I was in high school the first time I heard Vinnie Moore’s “Mind’s Eye” and was immediately hooked; heart and soul. At the time I was playing bass in a local Thrash band but always loved all of the, then emerging, Neo-Classical guitarwork by other greats like Yngwie Malsteen, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Richie Blackmore, Tony MacAlpine and many others. Vinnie’s guitar playing struck me immediately and straight to my soul. I cannot quite place my finger on what made his music resonate so deeply but I still cannot shake his magical playing to this day. Blazing speed? Silky smooth “feel”? Perfect melodies? Emotional connection? All of these? Something else? I just don’t know. Regardless, I have probably listened to “Mind’s Eye” and “Time Odyssey” (this is actually where my pen name originated) literally thousands of times. They simply never get old and just feel like home to me. In my humble opinion, he defines “The Perfect Guitarist”.
Vincent “Vinnie” Moore was born on April 14, 1964 in New Castle, Delaware. At the age of 12, Vinnie got his first guitar and became obsessed with the instrument. At this early age, Moore says that his influences included greats like Jeff Beck, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Queen. After just two years of private lessons, he began playing with cover bands but eventually decided that he wanted to play the music playing in his brilliant head. After recording a demo and sending it to Guitar Player magazine, he caught the attention of Shrapnel Records executive Mike Varney who wrote the Spotlight column at the time. This led to Moore’s first professional recording in 1985 for a Pepsi commercial. Two years later, Mind’s Eye was released by Shrapnel and quickly followed a year later by Time Odyssey which was released on the Squak/Polygram label. He has continued to release solo albums along with being a member of many bands including Alice Cooper, UFO and Red Zone Rider. As time has passed, so have the influences on Moore’s spectacular song writing and playing skills that now include Jazz, Latin and Blues alongside is Rock underpinning. He continues to grow with each release.
In addition to writing and playing, Vinnie’s next passion is teaching. He has released a pair of instructional DVDs on the HotLicks label, hosted hundreds of guitar clinics all over the world and now works with Dean Guitars and Engl Amplification to meet, teach and learn from fans and fellow guitarists. As he states on his website: “I like talking to the fans firsthand and learning from them. It’s insightful to hear what they like about what I’m doing, and what they think about the guitar genre…and the whole music scene in general. I definitely feed off of their energy. It’s cool to be part of a global guitar community, and it’s an honor to know that I can sometimes inspire others to get excited by music and guitar. It always amazes me to me to hear that I have touched someone else by doing something that I love doing so much. I consider it a gift to be playing guitar and writing songs, and feel like one of the luckiest cats in the world to have fans.”
With a music career spanning some 40 years, there is no doubt that Vinnie Moore has solidified himself as one of the all-time song-writing and guitar greats. His playing is seamless and smooth; fast and soaring; touching and beautiful. Along with his positive attitude and always having and open mind to learn, I hope to continue marveling at his music far into the future, but if he quit tomorrow, I still have the flashback to my formidable years through his debut albums. I don’t think I will ever outgrow them and continue to hold all of Vinnie Moore’s music very close to my heart. I hold it all in the highest regard…
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