January 23, 2021
Hello everyone!
Welcome to my very first blog. Ever. I’m Robby Moore and I hail from the Golden State of California on the west coast of the United States of America. I’m a bassist, guitarist, drummer, vocalist, buffalo-wrangler, producer, audio engineer, and overall music enthusiast. (Only one of these things is not true. You can decide for yourself.)
Currently I’m an undergraduate student at the University of the Pacific, majoring in Music Industry Studies. Though I try to appreciate all types of music, from classical to R&B to folk, I have a special passion for rock and heavy metal. When I’m not doing music related activities, I love to spend time with my wife and geek out about nearly anything related to sci-fi or fantasy, like Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, etc.
Why Write a Blog?
The idea to write a blog came to me after I interned for a record label called Blue Coast Records. During my time with them I wrote several reviews and promotional materials. I realized that I rather enjoyed writing about music and I figured I could make something of it. I took my writing skills and meshed them with my passion for finding new music. Thus Robby Reviews was born.
I’ve always enjoyed sharing and discussing music that I thought was worth mentioning. Music is a very personal experience for me and I often find that my tastes lay off the beaten path of what is normally considered popular.
I intend to bring light to some artists and bands that may not be well known but are equally as talented and hard-working as, if not more so than, the ones that receive the majority of the recognition. Perhaps you’ll agree with my opinions, perhaps not, but either way I hope that this blog generates a discussion around what factors create great music. And who knows, maybe you’ll find a new artist to get into along the way.
My Musical Journey
My passion for music developed when I was young. I remember driving around with my dad, running errands, drinking slurpees, and blasting 80s rock in his old Ford Ranger. Around 1st grade I began collecting albums. I purchased CD’s and listened to them on my portable Sony Walkman. I grew up in a rather religious household so my exposure to different types of music was limited, but I loved it all the same. Whenever we went to the Christian book store, I could feel the butterflies racing circuits inside my stomach. Usually I could convince my parents to buy me a new album of a band that I had found. Maybe even two albums if I behaved myself. Eventually I had amassed a sizable collection of CDs for a child. They were mainly Christian rock groups, but I adored them and felt more connected to them and their music than most anything else in my life. Many of those bands, such as Switchfoot, Relient K, RED, P.O.D., Skillet, and Thousand Foot Krutch, are still big influences on me and my personal tastes today.
Growing up I took piano lessons for a while and tried my hand at the violin for a few weeks, but nothing stuck until I picked up the bass guitar. My parents recognized my interest in music and for my 11th birthday they bought me my first bass. It was a red Fender Squire and came in a package with some cheap little amp alongside it. For me, bass was the coolest because it looked a lot like an electric guitar and I had heard somewhere that there were never enough bassists so I would always have a chance to play. And that was exactly what happened.
I first began playing bass for my children’s church on Sundays. During high school I became a band geek and played bass for the marching band (though, funnily enough, I never had to march), and started playing for the adults at a different church later on. Somewhere along the line I picked up the acoustic guitar after my mom received one from a friend of hers. My parents also bought a crappy old drum set for my brother, hoping he would catch on. Eventually he abandoned it and I took up the mantle of making the most noise in the house again.
After high school I did a year of community college where I joined the local orchestra. This posed a new challenge for me as I had to learn to play the double bass, cramming what should have been a 2-year long process into a couple of months of rigorous practice and learning. Then I attended a ministry school where I auditioned for their praise/worship team. I was accepted on the team a few months into the school year and for the three years I played nearly every week in front of hundreds of people. This introduced me to a whole new caliber of musicians which forced me to grow even further in my knowledge of music.
Once I graduated from ministry school and married the love of my life, I moved to Stockton, California, where I now reside, to attend The University of the Pacific as a Music Industry Studies major. Since then I have interned for a record label called Blue Coast Records and taken part as a recording engineer at the Owens Hall Recording Studio.
Throughout the years, my appreciation and passion for music has never waned. I love to play live music, attend concerts, listen to loud music in my car, and I still collect physical albums like I did as a kid. Even now, the excitement of new music sends those same butterflies whirling around in my stomach. I want to use this blog to ignite that same butterfly-feeling in other people who also share a passion for music.
Robby Reviews 