Brandy Moore

It may sound like hard work, all these entrepreneurial duties like hanging posters around town, busking at shopping malls and spending hour after hour burning hundreds of CDs on a home computer. But Brandy Moore is not just hopeful, or even merely confident. She's damned certain her approach to musical genres both contemporary and old - not to mention a pure, confident voice - has an audience beyond passerbys at the Cornwall Centre or Victoria Park. Her moxy comes naturally, she says, only because she's attracted to music like nothing else, even if it's playing to passing shoppers or a small coffee house crowd. "It's inner-driven. I just love music and I don't love anything else like I love this," she says. That's why Saturday night's show at Exotic Coffee World came about as a result of her own work - she approached the new Broad Street shop and pitched the idea. Customers pay to get in and get a show and fancy dessert. She acknowledges that it's not exactly the Conexus Art Centre, but she sees performing before any audience as a way to build a career she's adamant about growing. "I see potential for me. I got a spot on CBC national radio and I got emails from people all across the country asking me when I was coming to play their town. So I see hope for me." Moore arrived in Regina in 2001 from B.C., and despite some recent traveling to El Salvador and Montreal, she's returned to the Queen City and enjoys the low cost of living, her new friends and the fact she's able to earn a modest living as a musician... She's sold hundreds of CDs (now in the thousands) while busking at Victoria Park and at the Southland Mall and Cornwall Centre, as well as several shows in the city and elsewhere. She has three CDs to date (fourth CD just recently released July/08), one of which is a Christmas album, but she has even more ambitious plans to record again, this time a record featuring a full band and new songs that fall within a number of different styles including jazz, blues and pop. "I just love music and I like so many genres. So I need a CD that shows everything I can do. It won't have one theme, but that's OK," she says, adding that she has the cash saved up in preparation for studio time she's booked for June. When it comes to her own style, there's no arguing that she has her own contemporary sound that's also respectful of the traditional sound from the '40's and '50s. But she says her idol is Eva Cassidy, the Washington-based part-time singer whose music didn't take off until her death in 1996. "She does everything. She does soul, folk and jazz. And she does it all - everyone needs someone to learn from and she has some vocal chops that I want to learn from," Moore says. While she's done many covers including "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Crazy" and "Unchained Melody," she also a busy songwriter, crafting songs about the environment, as well as love and relationships, a theme that pops up more than once in her early work. "Love or the lack of it... it's pretty easy stuff to write about," she says. "It's what makes people tick. Everyone is looking for the right person to build a life with. And you don't just run into that person. "People don't ever get tired of it. It hits home for a lot of people, so you can have a really honest feeling about it when you sing it." - Regina Leader Post - April 2006 - by Andrew Matte

Regina singer Brandy Moore is trying to make the most of her recent good fortune.

She is launching her fifth CD, Real Good Love, which she was able to record in Nashville with the help of a successful business woman. Based in Connecticut, the woman - who was also a fan - loaned Moore the funds for the project.

The fan found one of Moore's cover tunes on iTunes and had a listen to some of her originals as well and liked what she heard.

Moore had been looking at going down to Nashville after meeting an accomplished keyboard player, Eric Bikales, who has a studio there.

The two had met at Craven Country Jamboree where Moore had been singing backup for the group Fran Moran and the Nervous Wrecks.

Originally, Moore had planned to record a three-track demo, but, with the help of her benefactor, she was able to do a full album.

The fan had emailed Moore with an offer of help from out of the blue.

While in Nashville, Moore had the opportunity to work with George Marinelli, Bonnie Raitt's guitar player. Since Moore is a huge fan of Raitt, the opportunity was a huge thrill. "It was a terrific experience," said the 41-year-old.

Real Good Love, which includes six originals and four covers, is Moore's first recorded album done with a full band.

Her previous four albums were recorded with just guitar.

Moore has found recording a few covers beneficial to attracting new fans online - because people find her searching for those songs.

"A lot of my sales are in Europe," said Moore.

She's eventually like to go overseas to do a tour, and, now that she has her new album out, she will be working with SaskMusic to promote it.

The title track to Moore's new album is a ska tune, which is a little out of the norm for Moore. "I'm really excited about it," she said, adding she'd like to write more upbeat songs in the future.

When it comes to being a musician, Moore calls herself a lifer.

She gave her first public performance at the age of 10 in a small town talent show outside of Penticton, where she won second place.

By junior high, in Fort McMurray, Moore began performing songs at school functions with fellow students accompanying her on piano. At 15, she picked up her first guitar and started to accompany herself. By Grade 12, she began writing her own songs.

Now based in Regina, the rest is history for Moore who is an office worker by day and musician by night. "I do it because I love it," she said. - Regina Leader Post - June 2011 - by Kelly-Anne Reiss