more commercial success.
I got to see him twice, once at a small-ish club here in San Jose (Garden City) that was SRO (it probably comfortably held 300, but a lot more were there that night) and at The Cow Palace, more of an arena venue.
Gary Moore was a master. When I learned that he had passed, I was seriously saddened, but he left a vast catalog of works, across several genres and his influence on my playing is a testament to who he was.
Below is a video of an interview he gave, and it was just amazing to hear him be so normal.
Gary Moore was a true great!