When renowned singer/songwriter Mae Moore looks back at the turning point in her career, it’s a moment that she isn’t entirely fond of.
“Although I appreciate the opportunity and I am grateful for it, it is has shadowed me and there are things about it that I wish hadn’t happened,” Moore said.
The turning point in Moore’s career occurred when, Heaven In Your Eyes, a song she co-wrote with John Dexter and recorded by Loverboy, was used in the 1986 movie Top Gun.
“From my own perspective, from an emotional songwriters’ perspective, I don’t feel very attached to that song at all. It took me 15 or 20 minutes to write my contribution to that song and it was a very different way to what I was used to writing,” Moore said. “I also have to say I was very disappointed that they used it in a pro-war movie because I am not that kind of person.”
The song’s placement helped Moore move forward with her career, which has since seen her work with the likes of Jann Arden and Barney Bentall, release eight albums and win two SOCAN awards.
On Sunday (May 25) the folk artist will be performing with Ivonne Hernandez, Neil Osborne of 54-40, Daniel Lapp, Oliver Swain, Carolyn Mark, Doug Cox, Adam Dobres, Jamie Troy and Rick May at the Port Theatre as part of the West Coast Roots Celebration.
“I am looking at it as just a really good opportunity to hangout with my friends in kind of a festival atmosphere. It kind of reminds me of the Rolling Thunder Revue on sort of a West Coast scale, you know, lots of various kinds of music,” Moore said. “It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a really good experience.”
Moore’s career began after she moved from Brandon, Man., to southwestern Ontario in order to pursue a career as an artist. She soon realized that she would have a better chance at making a living as a musician and moved to B.C.
“At the time when I moved to Vancouver in 1979, it was a really vibrant music scene. Lots going on,” Moore recalled. “Lots of opportunities to plan and just a really good musical community.”
Moore was eventually discovered at Vancouver’s Railway Club and signed with CBS Records.
“I just loved to play music and I loved first and foremost being a songwriter and at that time it was just a good time to be a songwriter writing your own songs,” Moore said. “I did a lot of day jobs to support my habit of music and worked and worked.”
In 2011, Moore independently released her album, Folklore, which features an Appalachian dulcimer and received two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations.
Moore said the industry has changed a lot since she began her career.
“It is just a very different environment these days,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to be starting out now.”
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
