Peewee Moore

By Casey Phillips

cphillips@timesfreepress.com

Just shy of half a year since he left Chattanooga to make his mark on the music scene in Austin, Texas, Peewee Moore is back for a visit.

Moore, the former frontman of The Awful Dreadful Snakes and ex-Tennessee Rounder, left for Austin in January to bring his outlaw country and rockabilly stylings to the home of his heroes, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

So far, things have been working out well. Moore said he's now touring in 16 markets throughout Texas after a rough start breaking into the saturated Austin scene.

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"When you're the new guy, it's a pick-and-choose-type deal, so you've got to play what you can find and climb the ladder as fast as you can," he said. "You just jump in there and do the best you can.

"It's been a pretty rewarding move."

Tuesday, Moore will return to the Scenic City to take the stage at JJ's Bohemia as part of the 2010 American Outlaw Tour, his first set of dates outside Texas since moving there. He'll round out his high-energy outlaw power trio with Dave Litrell, an Austin-based drummer, and Callum Houston, an upright bassist from the United Kingdom.

Since landing in Texas' weirdest city, Moore said he's been writing prolifically, penning more songs in six months than he had in the five years prior. Some of the material he'll play at JJ's has been debuted on tour and will be new to Chattanooga audiences, he said.

When he relocated, Moore said, he was concerned about being just another outlaw country artist in the area that gave birth to the genre.

Instead, it's been surprising how narrow the field of twangy, hard-driving country artists is, he said.

"I thought it would be a tons of guys playing the same thing and that it'd be tough to break in to where these guys are," he said. "I thought that would be more like Willie and Waylon, but it's really not.

"It's really modern-sounding stuff, and we definitely don't do that."

Online: Read a Q&A with PeeWee Moore.

IF YOU GO

* What: Singer/songwriter Peewee Moore.

* When: 10 p.m. Tuesday.

* Where: JJ's Bohemia, 231 M.L. King Blvd.

* Admission: $5.

* Phone: 266-1400.

* Venue website: www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia.

WHAT'S NEXT

After his current tour, singer/songwriter Peewee Moore plans to begin work on his next album. He said he is in negotiations to have the as-yet-untitled project engineered by Jeff Coppage, who produced Moore's last album as well as the albums of Moore's last band, The Tennessee Rounders.

"At this point, we're pretty much just knocking them down. We're in full-tilt mode."

-- Peewee Moore, on how his tour is going

LINKS FOR WEB:

www.peeweemoore.com

Copyright Chattanooga Times Free Press Aug 20, 2010
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved - Chattanooga Times Free Press

All Blog PostsMy BlogAdd a Blog Post. Peewee Moore Fills Up JJ Bohemia's As He Is Welcomed Back To Choo Choo Town! By: Jim Boles

Believe it or not, tonight was the first time I have ever seen Peewee Moore live. I've talked with him on ChattaCountry as well as Facebook, I've listened to him as a member of the Rounders, I've listened to him on Brigitte London's Highwaywoman Radio Show out of Austin, TX, and I've heard his fans tell stories about him, but tonight I got to take it all in for myself. I'm glad I finally got a chance to! You see, ChattaCountry started after the Rounders breakup and by that time Peewee had put together the Awful Dreadful Snakes and was touring all across the west. It wasn't really until he recently landed in Austin, TX that he and I connected.
Stories of his huge followings have been heard numerous times so I was excited to finally get out to JJ Bohemia's to check him out. People aren't kidding either when they say he has a following. JJ's was packed out to hear one of their favorite artists. Peewee represents the full spectrum of country music. He jammed out some classic country like Waylon and Johnny Cash and even threw in that rock-a-billy sound of Elvis and his own songs. Peewee can play some serious guitar too. I enjoyed be up close to the stage watching his fingers do a dance up and down the neck of the guitar. He even played one of my favorites that he did back with the Rounders, "Nickajack Dam".
Peewee makes his home right now in Austin, TX where according to Outlaw Magazine's Brigitte London, "He fits right in!" Every few months he gets out on the road and we're sure glad he picked his nearby home of Chattanooga to fill one of his bills. I'd love to see him join the Rounders for a little reunion show. Not sre if that's possible but I know a lot of folks would be excited. I hope you didn't miss the show. I know its a tough night to get out but it was definitely worth it. Look for a new website for Peewee to be coming out soon and be sure to check out his latest album, The Leaving Side of Gone . You can get it on iTunes or cdbaby. - www.chattacountry.com

If someone asks you to define just what exactly you mean when you say “REAL” country or when you call someone an “Outlaw.” If words fail you when someone asks you to clarify what you mean when you say your music has to have “that sound.” When you say “I know it when I hear it,” and someone asks for an example, play them a little Peewee Moore & The Awful Dreadful Snakes.

