Vinnie Moore
Encyclopedia
Vinnie Moore is a guitarist
and a member of the English
hard rock
band UFO
. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine
, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder
boom in the mid 1980s.
. He began his professional career at age of 12 and played clubs and bars until Shrapnel executive Mike Varney
discovered him through a magazine article. His connection to Varney led to an opportunity to appear in a Pepsi
commercial in 1985, (only Vinnie's hands appeared in the commercial as his guitar playing is heard. 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. Following this Moore released two instructional videos on guitar playing.
He has been the lead guitarist for UFO since 2004.
guitars. In 2007 Moore left Music Man and began endorsing Dean guitars
. At the winter NAMM show in January 2008, Dean Guitars
unveiled a Vinnie Moore signature model. The Dean VM-2000 features a Vinnie Moore "ShredHead" Humbucker in the bridge position. Moore also has an endorsement contract with Engl
amplification.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and a member of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine
Tony MacAlpine
Tony Jeff MacAlpine is an American guitarist and keyboardist. Having released ten studio albums over a career spanning more than two decades, he is best known as an instrumental solo guitarist, although he has worked with many different bands and musicians in the form of guest appearances and...
, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
boom in the mid 1980s.
Biography
Moore was born in New Castle, DelawareNew Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
. He began his professional career at age of 12 and played clubs and bars until Shrapnel executive Mike Varney
Mike Varney
Mike Varney is an American musician, record producer, music publisher and impresario. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records and Blues Bureau International. He also has a 50% stake in Magna Carta Records, a New York-based label...
discovered him through a magazine article. His connection to Varney led to an opportunity to appear in a Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
commercial in 1985, (only Vinnie's hands appeared in the commercial as his guitar playing is heard. Following this Moore recorded his first solo album, Mind's Eye
Mind's Eye (album)
Mind's Eye is the first studio album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 1986 through Shrapnel Records. An article in Guitar World magazine ranked the album as third in the all-time top ten list of shred albums.-Track listing:-Personnel:...
, released on Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
and featured Tony MacAlpine
Tony MacAlpine
Tony Jeff MacAlpine is an American guitarist and keyboardist. Having released ten studio albums over a career spanning more than two decades, he is best known as an instrumental solo guitarist, although he has worked with many different bands and musicians in the form of guest appearances and...
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
Soldiers of the Night
Soldiers of the Night is the debut album by heavy metal band Vicious Rumors, released in 1985. The album is notable as being the only Vicious Rumors album to feature vocalist Gary St Pierre and renowned virtuoso guitarist Vinnie Moore.-Track listing:...
. 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
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's band for a tour and then appeared on the Hey Stoopid
Hey Stoopid
Hey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by heavy metal singer and shock rock-legend Alice Cooper. It was released on July 2, 1991 with guest appearances from Slash , Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars .After Cooper's smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper...
album. Following this Moore released two instructional videos on guitar playing.
He has been the lead guitarist for UFO since 2004.
Guitar equipment history
Moore has endorsed numerous guitar companies over the years, his most well known being Music ManMusic Man (company)
Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
guitars. In 2007 Moore left Music Man and began endorsing Dean guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
. At the winter NAMM show in January 2008, Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
unveiled a Vinnie Moore signature model. The Dean VM-2000 features a Vinnie Moore "ShredHead" Humbucker in the bridge position. Moore also has an endorsement contract with Engl
Engl
ENGL is a German company that makes high-end tube amplifiers for electric guitars. Over the years ENGL has succeeded in becoming a global player in this market...
amplification.
Solo albums
- 1986: Mind's EyeMind's Eye (album)Mind's Eye is the first studio album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 1986 through Shrapnel Records. An article in Guitar World magazine ranked the album as third in the all-time top ten list of shred albums.-Track listing:-Personnel:...
- 1988: Time OdysseyTime Odyssey (album)Time Odyssey is the second studio album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 1988 through PolyGram Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Vinnie Moore – electric guitar, production*Jordan Rudess – keyboard*Joe Franco – drums*Michael Bean – bass guitar...
