Steven
Devadanam
Preview
Abra Moore's been busy. She was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. She's been touring with Third Eye Blind, Collective Soul, Lillith Fair and Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
Touring in support of her latest album, Strangest Places, she'll be appearing at the Satellite Lounge March 13 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10. When last I caught up with her, she was taking a break in Austin, nursing a head cold.
Congrats on the Grammy nomination. How does it feel being compared to such artists as Joan Osborne, Ani DiFranco and even being called "The Next Bob Dylan?"
"My attitude on all that is real simple: It's all been done before, man, we're all just out there doing it. Everyone's out there interpreting their vision of songs. I don't try to compare myself to anything I'm always flattered. I don't see myself as more unique than someone else. It's just an interpretation as expression."
You're from Hawaii, but home's in Austin now. What do you think of Austin compared to when you got there? Does it still deserve the hype?
"Well, it's expanding all the time. It's not the old Austin - it's a lot more traffic, but it's still got its soul. Lots of diverse music going on and not too commercial."
So how did your family end up in Hawaii? What did you study at the University of Hawaii?
"My father was a painter, an artist. We lived in Mission Bay, California. We moved to Hawaii when I was five. I studied language and art, theory and voice there."
Most people don't know that you lost your mother at age four. What's your most vivid memory of her?
"Whenever I hear 'Sun Kings' by the Beatles, I can remember being with her in California. I remember being in the womb. After I lost her, I had nightmares of being born."
So who's responsible for the grit on your new album?
"That was me and what I felt like going after. I just did what the songs called for. Sing was written years ago, a lot of songs written when I was 18, so that was that chapter in my life. I'd love to make a new record now."
Your Dad was a jazzer. You played a traditional Hawaiian folk tune. What do you listen to now?
"I grew up listening to a lot of diverse stuff. I listen to everything, man, I listen to what appeals to my ears, the radio, a great song. I love 'Blue Nile.'" (She stops to blow her nose really, really hard.)
Yum. So, how's the head cold?
"The day before I had a huge show in Austin. I don't know how I pulled it off. The worst is the losing the voice part. I lost half my octave, but I did the show anyway!"
Rock on! You play both guitar and piano, so how do you typically write your music?
"A melody comes to me. I just wrote this tune on the road; it's a great song. I just started in the dressing room before soundcheck one night. Sometimes the melody comes, and the words come later, or sometimes it comes at the same time."
You were in the film Slackers and you've scored others. Is there more film in your future?
"I have something in Matchmaker and that Alicia Silverstone movie. Yeah, sure, I'd like to do more film."
You spent some time in Europe. What were some of your memorable moments in Europe?
"Singing in the streets of Paris where Edith Piaf sang was pretty amazing. I could feel her spirit."
Moore on Abra:
Onstage : barefoot or heels?
"Oooh ... both."
If you were a Spice girl, what would your name be?
"Sporty Spice!"
Dumbest nickname you've been called?
"Hmm...Abracadabra."
Late night desert: cobbler, pie or Merlot?
"Umm ... Merlot."
Best pickup line?
"You are a beautiful woman, and I'd really like to get to know you."
-Interview by TV columnist Steven Devadanam, who wears lederhosen onstage.