Vinnie Moore是在八十年代中后期吉他演奏艺术繁盛时期涌现出的最具影响力,具有重要地位的吉他手之一。至2001年为止六张成功的专辑,使他成为Shrapnel唱片旗下最知名的艺术家。
Vinnie Moore自十二岁开始弹奏吉他。在经历多年Pub演出和各地巡回生活之后,他被Shrapnel唱片的总裁、曾经发掘和培养了多位优秀的吉他手的Mike Varney慧眼相中。于是Vinnie Moore登上了《Guitar Player》杂志的专栏介绍,引起了全国范围的关注,此后1985年他的曲子又获得了百事广告的青睐。1987年,Vinnie Moore在Shrapnel旗下发行了首张专辑《Mind's Eye》,这张专辑售出了十多万张,Vinnie Moore也被《Guitar Player》、《Guitar》、《Guitar World》等杂志评为“最佳新晋演奏家”,一下子成为了吉他界的焦点。他的第二张专辑《Time Odyssey》也取得了成功,凭借这张专辑他重新确立了自己实力强劲的竞争者与充满创意的革新者的双重地位。而在Combat厂牌发行的第三张专辑《Meltdown》可谓他的代表作,赢得了来自AOR及Hard Rock电台的热烈支持,最终也达到了六位数销量。
1999年的《Maze》专辑的发行,标志着他重回Shrapnel唱片旗下,也代表着他重新回归曾为他带来大批忠实乐迷的前卫新古典速弹风格。Vinnie Moore也在作曲方面显示出了不同以往的成熟,表现在专辑所展示出的丰富多样化及异国情调的音乐影响力。这张专辑阵容包括前MSG鼓手Shane Gaalaas,The Dregs贝司手Dave LaRue以及著名的大师级乐手Tony MacAlpine担任键盘。《The Maze》正是Vinnie Moore乐迷渴望已久的专辑。
作为一名演奏者,Vinnie Moore的经历令人印象至深。他曾加入Alice Cooper乐队,参加了该乐队Operation Rock'N'Roll全美巡演,并且也参与了Alice Cooper专辑《Hey Stoopid》的吉他演奏。而他自己的乐队以精彩的solo支援了Rush乐队的巡演。而后他在全美举办了巡演,随即又奔赴世界各地进行讲座和演出,先后到过日本、斯堪的纳维亚半岛、意大利、波兰、墨西哥、加拿大、新西兰、英国、德国和澳大利亚。在日本的巡演更是有T.M. Stevens,Bernie Worell和Wil Cahoun助阵。
此外,致力于吉他教学的Vinnie Moore已在世界各地进行了二百余场吉他讲座。他的两张教学录影带也登上了Hotlick畅销榜。由于他乐于传授自己的技艺,在音乐圈中赢得了众多褒奖。虽然九十年代时guitar solo这种音乐形式的流行度有所下降,但Vinnie Moore凭借自己受欢迎的吉他讲座及高水准的演奏,得以在这种衰落中保持不败。
如今的Vinnie Moore与同时代的大师们如Al Di Meola和Joe Satriani站在同一高度。从九十年代步入新世纪,Vinnie Moore继续与Shrapnel唱片公司保持着成功的合作。尽管从来也没有打入主流音乐界,Vinnie Moore仍拥有生命力长久且充满创新的吉他职业生涯。乐迷们重新认识着如今音乐的根源,却往往由于过份狂热而将往昔的大师们抛在脑后。Vinnie Moore不仅展示着昔日音乐的风采,亦是可以引领未来音乐方向的极少数演奏家之一。
Vinnie Moore is one of the most influencial and important guitarists to emerge out of the virtuoso boom in the mid to late eighties. Boasting six studio albums as of 2001, he is one of the most recognizable artists on the Shrapnel record label.
Beginning his career at the tender age of 12, Moore played clubs and bars until Shrapnel big wig Mike Varney discovered him through a magazine article. His connection with Varney led to a Pepsi commercial in 1985, which gave him enough recognition to record his first solo album, Minds Eye. His debut led to several awards from guitar magazines and sold over 100,000 copies, bringing him directly into the spotlight of the guitar world.
The virtuoso craze of the late eighties led to more well received releases on Shrapnel, and soon he began to perform with other bands in the hard rock scene. He joined Alice Cooper's band for a tour and the Hey Stoopid album, and released two very popular instructional videos on playing guitar.
He secured a tour with Rush for his solo material, then turned around and had a guitar clinic tour that spanned several continents. His dedication to teaching his craft has brought him much praise in musician's circles. Although the nineties saw a decline in the popularity of solo guitar music, Moore survived the downward trend due to his popular guitar clinics and quality guitar playing.
Standing tall with fellow guitar heroes Al DiMeola and Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore has enjoyed a successful working relationship with Shrapnel records that has continued past the nineties into the next century. Despite never cracking the mainstream, Moore still has enjoyed a long and creatively satisfying career in the world of instrumental guitar.
by Bradley Torreano