Vinnie Moore recently released his latest solo album, Double Exposure, via his own label, Mind’s Eye Music. This is the first of his solo work to feature guest vocalists, including former members of MSG, Riot, and more. I spoke with Vinnie about the making of the album, producing his own music through his own label, how he became known as a guitar authority, working with Alice Cooper, the latest on UFO, and more. 

Joined on the phone here today by Vinnie Moore, excited to talk to you about your new album Double Exposure, so thank you for joining me today. How are you doing?

I’m doing great, thanks so much for having me on. It’s good to be talking to you.

Awesome. So of course I’m super excited, Double Exposure is an awesome record, and it’s not your first run at a solo album of course, but it has been the first in a few years. So to start things off, what brought you to this album as we hear it today?

The album started during the lockdown time frame, and you know, I was basically at home. All the shows that we had planned were kind of canceled or postponed or whatever, and you know, I just got bored and thought, I need to do something to keep busy and be creative. So I came up with a scheme to release an instrumental EP, 6 songs. And so I recorded some stuff, and that was pretty much how it started. But as I was listening to the songs, I started hearing vocals in my head and singing along with them. I got this idea like, “Hey, I could get some of my singer friends and maybe do two versions of each song – one with a singer and one with the guitar singing”. So this kind of dual album/dual song thing kind of popped into my head. It wasn’t really planned, but you know it just kind of happened and I just kind of rode with it. 

Cool, and I love the way you phrase that, “one side with the guitar singing”, that, of course is what you’ve kind of always done with your instrumental. It was also a first to find vocals on your solo album, so my question on that is, how did you arrive at the lineup of vocalists that you did? I mean, did you have the songs first, and decide which song fit which vocalist, or did you already have some people in mind while you were writing?

Well, the songs were written and I actually, once I got the idea that I would like to do vocals on the songs, I pretty much started, you know, jotting down some lyrics, and I sang on everything myself. Because I always have a lot of melodies in my head, so I might be sitting around doing the instrumental thing, and get a vocal in my head, and you know, start recording and just like lay down a vocal. I presented each singer with both versions, the one with me scatting with my temporary lyrics, and the ones with just the music. And told them, you know, totally get creative, do your own thing, or listen to what I’ve come up with. But yeah, to go back to your question, it did take some thought. These were all friends of mine that I knew that I always wanted to work with, but some thought went into like who would be right for which particular song. For instance, like “Hummingbird”, there’s obvious, like…That’s gonna be Keith Slack. He’s a Texas guy, he’s got that southern twang and that big husky voice, and I just knew he would be right for that because it had a southern kind of vibe to it. And, you know, just kind of put some thought into it and just chose who I thought would be right for each song. There was no real right answer like, every one of these guys would have been good on any of the songs. But, I kind of tried to tailor it to each guy specifically. 

Yeah, that makes sense, kind of just feeling the style and the vibe and which one seems suited to – because, of course, like you said, they could have handled any one of them but it’s like, which one was best for them as an individual, which is cool. 

Exactly, that’s right. 

You mentioned the genre there as well, because of course it is, a rock record fundamentally, but I like that there is a little bit of layering of genre. There’s a little bit of a southern, you know, twang here and there, and then you’ve got the blues element, which a lot of people seem to be picking up on the blues element of it as well. Was there any specific idea in mind with genres? Or you were just kind of experimenting and seeing what came up as you were writing? 

I just kind of let it flow, you know? Without much thought. And I’m into so many different styles of music, so many great things out there, and I’m just like, inspired by all of it and, you know, I just kind of let it come out, when I’m writing. I try not to think too much and have a plan, I found that if I think too much, it doesn’t come out as good. You know, let it happen, so to speak. Put a guitar in my hand, whatever happens happens, wherever the road leads, you know, it leads, and I follow it, just follow the inspiration. A lot of my early Southern influence came out on this record, that probably hasn’t come out a lot in the past, like on “Hummingbird”, for instance. So yeah, it’s just go with the flow for me, and not think. 

That’s good, I mean I think a lot of artists can tend to do that. If they set out with something too specific in mind, like, “I want to write in this style, this genre, this particular sound”, you can get kind of caught up in that thinking you have to fit into a mold. So it definitely is better to just let it flow, you have a certain idea and then say, “All right, let’s see where this goes”, just start playing and jamming and messing around.

Right, especially since it’s a solo record, and not a band scenario. Pretty much, can it be experimental and really do anything I want, whereas if there was a band such as UFO, we have a collective, like, style, you know? And there’s a certain area you have to stay within, like a certain boundary for that. So…kind of more boundary-less.

Definitely, that makes sense, yeah, UFO has a certain kind of expectation to it from the fans as well. You expect a UFO record to sound a certain way, and then, you know, if you come out of left field with a full-on southern record, people would be like, “Huh. Okay, that’s different” *laughs* So, I agree there’s an expectation, but it’s cool to be able to do it yourself. And I noticed that it came out on Mind’s Eye Music, I’m sure it’s no coincidence that that shares the name with your first solo album. So is that your own label, Mind’s Eye Music?

