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 How
did you get into Rockabilly/Hillbilly
bob etc.?
Dave Moore - I grew up in the 60s
and was very much into the
counter-counter culture....very
anti hippy! There was always real
country music in my family, my
dad being the band leader of the
BAR M Boys. But even as a kid I
was interested in alt country (rockabilly).
I was into Bill Haley when he
wasnt cool anymore, I knew who
Gene Vincent was in the 60s as
well and loved Buck Owen’s
“Hot Dog”.I always felt
and still do, that real
rockabilly music is an offshoot
of Country Music.
Then what decided you to
create your own label?
I got married and needed
something to do creative with
music, because I couldn’t
travel around to the Europe etc
anymore. The label and studio
allowed me to create and promote
young, new acts as well as help
the original rockers get re-established.
You actually are more
than "just" a label. I
mean you only publish the stuff
you record...
Well, we write, we record, we
arrange, we promote and I play 14
instruments. We also do our own
photo shoots and design work. We
kind a feel like we are a one
stop shop.
What was the first record
issued?
That would be Release #: 104A/BRelease
Date: January 2004 Title: Let’s
Get a Little CloserArtist: Roc
LaRueFormat: 45EP vinyl- 4 songs
You have your own studio,
which I guess is made of vintage
gear. Was it hard to build?
Not really, Americans are fickle
and they anxiously give up old
things for new things. There is a
lot of vintage gear to be had
over here. Analog studios are
very hard to find. I live next to
the state of Maryland and their
is only one operating analog
studio in the entire state of
Maryland. The whole country has
gone digital (except me).
Your wife works with you
too, right?
Yes, Kiersten is the brains ....she
does all of the photo work, runs
a vintage clothing store (www.retrodini.com)
and does the CD and Record cover
design work. She also helps with
promotions.
What are your references
in term of label/studio. Sun?
Meteor? Would you say that a guy
like Willie Lewis and his rock-a-billy
label had an influence on you?
I love Willie’s music and
all that he has done. I would
have to say, that we are like any
small label in the 50's. Each
having its own distinctive sound
and raw qualities. The days of
honest, raw, heartfelt music.
As a independent label,
what do you think of internet.
Are you "victim" of the
illegal downloading?
I use the internet some, but am
not interested too much in the
digital age. And yes, we have
been pirated too many times to
count. I have mixed feelings
about it. I feel really bad for
the Joe Penny’s, Pat Cupp’s
etc. who have had their master
pieces stolen from them and
reissued. Many people don’t
realize it, but the historic
rockers rarely get paid for any
of their recordings and song
writing. It is plain wrong. We
owe these historic rockers
everything for kicking down the
doors and inventing what we love.
As a side note, one of my songs
“Hoochicoo” by the
Saddle Pals was pirated and it
showed up on a pure 1950s
compilation. I recorded it in
1999. Ha ha
You own the label and the studio,
engineer, but you're also a
musician in your own right. Tell
us about your musical projects.
I backed and recorded with Sun
Rocker Vernon Taylor for 7 years,
Billy Adams for 5 years, backed
Roc LaRue, Pat Cupp, Joe Penny,
Ron Berry and played various
other gigs with historic rockers
through the years. I have also
worked with practically all of
the Wild Hare Artists on gigs
including Hoss Hicks, Thommy
Burns, the fabulous Buck Stevens,
Garnet Hearts , Chaotics etc.
I really enjoyed the two
volumes of "Ain't Rocket
Science". But for me, the
one who stole the show is Joe
Penny. Tell us please how did you
get in touch and work with this
character?
WOW! we love Joe, you know! I met
Joe when I was playing a
rockabilly festival in Jackson,
Tennessee in 2000. In 2001, I was
doing a Hank Williams festival
and invited Joe to be the head
liner. The next spring we had Joe
record at Wild Hare. I guess you
can tell he is a real live wire.
He was so cool. I would wake up
in the middle of the night and he
would be dancing to music on my
55 Seeburg Jukebox in his
bathrobe. What a great, talented,
sincere guy! The session was
Thommy Burns on Bass, Bob Butler
on Rhythm Guitar, Lance
LeBeau on Drums and I played lead
guitar. Memories that I will
always cherish. Joe lives in
Florida today.
Another artist from the
50's who recorded forn Wild Hare
is Pat Cupp. I believe he
contacted you... Please tell us
more. How was it to be in the
studio with him?
