Fri. Sept. 26

You may know the Boston-based Peter Moore - singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist - as a guy who's done a lot of provocative music that might be called contemporary prog-rock. Sometimes, tricky, difficult, but rewarding. Moore has a solo album out "One Ride," and a gig tonight Friday Sept. 26 at the Middle East. He plays both solo and with his band Count Zero. We asked him to ruminate about "One Ride" and where he is at this point in his career: "This is different from standard Count Zero stuff. Generally more upbeat I've been told.  I suppose I've done my share  of dragging others down into my hole over the years, with Think Tree and Count Zero. You know, writing songs about the ineptitude and/or  deception of our leaders, the hopelessness of the human condition,  the loss of innocence.  But those bands are only a fraction of my 
output. I do, on occasion, write love songs. Like the ones on this  CD. That said, just 'cause it's a love song don't mean it's happy. Their  sentiments run the gamut from the 'Gee, You're the Niftiest Girl on  Planet' to 'You Tore My Heart out and Pooped on it Big-time.' Plus I dig deeper into styles that would be inappropriate for even  the genre-tolerant Count Zero. But the genre-shifting here, I  maintain, serves the sentiment of the lyrics;  the poppy songs  underscore the exuberance of the crush; the vintage R&B jams for the  sexual confidence at the beginning of the relationship;  the denser 
modalities for when the relationship starts getting old and the  lovers begin to question it; the Chopin-esque Romantic angst when it's dying. the CD." 

 And more from Moore ...
"Being this is a solo CD, there is no 'band' to contend with, just me. 
Probably due to the fact that I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, 
Todd Rundgren, Prince, and other 'do-it-yourselfers" I consider it 
perfectly legitimate to make a record by writing, arranging, playing 
and engineering everything.  And, honestly, it's due to convenience.  
I was on the road a lot with the Blue Man Group over the last few 
years while I was making this record, so I was only home for small 
pockets of time, and didn't have time to 'train' a band on how to 
play it.
Playing all the instruments myself isn't the hard part, as these 
songs aren't terribly complex. It's the self-engineering that's the 
bitch.  Especially drums, that's a doozy... constantly running 
between the kit and the preamps, then resetting a mic, then recording 
and listening to see if that's right, no it's not, change, try.  
Okay.  Record!  Wait...what's the drum pattern in the intro, again? 
Man, if I could've hired a monkey to twiddle knobs for me, it woulda 
been worth it. Plus it'd have made a great PR angle.
(I should add that  the string quartet and the trombone and trumpet 
player are real and NOT me. So technically I didn't play everything.)
I've been meaning to make a solo record probably since I started 
writing songs, which would be age four.  I didn't dig in in earnest 
until I started playing solo shows, just me, a piano, and a kick 
drum, about ten years ago.  But soon after starting this I grew 
cognizant of how a guy onstage playing solo piano can be trying for 
an audience. So I decided to make an overaching theme, have songs 
strung together in a story.   And to act the parts of the story out 
in between songs.  (Blame my Boston Rock Opera experiences for that 
perspective!  Also, I've always done a lot of acting on the rock-club 
stage, even back in Think Tree days.  I mean, it IS a *stage* for 
god's sake, even in a club.  And even rock stars are acting when 
they're up there. So why not be blatant about it?) When I do this 
show live, as I'm doing tonight, that's what I do: I portray a man, 
his girlfriend, and two buddies, as he's having conversations with 
each of them throughout his relationship, in between each song. When 
making the album, I thought having this dialog breakup each song 
would emotionally sanitize the listening experience. So I opted for 
minute-long lo-fi stripped-down piano and vocal 'interstitials,' 
which allegorically translate the cycle of a relationship to a ride 
on a bicycle, with all its ups and downs. Different approaches for 
different media.

The future?  Well, being that the live show is only me and a couple 
pieces of gear, it's compact, so touring is compact and economical.  
I have a few shows on the horizon, but I expect to get a proper 
regional tour assembled before year's end.  And I am making a live 
companion CD, as there are, on occasion, people who prefer the 
stripped down versions of a song over the full-production version."
Yes, Moore, clearly gives some thought to this process. Check out the many manifestations of Moore at the Middle East Upstairs tonight. The lineup is:
Andrea Gillis, Count Zero, Peter Moore, and Steamy Bohemians. Tickets are $9. Starts at 9.
472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 www.mideastclub.com

18+ $9