Yeah, definitely my own label, I just, at a certain point, it made no sense to try to do solo instrumental records on record labels anymore, and I just thought I could do better for the record myself. Having my own label and releasing it that way, and being more in control, and then also I could make whatever record I wanted without having to get any feedback externally. So it’s worked out well so far. 

That’s awesome, and congrats on that. 

Thank you.

Do you do your own production as well, or do you work with anyone else to help with production?

I produce it myself, and you know, I usually find a good engineer to record the drums and to mix it, and that helps out as well. But I’m the overseer of the whole creative process.

That’s awesome, and yeah of course, it’s like you said, it brings you that extra level of control to it. You can just make it whatever you want to make it, and then promote it out there in the world as, you know, “This is fully mine, this is my music, my creation”. I specifically wanted to ask you about the track, “Breaking Through”, because that really stood out to me, and I like that track a lot, and I feel like it’s such a unique instrumental tone going on there. And to me it almost resembles, like, dual guitars with yourself, I like the layers in there. So I want to ask more about the ideas and the work behind that one. 

Thank you. There’s harmony guitars on that one, and I used to do lots, tons of harmony guitars back in the old days, like especially on the first couple records, and you know, I guess there was…some of my Brian May influence was coming out, or whatever. I’d harmonize almost all the melodies within the song, and then I just kind of broke away from that, I felt like I had to move away from it, and do something different. But for this specific song, I knew, I was hearing in my head that I wanted to harmonize the melody, and I had a specific idea, I want to go a fourth above. And then I started experimenting with this plugin, Harmonizer, and I ended up adding 2 harmonies to my melody, one higher and one lower. Back in the old days when I did harmonies, I’d actually track them both. So I’d track my melody, and then I’d go back and add the harmony to the melody, play along with it. In this case, both harmonies, the higher one and the lower one were actually there while I was playing the part, so it kind of inspired me to do some different things. And it just sounded massive when I was playing it. I think I came up with a couple cool things because the harmonies were there as I was tracking and playing. 

I like it a lot and that’s interesting about the technology element of it – which is really cool because it kind of helped you, you know, assisted you in the song writing, and I like the idea that you’re embracing the technology. Because occasionally, musicians who have come from more of a classic or an analog kind of…origins and background prefer to stay that way. And it’s cool that you’re embracing the technology in the sense of what it can add to your songwriting. Kind of takes some of the extra work and extra recording time away, and lets you focus more on what you’re actually writing and coming up with. 

Yeah, anything that inspires you and makes you go in a direction that you initially wouldn’t have gone in, is a really cool thing. Like, I was using this program, I guess it was like almost 10 years ago, more than 10 years…called Asset, where I was listening to different loops, and that was inspiring me, and I came out with this record called To The Core, and if you listen to that you can hear even influences from techno music. I was following inspiration from loops and whatnot, which was different, and fun, and exciting at the time.

It seems like you’re very open about your gear and technology, and things that you use as well, like…You’re not somebody who’s trying to keep major trade secrets and things like that, it’s like, when people ask you about gear, you’re willing to tell them what you work with, what you like, your plugins and pedals, and programs and everything that you use. Which is cool as well, that you’re very open about it. 

Yeah, I don’t mind sharing information at all, because I’m also at times on the other end of things where I go, “Hey, how’d you get that sound, man?” And it’s always great when people tell you how they’ve achieved certain things. I still wanna know how Jeff Beck did some of the things he did.

Aww, yeah. It would be great to ask him. You’re not only a great player though, but you are considered a guitar authority in your own right, with good reason, for a majority of your career. I mean, with the guitar clinics and columns, etc., when did you first realize you like the teaching side of guitar too?

That’s something I never considered doing, that sort of was offered to me and I was scared to death at first, to be honest, like I don’t know if I could do that. I’d rather be on stage with a band. And I went out and tried it, and I got good at it, and I realized, “Hey, I can do this”. And it was good exposure for my music and my playing, so it turned out to be a really good thing. When I was in the studio recording The Mind’s Eye record, which is my first record, I had Tommy Aldridge on drums, and he had just done a Hot Licks instructional video, and he told them about me, recommended me, and then I started talking to Hot Licks, Arlen Roth, and I ended up doing that instructional video because of Tommy’s recommendation. That’s something I never considered I would be doing either, it just sort of happened and you know, I went with the flow. 

I mean, that shows the humble side of you as well. Whenever somebody is an authority in a subject, they usually don’t feel that way. I mean, they’re like, “Oh, I’m just doing this, this is my thing, this is what I do”. And when other people are seeking advice, you don’t feel like you are the “supreme authority” on it, but people do see you that way, out of your instructional aspects of what you do.

Yeah, I mean, I’m not an authority on anything. I’m just learning as I go along, and happy to pass on anything that I’ve learned, and there are some things that like, I’m reluctant though. I get protective of, like, certain licks or something that I think are really…I know I came up with on my own, and there have been times where people have said, “Hey, how’d you do this?”, and I’m like, “I don’t know, what part are you talking about? I’m not sure”. I’ll avoid talking about it, and I feel selfish, but yeah, for the most part I’m pretty open. 

