Music From The Cliffs Of Cádiz Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals “I had the good fortune to spend 3 years living in a house on a cliff overlooking Cádiz, Spain. Most of these songs were written and recorded in my studio there. The overall feel of this project was inspired by the land and the people of Andelucia.” - Scott Moore Scott Moore (not to be confused with early Elvis sideman Scotty Moore) is an eclectic and versatile guitarist drawing inspiration from many styles of music. These tunes on this disc showcase a wide variety of styles and influences. From the flamenco/reggae flavored ”Going Through The Motions”, to the Chet Atkins/Merle Travis/Doc Watson tribute “The Stumpknocker Rag”, to the Hawaiian lap steel of “Banana Boat Blues”, this collection covers a lot of ground while still maintaining a cohesive overall atmosphere. __ Q & A with the artist: Q: What inspired you to make this record? A: Well, Spain is a very inspiring place. Especially for a guitarist. They invented the thing after all. Andelucia, in Southern Spain, where I lived, and the city of Sevilla (Seville) in particular is the heart of the Flamenco thing. But aside from music, these people just know how to enjoy life. The culture is very family oriented. Gathering the whole extended family for meals and wine is a BIG DEAL. They seem less obsessed with climbing the corporate later and amassing more and bigger stuff than we are in the US. They still observe the siesta in the south. Everything closed from like 2 to 7 or 8. Don't even think about going out to dinner before 8 or 8:30, you'll find the chairs still up on the tables. And, a friend of mine said it best - "I've been all over the world, and NOBODY parties like the Spanish!" Also, I bought an awesome guitar made by German Perez in Granada. I brought that thing home and tried recording it, and it just sounded amazing and full. As a rock and blues player, I’ve always played steel string guitars, and I certainly don’t consider myself a classical or flamenco guitarist, but how could I live in Spain and not get into playing nylon string? Q: Two of the tunes on this disc have been used in films, how did you get involved in that. A: A mutual friend played some of my music for Todd Tinkham, who's movies have won a bunch of awards at film festivals. He was working on a film about a woman who's husband is at war in Iraq called "Home For Good". There’s a scene where the guy comes home from the war and they're reunited. Todd had some scratch music in there, but he hadn't found a tune that really worked for the mood of the scene. He loved "Carolina Moon" and cut it into the movie hoping I would let him use it - which, of course, I was more than happy to do. It also plays over the end credits, and I'm really proud that it's such a prominent part of the movie. Q: "Sadie Turns Seven" is the name of a song and a movie. Which came first? A: That’s Todd’s movie. After "Home for Good", He was working on a film about a little girl's seventh birthday party, and asked me if I had any ideas for music. I had been working up this open-tuning piece that I thought might work, but I hadn't recorded it or even given it a title. I went home and cut what I thought was going to be a "demo", but he liked that version and the next thing I know it's in the movie! It's the one tune that wasn't recorded in Spain, but I think it works with rest of the record. Q: Besides promoting the record, what other projects are you involved in? A: My main project right now is working with a great singer Lynn McGee in our acoustic duo The Lynnphonics. She was in bands and did session work in LA. She makes it easy because she’s such a good vocalist. We do what we call “acoustic pop”. We’ll do standards like “Georgia On My Mind” and “At Last”, Beatles songs, Patsy Cline, some blues where I play bottleneck. Lately we’ve been writing songs and recording some demos, and we’re going to put a record out next year. Also I play bass in the all-instrumental band Killer Filler. We do a lot of originals by our fearless leader Chrispy Bess. People know him as “Cousin Crispy” from Southern Culture On The Skids. He writes these unbelievable instrumentals that get a lot of play as production music on MTV. We’ll have a record out as soon as the guys finish overdubbing some parts. I’m the bass player, so I’m done! Q: So, you lived in Spain for three years. How’s your Spanish? A: ¿Cómo se dice (How do you say) “It sucks”?! (laughs) No, I found it “muy dificil” (very difficult) to learn as an adult. I was incredibly naive, too. I thought that I’d get some lessons, listen to some tapes, learn from Spanish friends, and I’d be fluent in no time at all. Turns out its not that easy, at least for me. For one thing, the Spanish want to practice their English on you. I learned enough to have basic interactions and get what I needed at shops and restaurants, but all but the basic conversations leave me completely in the dust!