Interviews

Interview with Pamela Moore

Interview with Pamela Moore

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http://ladyobscure.com/portfolio/interview-with-pamela-moore/

Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:37:55 +0000

Honey Badger

Pamela Moore is a vocalist who is best known for her role as Sister Mary in Queensrÿche‘s groundbreaking concept album Operation: Mindcrime, which she has performed live touring with the band over the years. Pamela has also worked with such powerful metal acts such as Primal Fear and Halcyon Way, as well as her own solo career. Pamela has just released her first metal solo album titled “Resurrect Me”. Recently, Pamela took time off from her busy schedule to talk to Lady Obscure Music Magazine about her new solo album and other topics. Enjoy!

Honey Badger: Congratulations on the release of your new album “Resurrect Me”! It really is great to hear your unique voice on a heavy metal album after so long! The album was in the works for a long time. Can you talk about the process of writing the music for the album with Michael Posch?

mailPamela Moore: Thank you! I’m so happy it is finally available for everyone to hear! It took 4 years to complete. That was obviously not intentional but life has its way with us sometimes, forcing us to move in directions we hadn’t previously planned for. In this case, it all worked out perfectly! (smile)

Michael Posch was one of my guitar players in the Chicago Version of the Pamela Moore Band back in 2007/08. He wrote a gorgeous opening musical piece for the show and I loved it! At the time, I was just starting to reach out to a few musicians to collaborate with me for my next solo record and after hearing this beautiful soundtrack asked Michael if he’d be interested. Luckily he was and the rest is history!

Honey Badger: Your last album Stories from a Blue Room was released in 2006 and had more of a pop, hard rock, and a bit of electronica influence. What made you want to go in a more metal direction with “Resurrect Me”?

Pamela Moore: Resurrect Me is the album I’ve always wanted to make! I LOVE heavy guitar riffs and rhythms so I intentionally decided to reach out to guitar players as my major collaborators as opposed to working with a keyboard player, which was the main instrument that my friend Benjamin Anderson played on for Stories From A Blue Room. Blue Room is such a gorgeous sounding record. Sonically, its perfection, thanks to my producer at the time, Neil Kernon, but you are correct! A VERY different musical beast than Resurrect Me!

Honey Badger: As you did on Stories, you had Jeff Loomis contribute to “Resurrect Me”. You have also worked with Jeff in the past as well. How did you first meet and collaborate with Jeff?
Nem Nol, lady herself, is a huge fan of Jeff, she will love this question...

Pamela Moore: Jeff and I live in the same area, here in Seattle. I have known Jeff for a number of years. When Blue Room was in production mode, Neil Kernon suggested we ask Jeff if he would be interested in doing the guitar tracks and I was happy he agreed because he gave that CD a harder rock element that was missing. In fact, Jeff and I were working on a song together for Resurrect Me but our schedules just never seem to jive! At least he was able to work in a solo for me on Awakening and it ROCKS!! I love that guy!

Honey Badger: You performed at ProgPower USA in Atlanta, Georgia with both Primal Fear and also the Queensryche tribute band Mindcrime. What are your recollections of those performances and of the festival atmosphere in general?

mail-2Pamela Moore: I really loved attending that festival. Such great musicians and people! And, it was a blast to join Mindcrime on stage! My God! The lead singer is simply amazing! The second night I was there I joined Primal Fear for one of my first appearances together with Ralf Scheepers! We had done a couple of recordings together but never in the same room because we live in different countries. Anyway, that first night with Primal Fear was the beginning of a great friendship not only with Ralf but Mat Sinner and the rest of the guys!

Honey Badger: I first met you when you performed with Primal Fear on their U.S. tour in 2010 supporting “16.6 Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead”. Seeing you up close and personal singing with Ralf Scheepers I was so impressed with how well your voices complimented each other. How was it working with Ralf again on “Sky is Falling” on Resurrect Me?

