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MEETING ERIC
Me in front of the Route 33 Rhythm and Brews in "Wa-pawk" Ohio. I've been a fan of Eric's since the first time I saw The Godz opening for Angel back in 1978. Being a bass player/songwriter myself, I've always respected Eric Moore as a hell of a songwriter/singer/bass player as well as an entertaining and charismatic showman. I only hoped that I would have an opportunity to see him performing again one day. I heard through Michael Hannon that Eric was going to be doing a Halloween show with American Dog in a small town called Wapakoneta, Ohio in late 2000. I live on the east coast so a friend and I decided to make a road trip, a pilgrimage of sorts, to go catch Eric rocking out once again and, if I was lucky, to perhaps meet him. After driving for hours past seemingly endless cornfields in Ohio, we pulled up to the Route 33 Rhythm and Brews just a little while before sound check. (The club owner Ron was very cool and hospitable to us.) I was lucky enough to have no less than four conversations with Eric between then and the end of the night. I was totally psyched. He turned out to be very friendly, cool and open. For those not lucky enough to meet him, or for those that know him and can't get enough, I've respectfully transcribed some bits and pieces of the conversations I had with Eric that night. (As a footnote, we have become friends since then and he liked this site so much that he made it his official web site. What more could a fan ask for?)  In front of the Route 33 Rhythm and Brews (left to right): Steve (fried) Theado, (guitar and alcohol, American Dog), Tommy Floyd (manager, American Dog), Eric Moore (America's Most Wanted), Ron Laninger (owner, Route 33 Rhythm and Brews), Michael Hannon (4 strings, 6 beers, and 200 miles to drive!, American Dog), and Robbie (drunk guitar tech, who causes more damage than he prevents according to Michael.) I introduced myself to Eric and told him that I had first experienced the Godz back in '78 warming up for Angel at the Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie New York. He cracked that infamous broad smile and said "I've had some goooood times in Poughkeepsie. I also got to know the Poughkeepsie Police Department!" He then went on to tell me about how the Fire Marshall told The Godz' pyro guy that they were only supposed to have something like eight flash pots instead of forty-eight, so they would have to dispose of all the extra powder. When asked how exactly they were supposed to get rid of it, the Fire Marshall told them they would have to find a contained area outdoors and burn it. The crew took it outside where they lit it off and then were promptly arrested for doing exactly what they were told to do. Eric then had to go to the Poughkeepsie Police Station and bail out his pyro guy. I mentioned that I had acquired some great Ohio Godz shows on video from a friend in London, which sparked a whole London tangent to our conversation. Eric said England is great. He said that they (The Godz) have a decent size fan base in London and that a lot of his early influences from the 60's were British bands like the Yardbirds and the Animals, etc. We both said we hoped to go there in the near future. He laughed as he told me a little tip for going to London is to say that you're from Canada because the British rockers tell the British women that all Americans have AIDS. (I'll keep that in mind.) I mentioned that Jim Steinman had co-written music with Andrew Lloyd Webber for a play I wanted to see in London called Whistle Down The Wind (now closed.) Eric showed great interest and said he hadn't heard of it. He talked about how he and his wife love to go see plays but joked, as we looked out over the endless cornfields of Wapakoneta, that there wasn't much culture in Ohio. (He said however that they had recently caught the national tour of Cabaret when it came through Ohio and that Kate Shindle was every bit as good as Liza Manelli had been in the original.) Eric laughed as he told me that anything you wanted to do in the arts, to be a writer, a painter, a clown, a musician, you're going to have trouble getting work in Ohio. I asked Eric about rumors I had heard that lately he was working on some country music. (Rumor has it that Eric has been making trips back and forth to Texas working with the likes of Steve Earl, etc.) Eric responded "It's all country music really. They're all songs about girls and sex and booze and travelin'. You add some volume and some heavy guitars and then it's rock and roll, but it all starts off like George Jones." I saw Eric playing a six string, a Les Paul, before sound check (turned out to be what he played for most of the show) so I asked him about it. He said that's what he plays most of the time, and usually writes with the six string or steel guitar as well, almost never on bass.  