My most sincere pleasure. THE
MOST PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN TO
EVER WORK WITH
US ...PERIOD! Actually,I began
emailing Pat in the spring of
2004. I heard that he had some
original songs that he had wanted
to record since the 1950's. Pat
like all historic rockers
that I have worked with was
really skeptical of me and the
record label. And rightly so......50's
record labels were at best OK and
at worst rip off artists to
say the least. After a few months
of hard questions from Pat and
honest up front answers from me,
Pat decided that he would sign a
contract with us at Wild Hare
Records. Pat did sign with a
caveat "my music my
way". I said no problem. Pat
signed and I started dancing a
jig. Quite truthfully I
have never stopped dancing, when
it comes to Pat Cupp. Pat arrived
in West Virginia at our
antiquated all analog studio
after a two hour ride from
a Washington DC airport.
Immediately when Pat got in my
1964 Ranchero, I knew he was a
winner, a real authentic nice guy
with loads of personality and
down to earth as could be. Pat
had planned 10-11 songs for the
CD and most of them were written
in the 1950's or even before. Pat
was a consummate professional and
worked closely with all staff
musicians to come up with mood
and sound that Pat wanted. He
never over reached, was demanding
or un reasonable. He was a real
people person and it came across
in the recordings. I remember
fondly about how relaxing the
sessions were. It took 10 hours
to record 12 songs. 10 made it
onto the CD. All recorded live to
analog tape. The thing I remember
most was the question that was
asked: " how did you get
that sound back in the 50's, that
real rockabilly sound?"
Pat's answer has been my guiding
light ever since. Pat replied"
That's easy, you see back then,
we were doing acoustic music.
There were no mics on the drum,
no amp for the bass, no
loud PA system. The guitar amp
was pushing 5 watts. The volume
was kept low and we got a real
acoustic sound with that thumping
bass and rhythm guitar". I
was dumbstruck! Walla! I have
been taught by the master!
Subsequently, Pat sold out of two
large CD runs and I had the
pleasure of backing him at Hemsby
in 2006. He is the most
consummate professional in the
business as far as I am concerned
and I have worked with many of
them through the years.
Currently, we are proud to host
his international fanclub and it
is doing just fine.
What about the other
artists on WIld Hare. Do you
approach them or do they send you
tapes. How does it work?
It depends, we recruit most of
our talent. We have been flooded
with real hard edge stuff over
here that they say is Rockabilly.
It ain’t. OK.....Psychobilly
is not Rockabilly. There I said
it. So we are kinda picky and
look for real vintage sounding
acts.
What about Ryan Cain?
This guys seems very young.
Yes, what a great bunch of young
guys. They are a real West
Virginia act. They are all 25
years old.Very talented bunch of
kids.
It takes only a few bars
to know that you're listening to
a WIld Hare record. How did you
achieve that? Did you have that
specific sound in mind or did it
come by experiencing? How much do
you involve yourself in the
recording sessions? Do you
suggest arrangements or things
like that. In one word, do you
work as a producer?
I don’t know, many of
our artist have said it is magic
experience working here. I just
have a sound in my head and go
with my instincts. Not that I am
all that talented, the sessions
are very low stress and we don’t
watch the clock. We experiment
and I do direct and guide when
the mood hits me. Most of the
songs are arranged on the spot
and I discourage rehearsing. We
hit it live and raw. There are no
overdubs or tracking. If we don’t
get it right in two or three
takes, we move on to something
else.
I personnally think,
maybe cause I'm a drummer myself,
that Mark Pettijohn is one key
element of this sound...
Mark was with Vinylux’s
Boom Boom Cats. And now the
Garnet Hearts. This guy is a real
40's hillbilly jazz drummer.
However, we have used at least 8
different drummers, but Mark is
one of the best ever.
Is there a special artist
you'd like to work with?
Geesh...I have worked with so
many great artists........ I
still would like to dig up
another obscure 50s rocker and
get him on tape! Do you know of
any?
What's in the can for
Wild Hare?
Keep a keen ear out for an
outstanding Buck Stevens 45ep and
full length CD this fall. The
recordings are done and the
artwork is in progress.
A last word?
THANK all of you who have bought
our CDs and 45s, your kind word s
of encouragement and most
importantly keeping this music
alive and for supporting our
great artists!
Check
out Wild Hare website
Coming
soon, a complete, and reviewed,
discography.
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