Time Out New York 1998

Gig Preview

Issue No. 154
September 3-10, 1998

R. Stevie Moore .
Tonic; Sunday, September 6 .
Eccentric New Jersey legend R. Stevie .
Moore began making one-man home .
recordings a couple of decades before .
doing so becamse a movement or .
a viable route to underground stardom. .
After his initial efforts as a teenager in .
the late '60s, Moore quietly churned out .
a prodigious stream of personal gems .
that pre-figured the lo-fi explosion by a .
coule of decades. Since then, he's built a .
remarkably accomplished body of work .
that reveals an idiosyncratic, far-rang- .
ing and wholly unique talent, even if he's .
too much of an individualistic home- .
body to milk his status as a DIY .
innovator into late-blooming fame. .

The son of noted Nashville session bass- .
ist Bob Moore, childhood phenomenon R. .
Stevie balked at the prospect of a conven- .
tional music career. Instead, he set up .
shop in Jersey and began recording his .
compositions at an impressive pace, .

generally overdubbing all of the vocals and
instruments himself. Since the early '80s,
he has distributed the bulk of his output
via his mail order Cassette Club (14 Evelyn
Place #4, Bloomfield NJ 07003), whose
catalog includes literally hundreds of
album-length collections ranging from
quirkily personal, wryly humorous pop
tunes to more esoteric, experimental and
just-plain self-indulgent outings. Over the
years, Moore has released more than
a dozen proper albums (some of them
actually recorded in professional studios)
on a variety of labels here and abroad.

Although his dizzyingly prolific output
has slowed down in recent years,
Moore continues to make music that's as
emotionally affecting as it is technically
impressive. A sensitive soul as well as an
omnivorous pop craftsman, Moore is
ripe for discovery by a new generation of
listeners. He rarely performs in public,
so this show is a special event indeed.

---Scott Schinder