No that’s fine, you have every right to have certain things that are unique to you, and you protect those secrets, and that’s totally fine. And if anything, if somebody’s trying to figure it out, they can just work a little harder to listen closely and figure it out themselves, you know?

Exactly, yeah, like I did when I was a kid, like we all did. There were no instructional videos or YouTube, you just listen to the record over and over again, you know, picked up the needle, and try to figure it out the best you could. 

Exactly, and some people could you know certainly do with doing it that way these days, instead of trying to take shortcuts and everything.

Yeah, nobody wants to use their ears anymore, like, kids just want to get tablature. But I mean, it’s great that tablature is available, and can help you learn things faster, but there’s something to be said about using your ear and learning things. You know, it helps develop that whole thing.

And to me, I feel like it’s more satisfying that way when you do figure it out yourself. I play guitar as well, I mean certainly not on any level close to you, but just in general, you know, I play a little more casually, and there was a newer song I was listening to that I was trying to find some tabs or, something that someone had put out there for it, and there was absolutely nothing out there for it because the song was still pretty new. And I ended up just doing exactly that, just putting it on a loop, listening over and over, figuring out the notes, and it was just a lot more gratifying and satisfying to be like, “Okay cool, I play this now because I figured this out myself from just listening to it by ear”.

Right, you feel like it’s rewarding at the end when you’ve done it.

Exactly. So another thing I do want to touch on while I have you is, of course, touching on the UFO front. I mean, we’re all pretty aware of what happened last year with Phil’s health, making the official farewell show last summer but, you know, some people are still questioning whether it really is a farewell for UFO, whether there might be more music recorded in the future…Is there anything you can share for updates on how Phil’s doing, or anything with UFO?

I know he’s doing a lot better, he’s feeling good, he’s in good spirits. We text almost every day, and we were texting yesterday, and it’s usually joking, to be honest with you. Sending one another funny memes and videos and what not. I think he would like to do more, and it’s probably just a matter of him just kind of making sure that he doesn’t push the limits too much. He just needs to feel that everything’s okay, and, you know, that he’s not risking anything. 

Of course.

I think that it could happen next year as long as he feels good about things, but I really don’t have an answer at this point. 

Of course, definitely just good to know that he is in better health and spirits all around, fans will of course be thrilled if anything new comes out, but of course the priority here is his health and making sure he’s all good, so that’s totally understandable.

Yeah.

The other thing I’d like to touch on real quick is to talk about your time with Alice Cooper, because he happens to be one of my favorite artists as well, and the Hey Stoopid record is also one of my favorites, I love that it became this collaboration with so many guest artists on there. So, can you take me into the recording studio for that album, and what did you personally take away from that experience? 

Man, I heard about him having the guests on the record, and I was asked to be a part of it, which was kind of an honor for me, you know? It was amazing. I live like 4 hours drive from the studio, which was in Bearsville, New York, Bearsville Studio. I drove up there one winter evening, I think it was in January, spent the night, got up the next morning, drove right to the studio. They had given me the 2 songs in advance, “Dirty Dreams” and “Hurricane Years”, and I just went in and knocked them out, you know? I think it took maybe 6 hours, and then we all went out to dinner together, and said our goodbyes, and I drove home that evening. So it was pretty much “Wham bam thank you ma’am”. But it was a lot of fun, that’s the first time I met Alice, and having him there in the control room while I was recording stuff going, “Hey maybe you could make it more like this, or you know, get a little more sloppy and sleazy, or whatever” back from him was like, totally cool.

That’s awesome, I love that, and that’s funny, that feels appropriate for Alice’s music too, that kind of feedback. 

Yeah, it was almost like, well…I played one of the rhythm tracks, and he was like, “you obviously know the song, but maybe you’re playing it too perfectly, maybe you could just swap it up a little bit”. Very cool.

That’s great, yeah, I feel like that comes from that instrumental guitarist element, you are very precise with notes and that sort of technical aspect of it that I guess certain kind of rock is like, “Listen put some attitude into it, too”, which is funny. 

Yeah, there was attitude, but I think you just kind of, the more you play, you get more proficient and better at it. 

So coming back to the present day with Double Exposure, it’s a great record getting lots of attention, I know everyone’s happy to hear something new from Vinnie Moore, so tell us what’s on the horizon for you now.

I want to get out and do some shows, I have some stuff shaping up for Europe in September, and working on some USA stuff, and I don’t know exactly when that’s gonna be. And then I want to get more of a band together instead of the solo artist thing, you know, with a band name, and make vocal records and go out on tour. Especially since UFO was coming to a halt, I’m going to need another band to kind of replace that. 

We’re all looking forward to seeing what you come up with next, so thanks so much for taking the time to talk me today, Vinnie, this has been awesome.

Oh thank you, I totally appreciate it, thanks so much. 

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Keep up with Vinnie Moore via: https://vinniemoore.com.