Interview by: David Locklear
Shimon Moore has very humble expectations when it comes to his upcoming solo project.
“Oh, it’s only going to be the biggest thing in the history of the universe,” he says with a laugh.
He recently dropped the single, “Hallelujah”, from his upcoming solo album that brings a fire and fun sense of rock momentum from start to finish. It even features him engaging in a guitar solo rock-off between him and his muppet doppelganger.
This may seem a bit upbeat for fans of his former band, Sick Puppies, whose sound and swagger gave off more of a melancholy impression.
“It’s kind of interesting, because I didn’t realize that if you only watched [Sick Puppies] videos or only listened to the records, we gave off this dark quality that makes you think we’re some emo band or some shit. But when you listen to the records as a whole, there were lots of very inspiring songs. You know, songs that were supposed to be more on the positive side and focusing more on the positive vibes. In the Puppies music videos, we were a little more straight forward and down the line, but any one who saw our shows wouldn’t be surprised by the “Hallelujah” video.”
Sick Puppies formed in the late 90’s and rose to international fame in 2006 with their song, “All The Same”, which has millions of views on YouTube, and they also released 5 successful albums and won multiple awards. But in 2014, Moore and the Puppies parted ways, and when it came time to begin the arduous process of breaking ground on new songs, Moore realized that trying to duplicate the sound that helped make Sick Puppies famous was not where his heart or his muse was.
“When I was starting to make the record, a lot of people said ‘Man, you should just make an active rock record: straightforward, same drum sound, same vocal sound, same guitar sound, same type of songs-you know, just an album of heavy, angry teenage shit. And I kind of tried for a minute, but it felt so fucking wrong. I would have been pandering to a really small section of the audience…whereas most Puppies fans really enjoyed the broad strokes we would take musically, and loved our live shows because they were a good time! We wouldn’t get up there and talk about how much we hated our fucking parents, we’d talk about having a good time and loving life and rock n’ roll and aspiring to a dream we were able to fulfill. So there is a lot more of that type of energy on the solo record. Like “Hallelujah” is a very uplifting type of song, but it’s still a ball tearing fucking rock song with massive guitars!”
When the Sick Puppies first came on the scene in the mid 2000’s, they were typically mentioned in the same breath as bands such as Disturbed, as well as bands with well-known Christian beliefs, like Skillet and Three Days Grace. Now with a song titled “Hallelujah”, one can’t help but wonder what Moore’s current belief system is.
“With ‘Hallelujah’, it didn’t occur to me until I put it out that it was a religious word!” he says. “For me it was just a cool thing to yell at a crowd…it gets them jacked up and inspired. I didn’t go Christian, I don’t really talk about my personal religious beliefs…I don’t really bring it into my shit, I just keep it about the music. The most important things I care about is keep it about the music and keep it about being good to each other, and being good to people in general. I add as much of that to my music as possible. The closest I will get to any spirituality is the actual mantra of my music: ‘That you can achieve the life that you want for yourself, regardless of the obstacles or perceived circumstances.’ And that is what I try to put into every one of my songs and every single thing I put out there: That anything is possible.”
With new music almost complete and ready to see a release around September, and a new band lined up and ready to play, Shim Moore is very anxious to get out on the road and start writing a new musical chapter in his life.
“There are festivals and headline shows that are being booked as we speak,” he says, “I’d like to be on tour right now, but we had to get the single out first. Now we’re just deciding what tour to be on, and as soon as we know, we’re going to tell every one. And every one of my shows comes with a money-back guarantee! It’s a service industry, man, and if you come to one of my shows and aren’t satisfied, you’ll get your money back. I’ll put my money where my mouth is. I’ve put more fucking blood, sweat, bone and spirit into this project than you can imagine. But if it’s not enough for someone, fair enough! But this show is going to be the best show around in rock ‘n roll once it hits the stage. You can fucking quote me on that, and you can quote me that I said ‘Quote Me’! This is going to be the most badass fuckin’ show in rock ‘n roll!”
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