Vinnie Moore

Vinnie Moore

Vinnie Moore, 2011
Background information
Birth name Vincent Moore
Born April 14, 1964
New Castle, Delaware, United States
Genres Neo-classical metal, hard rock, heavy metal, instrumental rock[1]
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1986–present
Associated acts UFO, Alice Cooper, Red Zone Rider
Website vinniemoore.com
Notable instruments
Dean VM-2000 Signature model
Vinnie Moore in a concert with UFO in Cercemaggiore
Vinnie Moore playing in Brusque, Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 2010

Vincent "Vinnie" Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a member of the English hard rock band UFO.[2] Moore is one of the most influential and important guitarists to emerge from the virtuoso boom in the mid to late eighties.[1]

Biography

Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware, only a couple miles from fellow musicians George Thorogood (and The Delaware Destroyers). He began his professional career at age 12 and played clubs and bars until Shrapnel executive Mike Varney discovered him via a demo and bio that Vinnie submitted to the Spotlight column, which Varney headed for Guitar Player Magazine. His connection to Varney led to an opportunity to appear in a Pepsi commercial in 1985,[3] (only Vinnie's hands appeared in the commercial as his guitar playing is heard.[4][2] Following this, Moore recorded his first solo album, Mind's Eye, released on Shrapnel Records and featured Tony MacAlpine on keyboards. The album received several awards from guitar magazines and sold over 100,000 copies.

Vinnie Moore played lead guitar with the heavy metal band Vicious Rumors on their debut album, Soldiers of the Night. The album features Moore's solo-song "Invader", which was in the style of Van Halen's "Eruption". The shred guitar craze of the late eighties led to more releases for Shrapnel. Moore also began performing with other hard rock and heavy metal bands. He joined Alice Cooper's band for a tour and then appeared on the Hey Stoopid album.[5] Moore released two instructional videos on guitar playing.[6][7] He has been the lead guitarist for UFO since June 2003, releasing his first studio album with them 'You Are Here' the following year in 2004. This has been followed by 'The Monkey Puzzle' in 2006, 'The Visitor' in 2009, 'Seven Deadly' in 2012 and 'A Conspiracy of Stars' in 2015.

On August 5, 2013, Moore joined the stage to perform live with Peter Frampton on Frampton's Guitar Circus concert at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. On September 16, 2014, made Red Zone Rider.[2]

Discography

Solo albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[8]
Mind's Eye
  • Released: 1986
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, CS, LP, DL[9]
–
Time Odyssey
  • Released: 1988
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, LP
147
Meltdown
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, CS, LP
–
Out of Nowhere
  • Released: April 16, 1996
  • Label: Mayhem
  • Formats: CD
–
The Maze
  • Released: March 23, 1999
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, DL[11]
–
Defying Gravity
  • Released: July 10, 2001
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, DL[12]
–
To the Core
  • Released: May 26, 2009
  • Label: Mascot
  • Formats: CD, DL[13]
–
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title Album details
Collection: The Shrapnel Years
  • Released: March 14, 2006
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, DL[14]

Live albums

Title Album details
Live!
  • Released: January 25, 2000
  • Label: Shrapnel Records
  • Formats: CD, DL[15]

Instructional videos

Title Album details
Advanced Lead Guitar Techniques
  • Released: 1987
  • Label: Hot Licks
  • Formats: VHS
Speed, Accuracy, & Articulation
  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Hot Licks
  • Formats: VHS

Other appearances

Title Year Notes
Vicious Rumors – Soldiers of the Night 1985 band member
Alice Cooper – Hey Stoopid 1991 band member
UFO – You Are Here 2004 band member
Jordan Rudess – Rhythm of Time 2004 guest
UFO – Showtime 2005 band member
UFO – The Monkey Puzzle 2006 band member
Destruction – D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. 2008 guest
Michael Angelo Batio – Hands Without Shadows 2 – Voices 2009 guest
UFO – The Visitor 2009 band member
Glen Drover – Metalusion 2011 guest
UFO – Seven Deadly 2012 band member
Red Zone Rider – Red Zone Rider 2014 band member

References

External links