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ERIC
MOORE HISTORY As they were riding this new wave of success, Freddie Salem announced he was leaving to rejoin The Outlaws. Eric and Mark knew from past history that they did not want to tour as a trio so they recruited guitarist Rikki Soga who quickly learned Salem's parts. Kevin Valentine was replaced by drummer Danny Boyd around the same time and The Godz were back on the road again.
The Godz - late '87- early '88: (Clockwise from left) The following photos are from The Godz blazing 1987 New Years Eve show at the AlRosa Villa.
The Godz: One fun slice of Eric Moore history is when the Godz and opening band Righteous Child were unwittingly booked at a church concert due to the seemingly innocent nature of their heavenly names. The first band raised some eyebrows with their louder than expected set but had played it relatively safe while staring at a placard on the adjacent wall which read "No profanity, No alcohol, etc." Then Eric walked out to begin the Godz set, twisted the cap off a bottle of Jack Daniels and yelled to the audience a rousing "Alright motherfuckers! You ready to party?!!!" The plug was pulled before they could start the first song. After some farewell gigs at their beloved Alrosa Villa on March 25th and 26th in '88, The Godz were heading for Los Angeles.
Classic Godz bumper sticker. As The Godz
headed for the '90s, the revolving door of musicians continued with
Kevin Valentine re-joining the group, replacing Danny Boyd who had replaced
him only months earlier. In the Spring of '88, Rikki Soga was replaced
by Joe Joe Weekend on guitar. Joe Joe recalls his days in The Godz:
"I joined THE GODZ in the spring of '88 after my band WHY ON EARTH broke
up. Also in the band was Kevin Valentine on drums and of course Mark
Chatfield on guitar. This lineup was the very best GODZ lineup in my
opinion. I always considered Eric and Mark the "Gene and Paul" of the
GODZ and it was a big step up for me when I joined, however things didn't
end up going our way. We relocated to L.A. where we played loads of
coooooool gigs and I met loads of cool people. We were so close to getting
signed and it would've happened but Mark thought he should leave the
band at that time for some reason that I don't even remember. Since
Mark quit, Kevin thought he should bail as well. That was way too bad
because that was THE lineup!!! We had big things happening to us at
the time - big producers wanting us, a part in a well known movie, big
cool parties out the wazoo, you know -- cool things. (At the time, they
were cool). The movie we were almost in was 'The Decline of Western
Civilization - Part II.' We also had Tom Werman ready to produce our
new album. Things were really looking up for us when Mark pulled the
plug once again. After Mark and Kevin left, Eric and I recruited a couple
different drummers while we were roommates in L. A. The first one lasted
a couple of months, that was Alan Krigger who played with Ike & Tina
Turner and Guiffria. He was unreliable. We then stumbled onto Mike Strikes
who was an excellent drummer I knew from Indiana." 
The
Godz: 1990 - 1991. (The Eric Moore Band) Joe Joe continued "I had
loads of great memories with that band. I do miss some
of those times, but we only made money playing in Ohio and I decided to leave in the winter of 1991 to start
my new band at the time called Stonewall/Weekend. You can still get the CDs
on Amazon.com."
The Godz: 1992 - 1997. Ty Beebe, Matt Mees, Eric Moore, and Eric Mauk. Eric is notorious for, among other things, always carrying guns. In the early Godz' days, Bob Hill would administer a test to Eric after the shows to see if he was in any condition to carry his guns. If Eric could get his shoulder holster on without help, Bob would let him carry his guns. If not, Bob would be stuck with two guns until he could get back to the hotel. One popular slice of local Eric Moore history relates a heart warming story of a man and his gun, and a bad sound check. During the sound check, the monitors were not to Eric's liking and after numerous attempts to communicate this to the soundman, Eric leveled one final threat that if the sound didn't improve by the time he got back, he would shoot the monitor. He came back, it sounded like shit, so he pulled out a pistol and shot the hell out of the monitor. That's what I call effective communication. Sort of the Elvis with the TV story with an Ohio twist. Eric never goes anywhere without his guns, and plenty of ammunition. One night, on the way home from a gig, the trailer with all the equipment caught fire. After pulling to the side of the road, it became a race for time as the crew tried to get all the amps and equipment out of the trailer before the fire reached the equipment, or the boxes of ammunition up front. Most of the gear did get unloaded successfully but the fire reached the box before everything was off the truck. The crew took cover anywhere they could as the trailer turned into a bullet spewing 4th of July extravaganza. Don't bother asking Eric why some of his amps have melted handles and look like the charred remains of an NRA target practice gone wrong.
One from the
family album - Eric and a few of his friends: In 1995, Eric contacted all the original members of The Godz to do a new live album that would feature their most popular tunes. Glen Cataline and Mark Chatfield agreed, but Bob Hill didn't feel it was worth his time. That was unfortunate, but Eric Mauk did a fine job filling in for Bob and when the boys performed together, there was virtually no audible difference from the original Godz. Mark Chatfield's guitarmanship shines on this recording and he also performs one of his songs from his local Ohio band Rosie called "Sorry (I Forgot Your Name)". The album was recorded in March of '95 at a favorite Godz venue, the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. The Godz: Greatest Hits Live on High Chief Records was released shortly thereafter.