If I were to trace the genealogy of the country music Outlaw, it would start with Bobby Bare, roll through Willie & Waylon and that whole gang, follow Cash through the late 90's, and end up in the country music underground with people like Peewee Moore as possibly the perfect example of the Outlaw lineage in the present day.

Peewee Moore has figured out how to move the classic country sound from the late 60's to the mid 70's to the here and now, while still keeping the music passionately relevant. Many bands have tried to do this before, but their punk/metal leanings get in the way, or maybe there are elements of the classic sound, but they miss the mark when trying to put the whole package together. To the guitar tones, to the amount of return and reverb, to the lyrics and themes of the songs, Peewee Moore hits the mark.

Something that really helps this along is Peewee’s insistence on having drums, but having them almost exclusively involve just the snare drum. This is beyond a wise move, as is the most useful element in creating that old sound in Peewee’s music. Drumming is so often overlooked by bands trying to re-create that traditional sound, and Dreadful Snake Dud Wash deserves a lot of credit for playing back and doing what’s best for the music.

Same could be said for bass player Ivan Wilson. It’s almost expected now to see an upright bass at an underground country show, but Willie, Waylon, Cash, and Haggard all during the golden Outlaw period used electric basses, and that is the best way to tie the music to that era.

I will say Peewee’s lyricism doesn’t wow me. It’s not bad, it’s not superb. I’d classify it as hit or miss depending on the song. What I will give him credit for is clearly being a student of classic country, and knowing well the best themes to work from to fit his sound. But sometimes the themes come across as tired, like with his song “This Old House,” whose chorus goes, “This old house ain’t a home any more.” I’ve heard plenty of that.

On the flip side songs like his “Truck Driving Song” work off of often-used themes, but are pulled off well by the sheer coolness of the song and the cleverness of the lines. Another one of my favorite Peewee songs is “Leaving With The Band.” All the themes are fairly common, but that also ties them back to that classic era, so this is a forgivable and understandable offense.

Pewee’s album The Leaving Side of Gone is not groundbreaking, but is a solid offering, and is an essential for any true, REAL country fan. - www.savingcountrymusic.com

Most of the songs that Peewee Moore sings were hits before he was born, yet he gives them his own spin, making them sound like fresh traditional country releases.

What else would you expect from a guy who had his first band in elementary school, grew up listening to the Wanted: The Outlaws album (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser) and still uses his mother, Carol, as a backup guitarist and vocalist when needed?

You can see Peewee Moore & The Awful Dreadful Snakes at 10 p.m. Friday at Still Water Tap Room, 974 Broad St. Call (706) 826-9857. You also can hear him at myspace.com/peeweemoore.

Mr. Moore plays guitar and harmonica in the trio, with Ivan Wilson on upright bass and backup vocals, and Dud Wash on drums.

Mr. Moore -- born Cecil Allen Moore Jr. in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., now lives in the same area, in Rossville. He weighs about 240 and says he has had his nickname "since before I can remember."

"I come from a pretty musical family," he said. "All on my mom's side have been musicians who were into all that old stuff and just played it for fun. My granddad, Bill Housley, had several bands throughout the years.

"I've been playing pretty much the same stuff that I've played since I was about 16 or 17," he said. "I had my first band in elementary school near the end of the fifth grade or start of the sixth grade. It was three pieces. I don't think we had a name. We just got together and did some local things."

He lists his key musical influences as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley (in his rockabilly Sun Records days), Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Burnette, Woody Guthrie, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Carl Perkins, Dick Dale and Kris Kristofferson.

"I'm a big fan of good songwriters," he said, "because that was such a big deal when I was growing up. Both my mom and Uncle Billy (Bill Housley Jr.) write songs. So, I've been more a fan of songwriter than musicians."

