You know the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," right? You can bet Steve Moore knows it. Moore is the drummer for the ridiculously corny cover band Rick K. and the Allnighters. Now, you ask, why would I waste time even mentioning a cover band? There's actually a couple reasons, and one might be the same reason you may have already seen their video on YouTube. It's fucking hilarious. Behind what by all appearances is just a corny-as-shit cover band, Moore goes about his job as if his life depended on it; flailing, twirling, pounding and hamming it up, with limbs everywhere. The juxtaposition of his take-no-prisoners style and the band in matching outfits (gold lame jackets), at what appears to be a fair of some sort, is just too much.
The second reason for this post is because, my interest piqued, I wanted to see just how he ended up in this cover band. But, let's back up. The video is posted on YouTube with several different titles, but by far the one that has the most hits (over 7 million) is the one titled "This drummer is at the wrong gig" which is so dry and to the point that it makes the whole thing even funnier. (The video had been up for two years, but after being retitled "This drummer is at the wrong gig" it got over a million hits in four days.) As it turns out, the title is partially true. Moore cut his teeth in metal and punk bands before becoming an Allnighter. But, as with the lion's share of musicians, he couldn't make a living at it. He supplemented his gig money by washing dishes and working in factories, and for one six month stretch he slept on the floor of a recording studio in exchange for laying down drum tracks.
In 1997, he was hired by Rick K., and, while not his ideal band, he had 150-200 paid gigs a year. Fast forward to June of this year. The video above, already on YouTube, was reposted, and aided by the funny title, became a viral smash. You can guess what happened next. Moore now has endorsement deals, has been featured in drummer magazines, and is getting emails from metal drummers that he's idolized for years. The irony? Moore's in a video with a metal band called Dofka on YouTube. It was posted four years before the renamed Allnighters video. Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't got an endorsement deal with a lemonade company. Come to think of it, someone in marketing should sign the guy who retitled it.
Rick K. and the Allnighters - Wipeout video at YouTube
Steve Moore interview at The Philadelphia Weekly
Steve Moore profile at Drummer World
The Mad Drummer, Steve Moore's website
Steve Moore's MySpace Page (with samples of his Dofka work)
Rick K. and the Allnighters Official page
Oktoberfest drummer at the wrong gig (skip to 1:25) at YouTube
Dofka (w/Steve Moore) - Suicidal (live) video at YouTube
Steve Moore interview from Stephanie's Rock Show on YouTube
1 comment:
Great story!
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