It's not just luck that landed Abra Moore a spot on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart in the summer of '97 for her hit single "Four Leaf Clover."
Moore is a woman with an accomplished musical background. She spent much of the '80s with the Hawaiian pop group Poi Dog Pondering. Then, in 1995, her first solo album on an independent label caught the attention of Arista, the record label that distributed Moore's 1997 CD, "Strangest Places."
When did you decide to step to the front of the band?
When I was in Poi Dog and other bands, I wrote songs, but didn't perform them. I collected little songs that I wrote in my bedroom. I kept recording all these songs on my four-track. Then one day I just made my first offering, sang my first efforts, the things I was working on. I kind of stepped out on a little limb, on a little branch and said, "OK, I'm going to do this, and only this." I turned down a lot of offers to be in a lot of bands, and just focused on that four-track and my songs. That was definitely a big step in believing in what I did.
Is it harder for you to be a solo artist without the support of a band?
It's all music and it's all being part of a band. I just happen to be the writer and the lead singer of this band. Playing in a band is playing in a band. When you're touring, you all work together.
How do you feel on stage?
When I first started playing, my most comfortable place was being part of the unit, being just a nice little color, not the actual focus. I felt very comfortable there. So when I first started playing my tunes, I surrounded myself with all these different people, even though they were my songs. I was adjusting to being the voice of the group.
Where did the title "Strangest Places" come from?
Working on the songs -- it just kind of fit the whole project. I've lived in all kinds of places. I've changed so many times. It's about your mindset, how you lead yourself into these places, be they actual places or places in your mind.
When did you write "Four Leaf Clover"?
That one was written while I was making "Strangest Places." I was in my bedroom working on another song. The song wasn't coming to me and I was giving up on it, so I just started chugging these chords. "Four Leaf Clover" was born right there. I ran into my studio and laid it down really quick, threw it on a cassette, ran over to my producers and said, "You might like this one." I wrote it real fast. If you read the lyrics, it's like, "It's got the best of me, it's such a price to pay, but I've got this hope and it's gotta bring some luck." Just have optimism and hope!
Moore is a woman with an accomplished musical background. She spent much of the '80s with the Hawaiian pop group Poi Dog Pondering. Then, in 1995, her first solo album on an independent label caught the attention of Arista, the record label that distributed Moore's 1997 CD, "Strangest Places."
When did you decide to step to the front of the band?
When I was in Poi Dog and other bands, I wrote songs, but didn't perform them. I collected little songs that I wrote in my bedroom. I kept recording all these songs on my four-track. Then one day I just made my first offering, sang my first efforts, the things I was working on. I kind of stepped out on a little limb, on a little branch and said, "OK, I'm going to do this, and only this." I turned down a lot of offers to be in a lot of bands, and just focused on that four-track and my songs. That was definitely a big step in believing in what I did.
Is it harder for you to be a solo artist without the support of a band?
It's all music and it's all being part of a band. I just happen to be the writer and the lead singer of this band. Playing in a band is playing in a band. When you're touring, you all work together.
How do you feel on stage?
When I first started playing, my most comfortable place was being part of the unit, being just a nice little color, not the actual focus. I felt very comfortable there. So when I first started playing my tunes, I surrounded myself with all these different people, even though they were my songs. I was adjusting to being the voice of the group.
Where did the title "Strangest Places" come from?
Working on the songs -- it just kind of fit the whole project. I've lived in all kinds of places. I've changed so many times. It's about your mindset, how you lead yourself into these places, be they actual places or places in your mind.
When did you write "Four Leaf Clover"?
That one was written while I was making "Strangest Places." I was in my bedroom working on another song. The song wasn't coming to me and I was giving up on it, so I just started chugging these chords. "Four Leaf Clover" was born right there. I ran into my studio and laid it down really quick, threw it on a cassette, ran over to my producers and said, "You might like this one." I wrote it real fast. If you read the lyrics, it's like, "It's got the best of me, it's such a price to pay, but I've got this hope and it's gotta bring some luck." Just have optimism and hope!