Rick 'Skogie' Moore
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History
Rick 'Skogie' Moore, born in Minneapolis in 1950. Legal name: Frederick George Moore AKA Freddy, Rick, Skogie. Moore began writing songs in 1964. By the time his first record was released (The Butler Did It) he had written 150. Moore has composed works varying in style from rockabilly to power pop, jazz, soul, and even twelve-tone experimental compositions.
Moore grew up with 5 brothers and one sister in Richfield, Minnesota, although the family moved to San Francisco in 1964 and returned to Richfield in 1966. He studied Music Theory and Composition at the University of Minnesota.
Moore began earning his living from composing and performing in 1969. In the early 1970s the band Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos started to catch fire in Minneapolis and were rushed into Sound 80 Recording Studio by producer David Zimmerman. The resulting record (The Butler Did It) was released in 1973 on Mill City Records. Next up an album was recorded (also at Sound 80 Recording Studio) and when it was released in 1974, Moore and band mates (Skogie) began touring in support of the album, playing everywhere from Quebec City to Austin Texas. While touring was a fun experience Moore found he rarely composed while on the road.
In 1976 the Skogie moved to Hollywood, CA. In 1977 Moore began composing a sort of 'rock opera' named 'The Kats', it was about a high school kid named Freddy who dreamed of making it big as a musician on the Sunset Strip...to be one of the cool cats. Eventually a new band was created called 'The Kats' and Moore's on-stage persona became known as 'Freddy'.
The Kats received much acclaim and as they were wined and dined by LA music biz types, being Minnesotans, it took a long time before they realized that they were swimming with the sharks. Many things changed at this point in time. Moore ended up marrying a young television production office secretary who was almost always at their gigs, she is now known world-wide by her married name 'Demi Moore'. When ace guitarist Pete McRae suddenly left The Kats in 1980 the remaining 4 Minnesotans re-named themselves The Nu Kats, and recorded material that has appeared on several albums, movie soundtracks and MTV videos.
After moving to Manhattan (NYC) and back, Moore formed another band 'Boy' with 3 Minnesotans and 2 Californians. Boy released another record and placed more music in movie soundtracks.
Moore and band mates took five years off before re-assembling as The Kat Club in 1990 which continues to record and release songs by Moore.
Bands
- Skogie and the Flaming Pachucos 1970-1973
- Skogie 1973-1978
- The Kats 1978-1980
- The Nu Kats 1980-1982
- Boy 1982-1984
- The Kat Club 1990-present
Discography
- Skogie: The Butler Did It 1973 (Mill City Records)
- Skogie: There's A String Attached To Almost Everything We Do 1974 (General Records)
- The Kats: L.A.In 1979 (Rhino Records)
- The Kats: Get Modern 1979 (Infinity Records)
- The Nu Kats: Plastic Facts 1980 (Rhino Records)
- The Nu Kats: Yes Nukes 1981 (Rhino Records)
- The Nu Kats: Spring Fever (Film Soundtrack)
- Boy: Scarred (Film Soundtrack)
- Boy: Parasite (Film Soundtrack)
- Boy: Next Door 1983 (RadioActive Records)
- The Kat Club: House Combinations 1997 (General Records)
- The Kat Club: Source Mississippi 2001 (General Records)
