Ian Moore talks about music making

Singer/songwriter Ian Moore is performing tonight at Sharpie's. I recently interviewed Moore and really enjoyed his views on music and performing. Here's some of what we talked about, and if you're free tonight check him out. I think this will be a really good show.

S.N.: You approached your latest album, “To Be Loved,” from a different angle. You really experimented with sound and recording. How much different was recording this album from your previous work?

MOORE: My last record, "Luminaria" was a lot quieter. Stylistically, I was listening to different stuff. I incorporated some of my favorite sounds on this album, and I think it was more ambitious.

S.N.: You built some of the recording equipment yourself. So, how long did it take you to complete this album?

MOORE: I'm a really active musician. Most people put out a record and then they go on tour. But I tour constantly. So the time I spent making the album reflects that. I wasn’t sitting there recording non-stop. I recorded it myself over a period of several months.

S.N.: Were the results satisfying for you?

MOORE: Of course, part of me is very satisfied and another part of me is never satisfied with anything in life. But, ultimately it's got its own identity that's different than what anyone else is doing right now. I'm really proud with the sounds and vocal recordings. It's an art form just like painting or writing a novel.

S.N.: Do you think fans can easily follow the changes you make from album to album?

MOORE: That really depends on the people. Most artists aren’t changing as much because they're scared of losing their fan base. But things change all time, I may have lost some fans because of it but it's who I am. The one thing that is consistent is change. Every record I've done is different from the last, and I plan to keep it that way.

S.N.: Most artists find something they do well and they really dig into that one thing. Why is change necessary for you?

MOORE: Change and art are synonymous. If I'm making records and from record to record I'm not growing or covering any different territory then why am I doing it? I don’t know, I may be at odds with some people on this, but some musicians say, "I do this because I want people to have a good time." Well, I want people to have a good time at my shows, and I want to make people happy. But it's also part of my job as pop musician to pull in different things and to open people's ears to different stuff. And in a small subtle way, I think it makes the world better. I'm idealistic. I know that.

S.N.: You were well established in Austin and you chose to move. How did that shake things up for you?

MOORE: It shook things up quite a bit. The backdrop was much different. It took away the crutches. When I left Austin, I was at the height of my success there, and I moved to a town where I didn’t really have all those things going on. I wasn’t the cornerstone of Seattle's music scene, it wasn’t my town and that made me work harder and made me really look inside myself. It helped with writing. My songs got better and better and the end product is that I'm better at my craft.

S.N.: Your music has been compared to everything from The Beatles to The Flaming Lips. Does any pressure come with these comparisons?

MOORE: Just because you're being compared doesn’t mean you're as good. It just means there are elements of my music that make people think of certain groups. I think comparisons are just a frame of reference. That’s how people think. If you come out to show and you want to tell someone else what to expect, that how most people describe music.