Me and Eric in front of Rhythm and Brews. When discussing motorcycles, Eric said "I had a serious accident in '79, I kinda dumped my Kowasaki, and I promise you I'll never ride a Kowasaki again. It's back to good old Harley Davidson for me. They might be slow but they never hurt me." At one point, I asked if I could buy him a drink, which he readily accepted (a White Russian.) So I think we can safely dispel any of those vicious rumors that Eric is totally clean and sober these days! I think Eric is a man who deserved to do better in the industry than he has. Some unfortunate breaks came his way and if anyone could be bitter over not attaining success, it could rightfully be Eric. But despite it all, he's humble, polite, funny and very positive to be around. The only thing he mentioned to me regarding his financial success, or lack thereof, was when we talked about the internet. He told me that there were a number of sites on the web where people can get Godz music and merchandise, but he never sees a penny from the sales. (Eric is the sole legal owner of The Godz name now.) When Casablanca was sold to PolyGram in 1980, the band never received any money for record sales from that point forward. PolyGram also re-released the Godz first album on cassette and licensed Black Rose Records to do the compilation CDs, but Eric never saw any money from those either. Eric and Bob Hill still make trips out to LA every few years to do battle with the suits at the label with little or no success. For a man so dedicated to his music, I think Eric deserved better from the business. But then, his story is many musician's story. I started feeling guilty as I stood there talking to Eric while wearing a Godz T-shirt that I had bought online. I'm sure Eric never saw his licensing percentage for that piece of Godz merchandise. We were talking about LA and I mentioned that I played The Troubadour in Hollywood a few Halloweens earlier and that there was no better place to be on Halloween than down on Santa Monica and Melrose with all the whackos. He agreed and told me about how, during a time when he was in the Capital City Rockets and was living in LA (corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente, just a couple of blocks up from The Troubadour), he worked for a booking agent. He said that it was hard to do bookings with any of the usual popular straight Los Angeles venues, so he would book all the gay clubs down on Melrose and Santa Monica Boulevards. He said that ultimately these were the nicest clubs to be in because they were clean, had good food, friendly atmosphere, etc. He knew all the staff so he used to get in for free and never had to pay for a drink. He went on to discuss another time he spent in LA during the '90s - how Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg (a vocal gay/lesbian activist) pushed a bill to get more gays on the Los Angeles Police Force. Eric was laughing telling me there's nothing a gay cop likes better than sucking dick, except putting on those jack boots, those short tight fitting leather gloves and fighting. "They likes kicking them some ass!" he laughed. It seems that a lot of my favorite bands during the late 70's were on the Casablanca label - KISS, Angel, and The Godz. I asked Eric about touring with Angel. Eric recalled some crazy times at the San Diego Sports Arena. "That place has got the worst security in the world. The security at a rock and roll show is supposed to be there to make sure everybody has a good time and they don't hurt themselves; the front row doesn't get crushed, etc. The security in San Diego was worse than Alabama cops and they gave us a hassle. We blasted a couple of them so when we got off stage, we knew they weren't going to mess with us. But when Angel got up there, they were saying "these guys in white satin, let's mess with them!" Then the word got back to our dressing room that Angel couldn't get off the stage. They had done their show and could not get back to their dressing room. So we strapped on our guns and went over and got them. Security is supposed to work for us! Hell, I ain't gonna take that crap." Eric said that he got along well with Frank, Gregg, pretty much everyone in the band... except Punky. He said "That guy was so weeeeeeird. - I mean, in his own world." He told me they caught Punky stuffing his pants once and they used to call him "Monkey Pedals." Eric went on to tell me they would call Barry Brandt "Barry Burnt" because he was always so fucked up. He said one time he saw Barry walk right up to Angel's huge 55 foot silver tour bus and ask their road manager Chuckie "Where's the bus?" Pretty funny stuff. We did both agree however that Barry was a great drummer. I told him about the Angel "reunion" show (only Frank and Barry) at the '99 New England KISS Expo and asked him if he had heard the new Angel CD. He told me he hadn't bought any new CDs in quite a while and had taken some time off to sort of step back from the scene. (Eric had some health issues in recent years, mostly incurred from his many years of mass consumption and wild life style, some heart trouble, ulcers, etc. I think this is the time Eric referred to as having taken off. Apparently he is doing much better now and seemed very healthy.) Eric looked thoughtful for a moment as he stared off at nothing in particular. He talked about his philosophy on his music and writing, "You take something you like, you add something of your own, then you pass it on. That's a good life." "It's a beautiful thing" I said. Once again came that famous broad smile as he looked at me directly and said "Yeah, it is a beautiful thing, isn't it!" As he was about to go on stage he leaned over to me and said "before I go on, I want to apologize for anything I might say or do." ... Let the party begin.
ERIC MOORE SET:
GO AWAY
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