Pamela Moore: I am such a lucky girl, don’t you think? I have been given the opportunity to work with some truly amazing musicians and singers and no doubt I am very grateful! Ralf has such power and range. He is very serious about his craft and works very hard to keep himself in good condition physically and vocally. I was surprised the first time we recorded together how much we did compliment each other vocally. Our phrasing and vibrato matched effortlessly. I love his creative vocal ideas and harmony sense, too! Gifted man.

Honey Badger: You released a great video for “Paranoia” the first single from Resurrect Me”. How was the experience working on the video and do you have any plans for another video?

Pamela Moore: Spooky! The location is known to be haunted. Of course we didn’t know it at the time…. It was an old dilapidated concrete factory in Concrete Washington that is nestled in a very beautiful area, near the foothills next to a lake. Towards the end of shooting we were running into very unexplainable situations! Most of the batteries on ALL of our equipment had been charging but draining, FAST! It was getting dark so we decided to do the close ups on another day, which was fine with me because it was January and I was wet and frozen to the bone!! Come to find out later that week that someone told us that if a paranormal (ghost) plans on making an appearance, much of the energy from batteries and such would be drained!! GOOD THING WE LEFT!

A perfect setting for a song called Paranoia, huh? LOL

Honey Badger: Absoloutely! (laughs): After all these years your vocals sound better than ever. How have you kept your voice in such great shape?

Pamela Moore: Thank you… You are very kind. I don’t know, perhaps my decision to become a vocal coach a few years ago has kept my ‘voice muscles’ toned. It’s also made me more aware of how we ‘phonate’ and what all that entails as to not strain your vocal chords. Proper placement is key AND I also tell my students EVERYTHING IN MODERATION! As a vocalist, we are human instruments and can’t change or replace our vocal chords if they wear out! Which means we need to be mindful to take care of our bodies. Actually, ALL of us should consider that…. Right?

Honey Badger: So I know you have some shows coming up to support “Resurrect Me”. Any plans for a full blown U.S. tour?

Pamela Moore: That’s the plan but nothing set up just yet! I am excited for our debut show on July 13 here in Seattle. The rehearsals have been off the hook! The new songs translate live so brilliantly! As my mates in Primal Fear say…. IT’S CRUSHING!!

Honey Badger: You are very involved in social media, especially Facebook. You are always there to comment on posts and interact with your fans. How important of a role do you think social media plays in promoting your music to not only your audience, but a new audience who may have never heard your music?

Pamela Moore: The music business has changed dramatically since 1990 or early 2000’s for that matter and the growth in social media play a VERY dramatic part in promotion!! The potential to reach out to a much larger audience is almost guaranteed and is a HUGE part of our existence as musicians. I reach out to my fans because I want them to know how grateful I am for their support and kindness. I also want to feel connected n some way. I’ve always felt that an artist MUST validate those people who show their faith in you…. We have to use discretion, of course, but honestly THEY (fans) are the people who perpetuate our music! They ultimately are our personal investors. I read a fabulous quote from Ronnie James Dio about his fans. “Without them, we aren’t. Without us, they will always be…” So true.

mail-1Honey Badger: Being a female in the male dominated world of hard rock and heavy metal do you feel that you had to work extra hard to be accepted? What do you think of the new wave of female vocalists in the metal scene and do you have any advice for them in dealing with sexism or discrimination in the music industry?

Pamela Moore:Being a female in the music industry is a challenge but I don’t think anymore of a challenge than in life. We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. So, we might as well raise our heads high and show them what we got! There are so many gorgeously talented women making their mark in the metal scene and I just adore all of them because they add the sexy with a little touch of ass kickin straight thru to the…..…heart! (smile)
My girl advice to those who wish to make their mark in the music business is this: Stay true to your heart. Listen to your gut. Use your brain. Surround yourself with people you KNOW you can trust. Enjoy the journey and be grateful for all the opportunities life brings. Sometimes, no matter how hard we plan… change happens. So breathe deep, believe and be well.

Honey Badger: Pamela, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview! I look forward to seeing your perform live again, hopefully soon! Is there anything you would like to say in closing to all your fans?

Pamela Moore: Thank you to everyone who I have met and hope to meet one day. Thank you for purchasing the CD and thank you for spreading the word! I hope to see you soon out there!!

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