New Single Dresser Drawers available October 10th

For the past couple months I have been squirming with impatience, waiting for my finished album to return from the mastering studio in its fully matured form.  At last, it has arrived. And although some final pre-release tasks for The Rafter must be completed (i.e. album art and CD printing), I can confidently say that the first single from the album, Dresser Drawers, is presently barrelling it’s way through cyberspace towards your favorite digital music retailer. Here’s the album art courtesy of Robin Sathoff, if you haven’t seen it already

Since the new single will be available for free download, it will be replacing my previous free release, It Took Five Years but Now We’re Doing Fine. After all, I have given away about 1,000 copies over the past few years. So please click on the link to my bandcamp page below and get the EP while it’s still free.

By the way, it’s nice to meet you.

Mix, listen, mix, listen, mix, listen, repeat

I never thought of myself as a sound engineer. But the restrictions of my budget laid necessity on me to take on a new challenge and learn a new skill. At this point my album is successfully mixed. I have forwarded it to a few trusted ears and currently wait for the “go-ahead" to send the tracks for mastering.  But getting to this point was not always easy.

Just in case you don’t know, mixing involves raising and lowering the volume of individual instruments in “the mix" so that they sound good in relation to one another. But it’s more than that. You also have to compress and EQ (adjust the bass, treble, and mids like you would in your car stereo) for each individual instrument so that you can hear it clearly. Add to that, echo, reverb, and panning left/right and I had a big mess on my untrained hands.

Mixing my own music was like riding the proverbial “emotional roller-coaster".  At times, when things lined up so easily and the sound in my imagination matched what in reality entered my ears, the feeling of success was euphoric! I felt as if the end was in sight! Then I would burn to CD and listen in my car stereo and it would sound terrible. Depression inevitably ensued. “Will I ever get this thing finished", “Is it going to sound any good when it’s done?"

If I have learned one thing from this whole ordeal it would be this: stick with it. Mix, listen, mix, listen, mix, listen, repeat.  Just keep at it until it sounds like you want it. It’s tedious, for sure. And having a 6 year-old computer that crashes when I work too fast did nothing to ease the situation.

Toward the end, I could hardly hear the songs as music at all. My compositions failed to stir in me, the composer, any emotion at all. I completely forgot the inspiration behind my own art.  I was tweaking a blurry mess of frequencies like someone might straighten each square tile in a colorful mosaic and completely miss the image that they collectively portrayed.

When I reached my limit, I left it for a week to give my ears some time. A few days later, I let a friend riding with me in my car listen to the first track. To my surprise, it was there….the song. It was good! My friend didn’t ask me about frequencies, reverb, or EQ. He asked me about the lyrics. “Why did you write this song?" he asked.

It moved him.

It moved me.

Tom Moore and On the Soap Box - New Album Available March 23rd!

Tom Moore of Deltona, Ben Calhoun of Orlando and Caleb Muller, also from Orlando, have been long-time buddies, playing  local music venues around Central Florida since high school. Their first album, Songs for Your Mothers to GossipAbout was cut in 2008. The success of that album prompted the trio to launch their second album, Figure It Out! which will be released at a debut performance in DeLand on March 23.

     

“All the songs were written by the band over the past three or four years,” said bass/vocalist Tom Moore.   

“I describe the music as indie alternative and sometimes compare it to Rogue Wave or Death Cab for Cutie,” said Moore.

    

The 10-track album was recorded at a studio in Lake Mary with the help of sound engineer Wesley Brach.

      

On The Soap Box has a large, local following. The band's fans can enjoy singing along with their well-known original song Good-Bye, included on the album, and a new song, Red Flag.

      

“The title track, Figure It Out! is probably the band's favorite. It has a bunch of interesting time shifts and lyrics that deal with the inner struggle for balance between humility and self-confidence,” said Moore.

      

On The Soap Box will debut Figure It Out at Cafe DaVinci, 112 W. Georgia Ave., DeLand on Friday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. Autographed CDs will be available at the show. Admission is free. 

written by Kathleen Rasche

OTSB Album Release Show Facebook Event

www.otsbmusic.com 

February News

Plenty of new and exciting things are happening in my humble world of independent music.  And of course, as my loyal fan, you will always be the first to hear what's happening.

To begin with, February is all things On the Soap Box (that's my three-piece indie alternative rock band, if you didn't already know).  We are putting the finishing touches on an eleven track album of original tunes that will be available this spring!  We know that all of our fans having been waiting a while for this release, but we are confident that it will not dissappoint. The album is entitled Figure it Out! and will feature all the songs that you have come to love including "Goodbye" and "Don't Ever Keep Quiet". In the meantime, follow us on facebook to get the latest news and download our debut album on itunes if you'd like to support our efforts.

