CHECK OUT THESE GREAT EVENTS THIS WEEKEND!

Friends, family members, students, lovers, vagabonds, hippies, rockers, hip hop heads, pickers, burners, activists, freaks, geeks, groupies, and outdoor enthusiasts beware, the Desert Rocks Music Festival is back in full force, with an all star lineup ready to rock the desert as never seen before!
 
This coming weekend a New Monsoon will roll through Moab blessing all those lucky enough to attend with cooling Keep It Moist showers set to bring forth the true beauty of the full desert bloom we call Desert Rocks. Thats right ladies and gents, rain or shine this fest is gonna rock!
 

photo by Hiroya Wakabayashi

Born and raised in New Orleans (and living there still, when he’s not on the road), Stanton Moore is very much a product of geography, culture and creative networking. He grew up in the thriving music scene of his hometown that included Professor Longhair, Doctor John, the Meters and countless other Big Easy mainstays.

In the early ‘90s, Moore hooked up with guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio and keyboardist Rich Vogel and saxophonist Ben Ellman to form the New Orleans-based “steam-roller” funk band known as Galactic. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in music and business from Loyola University, Moore and the band made their first record (the widely acclaimed Coolin’ Off) and hit the road to do nearly 200 gigs a year for the first ten years of Galactic’s existence. The band has since released five more albums since Coolin’ Off, and continues to amass a worldwide audience via recording and touring globally.

Aided by eight-string guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter and saxophonist Skerik (Les Claypool, John Scofield, Roger Waters), Moore launched his solo career in the late ‘90s with the All Kooked Out!, an album recorded in New Orleans just after Mardi Gras in 1998 and released later that year. In addition to the Moore-Hunter-Skerik core, All Kooked Out! also featured a handful of New Orleans horn players, including Brent Rose, Brian Seeger, Matt Perrine, Ben Ellman, and former Sun Ra trumpeter Michael Ray. Moore extended the solo discography with the 2001 release of Flyin’ the Koop (Verve/Blue Thumb).

A Company Built on Risk and Nerve

photo by RJ Muna

photo by RJ Muna