UFO

JULY '08

Harder Beat Magazine Online

Vinnie Moore from solo to UFO

By Andy Laudano

UFO’s Vinnie Moore
Photo: Andy Laudano

Along with fellow guitar heroes Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and others, Vinnie Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to come out of the 80’s “shredder” boom. Though mainly known as a solo instrumental artist, Moore appeared on albums with Alice Cooper, Vicious Rumors and even a Deep Purple tribute before joining British rock legends, UFO in 2004.

In 1995 the classic UFO lineup of Phil Mogg (vocals), Michael Schenker (guitar), Pete Way (bass), Paul Raymond (keyboards/guitar) and Andy Parker (drums) reunited to make the awesome Walk On Water album. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before old problems with Schenker began to resurface. After Schenker quit for a final time, UFO began looking for a replacement.

“We had a mutual friend who used to do sound for UFO,” Moore recalls. “He was also my guitar tech at one point. He heard they were looking for somebody to replace Schenker, and thought I would be a good fit. He let them know and they requested some of my music. I sent Phil a CD and heard back from them a couple of weeks later asking me to join.”

Joining UFO was a dream job for Moore. “I was a pretty big fan of theirs when I was growing up,” Vinnie reveals. “I had Obsession, Lights Out and Force It, so I knew a lot of their songs and could play them already. The ones I couldn’t play I knew in my head. It wasn’t like I had to really stretch stylistically to fit in with those guys, because they were such an influence on me when I was learning.”

The new lineup of Moore, Mogg, Way, Raymond and new drummer Jason Bonham (son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham) began work on the excellent You Are Here album. “I wrote a lot of the songs, the music anyway, for that record,” Vinnie shares. “I would send Phil music ideas, and he would write lyrics and melodies to them. That’s how we did it. We communicated by mail. If it was anybody else, it probably would have been done over the Internet, but Phil’s clueless as far as computers go. In fact, the first time I sent him some ideas, they were on CD, and he called and asked if I could send them again on cassette.”

Shortly after releasing the live CD/DVD Showtime, Bonham left the band and original drummer Andy Parker returned. “Jason was playing for us and Foreigner at the same time, and it was too much for him,” Moore explains. “He decided to go with them, so Paul called Andy. The timing worked out perfectly, as he had just quit where he was working. It was a little bit different of a vibe with Jason in the band as opposed to Andy. Andy is more the quintessential UFO drummer, because he’s the original guy. His style kind of defined the band, while Jason had a different feel. The tempos were a little quicker, maybe a little more energetic and HEAVY, because that’s his style.”

UFO is still touring in support of their latest, The Monkey Puzzle. The band makes a stop at Fort Worth’s Ridglea Theater on July 9, before heading to the big Rocklahoma festival the following weekend.