Second, my good friend and musician/engineer Wesley Brach and I are very close to releasing our debut single "To the Top". This is something very new for me, a collaboration with unfathomable potential.  I know you will love this track. I've been told it's caught somewhere between S.T.A.R.S and Berlin (if that means anything to you), featuring Brach's musical composition and my vocals. And if we get a good response (i.e. if you download it and share it with all you friends) we might do some more collaborating in the future.

And, of course, I am continuing with my solo efforts.  My album is half-way there. And I will be playing at Genuine Bistro & Lounge this Saturday from 6:30-9:30pm. I hope to see all you local fans there!

I appreciate all the support at my shows, comments on my webpages, and responses to my emails.  It's nice to know that I have listeners out there. As long as I do, I'll be doing my best to create something worth listening to.

Thanks again

TOm
http://facebook.com/tommooremusicfl

Tom Moore and Frankie V @ White Wolf Cafe December 2nd

 

http://frankiev.com

http://tommooremusic.com

Get the scoop on this and future gigs at reverbnation.com/tommoore

Tom Moore on Jango Internet Radio

Hey there friends/fans and fellow music enthusiasts,

If you are someone that likes to use the internet to discover new and interesting music, likely you have already heard of Pandora internet radio. This service allows you to customize your own radio stations so that they only play music that you like and then introduces you to other artists that you might like based on your musical tastes. Pretty cool!

But recently I stumbled across another free online radio website that is similar to Pandora and that, dare I say it, I like a little more: Jango - Free Internet Radio that Plays What You Want!

So, why my unswerving support of Jango? I've narrowed it down to 10 succinct reasons for you to give it a try:

1) No commercial interruptions
2) A fancy little transparent homescreen app for your smart phone
3) Networking features that allow you to share your musical discoveries with your friends or even tune in to someone else's customized radio station and learn about new artists that they enjoy.
4-10) Jango will play my music!

Unlike Pandora, that seems to be in the unyeilding clutches of the record companies, Jango allows quality, proffessionally produced, independent artists (such as myself) to submit their music. Jango will help me reach new fans and find out what other artists I am similar to. This is incredibly useful for future promotions and understanding what kind of listeners will enjoy my music.

So give it a shot, eh? Click on this link to get to the Tom Moore (Indie) station. Then, after you've given my song the "thumbs-up", you can add any other artist to start fine-tuning your online radio experience. Sign up and Jango will save all of your customized stations.

You guys are the best! Have I ever told you that?

Thanks again for your support.

TOm
http://tommooremusic.com

“It Took Five Years...” Review in Daytona Beach News-Journal.

If you happened to pick up the Friday, July 8th edition of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, I hope you ventured past the all too disturbing local headlines to the local entertainment section, GO 386.

Thanks to entertainment writer Rick de Yampert and Dave Wersinger in editing, the entertainment section featured a spotlight on recent releases by area musicians. And the second titled highlighted...? Tom Moore. “It Took Five Years but Now We’re Doing Fine”.

Those guys are great. Big thanks! Although I haven’t heard enough of James Blunt’s material to really comment on that reference, anybody who compares my music to a track from The Beatles is alright with me!

Read the entire review on the GO 386 website.

It’s nice to get a little momentum whilst waist deep recording my new project. Or should I say: projects. More on that later.  Thanks for all your support.

TOm

I Need You Now by tommooremusic

"I Need You Now" Music Video Shoot

Of all the tracks on my latest release It Took Five Years but Now We're Doing Fine, the most successful track by far on the web and from listener feedback is the song "I Need You Now".  Perhaps it's because my song coincidentally shares it's name with  the cross-over country pop single that airs incessantly on your local top 40 radio station. But more than likely, it is the charming voice of my lovely wife Meagan, who debuts on this duet, that has captured the hearts of my central Florida listeners.

That being the case, "I Need You Now" was the natural choice for the music video shoot that was organized as an extra curricular project for the digital video students from Seminole State College in Heathrow, FL.  Thanks to Dan Walker and his students for offering to help me out!  We really had a great time and I can't wait to see the finished product!

The shoot was filmed at our very own downtown Lake Mary.  We filmed a few shots of Meagan and I acting out our little marital squabble that is depicted in the song. Then we did a few takes of us performing the song live.  It's in the creative hands of the SSC students now!  And rest assured that I will share my first official music video with you as soon as I can.

Be sure to put your name on my email list so that you get all the latest news!

TOm

Tom Moore Music Featured on Intheeditingroom.com

I am proud to announce that my song "I Need You Now" is now being featured on the professional photography site of Khadees Design at intheeditingroom.com

Khadees is a creative and inspirational photographer out of Orlando, FL. He specializes in wedding photography, engagement photo shoots, headshots, and family portraits. And, although I do say so myself, I think my music fits perfectly with the photo-reel on the homepage of intheeditingroom.com.

Thanks Khadees Design!

TOm
www.tommooremusic.com