- 1991: Meltdown
- 1996: Out of Nowhere
- 1999: The MazeThe Maze (album)The Maze is the fifth studio album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 1999 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Vinnie Moore – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mixing, production*Tony MacAlpine – keyboard*Shane Gaalaas – drums...
- 2000: Live!Live! (Vinnie Moore album)Live! is a live album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 2000 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Vinnie Moore – electric guitar, mixing, production*Wayne Findlay – keyboard, electric guitar*Shane Gaalaas – drums, percussion...
(live) - 2001: Defying GravityDefying Gravity (Vinnie Moore album)Defying Gravity is the sixth studio album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 2001 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Vinnie Moore – electric guitar, mixing, production*David Rosenthal – keyboard*Steve Smith – drums...
- 2006: Collection: The Shrapnel YearsCollection: The Shrapnel Years (Vinnie Moore album)Collection: The Shrapnel Years is a compilation album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 2006 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Vinnie Moore – electric guitar, mixing, production...
(compilation) - 2009: To the CoreTo the Core-Personnel:*Vinnie Moore – electric guitar, production*Tim Lehner – keyboard*Van Romaine – drums*John DeServio – bass guitar*Tim Conklin – engineering*Paul Northfield – mixing*Ryan J-W Smith – mastering...
Videos
- Advanced Lead Guitar Techniques (1987)
- Speed, Accuracy, & Articulation (1989)
- 'SHOWTIME' 2-CD and 2-DVD set from UFO's European tour (2005)
Appears On
- 1985 - Vicious RumorsVicious RumorsVicious Rumors is an American power metal band founded in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.The brainchild of Geoff Thorpe, the band has been active on the metal scene since its inception in 1979...
- Soldiers of the NightSoldiers of the NightSoldiers of the Night is the debut album by heavy metal band Vicious Rumors, released in 1985. The album is notable as being the only Vicious Rumors album to feature vocalist Gary St Pierre and renowned virtuoso guitarist Vinnie Moore.-Track listing:... - 1989 - Guitar's Practicing Musicians - Free
- 1991 - Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
- Hey StoopidHey StoopidHey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by heavy metal singer and shock rock-legend Alice Cooper. It was released on July 2, 1991 with guest appearances from Slash , Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars .After Cooper's smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper... - 1994 - Various Artists - Deep Purple Tribute: Smoke On The Water
- 1998 - Sega - "Burning RangersBurning RangersBurning Rangers is a video game developed by Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn. The player takes on the role of a new recruit to the futuristic firefighting organization of the title, and must explore locations where various emergencies have taken place, extinguishing fires and rescuing survivors.The...
" Game soundtrack for the 'Saturn' video game - 2004 - UFOUFO (band)UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
- You Are HereYou Are Here (UFO album)You Are Here is the seventeenth studio album by the British hard rock band UFO, released in 2004 through the German label SPV/Steamhammer. This is the first album to feature new band members Vinnie Moore and Jason Bonham, who replaced long-time guitarist Michael Schenker and drummer Aynsley... - 2004 - Jordan RudessJordan RudessJordan Rudess is an American keyboardist best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive rock supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment.-Biography:...
- Rhythm of TimeRhythm of TimeRhythm of Time is an album by Jordan Rudess recorded and released in 2004.In order to create the album before he went on tour with Dream Theater in 2004, Rudess lived in complete seclusion from the rest of the world for 14 days... - 2005 - Various Artists - Subdivisions: A Tribute to the Music of Rush
- 2005 - UFOUFO (band)UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
- "Showtime" - A double-live DVD and music CD release recorded earlier on in the year - 2006 - UFOUFO (band)UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
- The Monkey Puzzle - 2009 - UFOUFO (band)UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
- The VisitorThe Visitor (UFO album)The Visitor is the nineteenth studio album by the British hard rock band UFO, which was released on June 2, 2009. It was their first album in three years since the release of The Monkey Puzzle in 2006. Current UFO bassist, Pete Way, has been absent from the recording sessions due to a medical...