Vinnie Moore has joined... UFO?!?

Mr Toast

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I am a huge fan of Vinnie Moore (among other bands/musicians), so I've been kind of bummed that he hasn't been doing a whole lot lately. Well, I'm browsing his homepage and see this news:
Monday, July 28, 2003

Yes, the rumors are true. Vinnie has joined UFO. The band will be recording a new CD in the fall and touring in early 2004. The new lineup consists of original members Phil Moog, Pete Way, and Paul Raymond, with Jason Bonham on drums and Vinnie on guitar. We will keep you posted when more of the specifics come in.
Please check back later in the week for a statement about this from Vinnie.

http://www.vinniemoore.com

I'm glad to see that Vinnie is doing a new album! How long has UFO been together anyways... hasn't it been about 30+ years?!?
 
So what, no one remembers Gene at Z-Rock using Vinnie Moore's music from Time Oddessy as background for his commercials?!?

Here's the latest post on Vinnie's site:

from http://www.vinniemoore.com

Hello all! It's absolutely true. I WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS. I was driving in my truck a few weeks ago and saw some strange lights in the sky. I looked closer and noticed a disc shaped object hovering above me. It then began moving across the sky at speeds that were far beyond what could be reached by any aircraft created by human beings. It eventually descended and hovered about 15 feet over top of my truck. A beam of light pointed at me, and I was sucked right into the object. I remember a bunch of little space guys with slicked back hair and these weird silver balls in their eyes. The next think I know, I am in my truck driving down the highway. I looked at my clock and 4 hours that I couldn't account for had passed. I have no idea what happened to me in those 4 hours. Oddly enough, I have a strange bruise on my forehead that says "Spike did it!". Does anyone know what the heck this all means?

All right.......enough nonsense. Sorry. I almost really started believing that story myself there for a minute.

Thanks so much for all of the positive comments that have been left on my site regarding me joining UFO. I am real excited about it and feel like it will be loads of fun. I was a huge fan of UFO and Michael Schenker when I was learning to play guitar. Many of you have probably noticed that "Lights Out", "Obcession", and "Force It" have been listed on my bio page as being three of my all time favorite records. It is a thrill to be joining a band that has been so influential to me.

At the moment, there is not really a whole lot more to report than what has already been announced online. The story goes something like this: About 5 or 6 weeks ago I heard that UFO was looking for a guitarist and was asked to send a bunch of my tunes to Phil Mogg. I put together a little compilation CD of 11 tunes from my various records and sent it on over the big pond. About a week later, I was told that Phil heard the first three tunes and said, "this guy totally sucks!", "there has got to be someone better than this!". It must have been that fourth tune that really got him. (That was the one with the subliminal messages saying - "This is the guy....this is the guy"). Nah....just joking. Apparently, he heard the first three tunes and felt like I was the guy.

We began communicating by phone and hit it off really well. Incredibly nice guy! I have been sending him lots of ideas and he is currently working on lyrics/vocals for them. Other members of the band are working on new ideas also. The plan at the moment is to began recording a new CD in Germany sometime around October or November. Phil and I may get together soon to do some writing also. There is also talk of touring in 2004 but there is nothing concrete to report yet about this. The new record is top priority right now and this is what everyone is focused on. I'll keep updating my site as things unfold.

Regarding MS, what can I say?? He was one of my big guitar influences when learning to play. I spent hours learning his solos and played many of them note for note. His sense on melody and his emotion were a big influence on me. He was also one of the first guys (as well as Ritchie Blackmore), who exposed me to classical music. In 1999, I opened for Michael on a 32 show tour of the U.S. It was great hearing one of my heroes night after night from sidestage. He was really really great on that tour too. I guess what I am pretty much trying to say here, is that I feel like I will stylistically fit in pretty naturally with the band as I have been influenced by them so much. It's a Natural Thing. I am excited about hangin' out with the guys and getting started on the new CD.

That's it for now.
Rock On!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ciao!

Vinnie

I had the opportunity to see Vinnie play at Rafters, and also spoke with him very briefly afterwords. I am still extremely happy to see him getting this gig - even more now that I know just how much of a UFO fan he is...
 
Vinnie rocks! Time Odyssey (along with his other killer albums) were big influences for me and I think his whole catalog shows him to be a versatile player.

I've seen posts from people on some other boards suggesting that Vinnie will not suit UFO. They probably just know him as one of the Shrapnel 80s crowd. I think they'll be suprised just how well VM will adapt himself to doing UFO. It's in his musical gene pool and he has the chops and the taste for this. UFO will sell at least one more CD (to me) because of VM!
 
Okay... you guys are making me feel like a jackass, I'm usaully in tune with this stuff.... :D o_O

I know who Vinnie Moore is, but I'm embarrased to say this... I haven't heard a lick from the guy! :ill: I don't even have Vicious Rumors "Soldiers of the Night" the only VR album I don't have which has him on it!!! :yell:

I know Curtis has his "Mind Odyssey" album, so i'm going to have to grab that from him this weekend when I see him at the studio.... I need to check this kat out!

\m/
Dustin
 
Dustin said:
Okay... you guys are making me feel like a jackass, I'm usaully in tune with this stuff.... :D o_O

I know who Vinnie Moore is, but I'm embarrased to say this... I haven't heard a lick from the guy! :ill: I don't even have Vicious Rumors "Soldiers of the Night" the only VR album I don't have which has him on it!!! :yell:

I know Curtis has his "Mind Odyssey" album, so i'm going to have to grab that from him this weekend when I see him at the studio.... I need to check this kat out!

\m/
Dustin

If Curtis has "Mind's Eye", grab that one as well. Some of my favorite Vinnie Moore songs are on that album...