One thing I always found sort of amusing about the Godz albums is that they used a completely different band logo on each of the five album covers. I guess brand awareness wasn't a priority. Ironically, the most popular logo that was used on T-shirts, etc., the old bullet logo, was never used on any of the album covers.
The Godz: 1992 - 1997. Eric Mauk, Matt Mees, Eric Moore, Ty Beebe. The regular Eric Mauk, Matt Mees, Ty Beebe lineup continued to gig with Eric throughout the nineties until their last show which took place in Dec. '97. There was a major falling out between Matt and Eric and the group was subsequently disbanded. At that time, American Dog (then called Hilljack) was opening for the Godz. Eric gave the headlining slot of the remaining gigs of the tour to American Dog. Michael Hannon, singer / songwriter / bassist for American Dog (previously of Lust, Salty Dog, and Dangerous Toys), wound up being a close friend of Eric's and would also prove to be a key figure in Eric's musical future. Eric took some much needed time off from the road after this version of the Godz split. He was dealing with a number of health issues from the nonstop rollercoaster party animal lifestyle he had led for the past twenty-five years. Eric maintained his friendship with Michael Hannon and would do occasional guest appearances at American Dog shows in which he would perform a mini Godz set. Michael Hannon was an old fan of Eric's and Eric found a kindred spirit in Michael as well. American Dog is a great old school rock and roll band that embodies the same ass-kickin', hard drinkin' spirit of the early Godz. While watching one particularly ass-kicking American Dog performance - the night I met Eric, Eric leaned over to me and said "you see why I like these guys?" Eric appears as guest vocalist on the song "Drank Too Much" off American Dog's album "Last of a Dying Breed." In 2001, after a much needed rest, Eric connected with members of a band called Deja Vudoo out of Akron, Ohio. Eric felt an undeniable chemistry with these guys and soon formed a new band worthy of the Godz legacy. The new group consisted of Eric on lead vocals and six string guitar, Bub Adams on Bass, Jimmy Ray Lively on drums, and Nikki Storm and Dan Vincent on guitars. Eric was re-energized and this new version of the Godz started writing, rehearsing, and hitting the clubs.
This line-up preformed together with much welcome success around Ohio and the surrounding areas throughout '02 and the first half of '03. In the Summer of 2003, the band went through a line-up change replacing drummer Jimmy Ray Lively with Frank Garisto, formally of Animal (WASP guys) and Janie Lane's solo group. In early 2004, Dan Vincent was replaced by the incredible Ronnie Hughes. Heidi Helser eventually replaced Jimmy on the drums and has been an oustanding addition to the group. This has turned out to be one of the best Godz line-ups in years and Eric is more fired up than ever. The band is currently performing all over the Ohio area preparing for their new record and tour.
The
Godz: Eric Moore (top), Ronnie Hughes, Bub Adams, Nikki Storm, and Heidi Helser.
Eric Moore
Ronnie
Hughes
Bub Adams
Heidi Helser
THE
GODZ - Live in Texas '08!
Band friend Richard Blom, Eric Moore, Ronnie Hughes, Heidi Helser, unknown, Bub Adams. ______________________________________________________________________________
The 1970s Godz: Where Are They Now? When Eric isn't writing, recording, or performing live, he can be found kicking around the bars of Columbus, Ohio (or "Come-blow-us, Ohio" as Michael Hannon likes to call it) with Pete Way of UFO and Michael Hannon of American Dog, otherwise collectively known as "The Drunken Bass Players of Columbus, Ohio." Eric continues to rock with THE GODZ. (See 'News' and 'Meeting Eric'.) 
Eric Moore and Michael Hannon. Mark Chatfield played in his local Ohio band Rosie from 1980 to 1986 and released three albums with them. Mark has also played with Michael Bolton (eeesh), Bruce Kulick and LuvHead. For a while, Mark owned a guitar shop in the campus area of Columbus, Ohio called Cow Town Music, complete with a big ol' black and white holstein out front. In 1990, he played on Karla Goldman's self titled CD "Karla" on Sisapa Records. Mark has also recorded and toured with Bob Seger through the eighties and nineties and most recently on Seger's 1996 "It's a Mystery" Tour. Mark moved his Cow Town guitar shop from Comulbus to Las Vegas, Nevada where he is living now.  Bob Seger and Mark Chatfield. Glen Cataline last appeared on The Godz: Greatest Hits Live CD in 1995. He now holds a relatively high position at a major national bank.
Michael Hannon and Glen Cataline. Bob Hill is a very private person these days. He and his wife Sonnia now live on their 365 acre ranch in Texas. Bob sends his greetings to everyone. He is heavily into the Anarcho-Capitalist movement these days and encourages everyone to read about it at www.anti-state.com Bob has a new CD called "Heir Guitar" which I am going to attempt to distribute through this site. It contains Bob performing both covers and originals he recorded at his home studio.
Bob Hill 2002. ____________________________________________
Please send any additions or corrections to Steve E. Ojane at:
Many thanks to Vince Redman for early Godz biography details.
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