One Augusta-area songwriter he loves but never has met is Larry Jon Wilson.

"I've been looking around for him," Mr. Moore said. "He's a heck of a guitar player and great singer. The first time I ever saw or heard him do anything was the (1981) music documentary Heartworn Highways , sort of an underground thing which focuses on Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Larry Jon and others."

Out by summer should be Mr. Moore's new CD, Leaving Side of Gone , whose title cut was influenced by a Clark song called She Ain't Going Nowhere .

"I pretty much wrote the chorus to Leaving Side of Gone about six or seven years ago and put it away," he said. "I was going through some old song papers about five months ago and came across it and said to myself, 'This just might work.' "

Don Rhodes has written about country music for 37 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.
- The Augusta Chronicle

CASEY PHILLIPS: It’s a little strange to be writing a review of this album months after Peewee Moore’s Web site says it was originally released. Still it presents such a fine example of road-worn, cotton-picking outlaw honky tonk that I think it deserves a look.

In the course of a dozen tracks, Moore covers pretty much what you’d expect from a hard-working, blue-collar singer/songwriter. The songs range from sad-sack tales of heartache and loss (“The Leaving Side of Gone,” “Who’s Gonna Miss You”) and drinking (“Whiskey Fuels the Flames”) to mischief making (“Runnin’ With the Devil”) and the obligatory gospel closer (“Walk With Me Sweet Jesus”).

Throughout, Moore bears his outlaw country musical influences like badges of honor on his sleeve. They’re all there, from the baritone somberness of Cash to Steve Earle’s rough, rugged howl. What’s great is how it sounds more like an admiring artist’s homage than a pretender’s posturing.

BARRY COURTER: I don’t hear any pretension from Moore and never have. I’ve been a fan for years, and you are right, he does pay tribute to the greats of real country. You can hear a little Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and George Jones in there as well, and I can’t think of any better company to draw influence from.


While you can hear echoes of others before him, Moore manages to sound real and original, and neither is a small thing. He’s not trying to be anything but himself.

CASEY: I personally prefer Moore when he’s ripping through rockabilly tracks like “Truck Drivin’ Song” to his slower material. When he slips from driving, train chug guitar backing into a riff worthy of Luther Perkins, it just sounds right. Most of the time, Moore sounds like he’s having fun, and that sense of excitement in the music is infectious in the best kind of way.

BARRY: I like the rockabilly stuff as well and you are right about the fun factor. This is a fun record to listen to.

It should be pointed out that all 12 tracks were written by Moore. We should also give much credit to the band. Dud Wash on drums and Ivan Wilson on doghouse bass are solid and Carol Moore provides some very tasty backing vocals. Moore is credited with vocals, guitar and harmonica. Jeff Coppage recorded and mixed the CD.

CASEY: Even if we’re a few months late to the party for “The Leaving Side of Gone,” this is as good a time as any to appreciate Moore’s post-Tennessee Rounder career. It’s just a shame we’re losing him next year to Austin, Texas. Based on this release, though, it sounds like he’ll fit right in there.
- Chattanooga Times Free Press

When you get a CD with a name like this you have to try very hard not to prejudge this band. I didn't want to make my mind up by just opening the CD and reading about them. Give them a chance, I did and I honestly have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised.

Peewee and his band are a perfect fit. They have a sound that works for them. The four of them are all very strong and talented musicians. There is just enough of the guitar, bass, drums and keyboard to make these songs work. They are a fun loving group that truly enjoy performing. They have an honest sound that is almost a forgotten art in the music world these days.

Peewee successfully brings you fun lyrics throughout this CD. With songs like "Truck Drivin' Song" and "Whiskey With the Band" you can't help but fall in love with this band and their sound. Don't let their name fool you, these guys are true professionals. They have a sound all their own. They blend solid sounds of country, rockabilly and americana and roll it into a ball of toe tapping music. They give you the chance to enjoy music for what it truly is, an expression of the artists themselves. Peewee wants you to enjoy yourself with these songs, he wants you to have fun and let loose with their lyrics. Don't take life so seriously. Life can be fun just ask the Awful Dreadful Snakes.

For more information on Peewee visit - www.myspace.com/peeweemoore - Music News Nashville