THE NEW ADVENTURE
The New Adventure was recorded under utopian conditions compared to what I had to go through with Threads. Thanks to my roommate Ethan Gregory and his PowerBug Studios (sometimes known as my bedroom) I was able to use professional quality recording equipment for this album. I also learned how to play the guitar and drums, and was able to play real bass (my first instrument) instead of using the synth.
In fact the keyboards were used primarily for piano and organ, with the occasional string pads (and a slightly cheesy bagpipe sound!). I really enjoyed playing the drums, even though it was on a MIDI kit and not an acoustic one (hey, try recording drum lines at 1:30 in the morning with an acoustic kit!). The trapKAT controller has got to be the coolest thing ever invented. But I digress...
I was fortunate enough to discover some wonderful people who contributed some instruments that I couldn't have imagined using otherwise: flute, viola, oboe and clarinet. I also had more friends willing to sing backing and I expanded the vocal arrangements quite a bit from what I did on Threads.
An unexpected bonus came when Ethan and I were granted access to a CD-Recordable machine (hey, this was 1995 when they cost $$$ thousands). Not only was this album digitally recorded on the ADAT, it was cut on 35 CDs, all numbered individually and hand decorated, in addition to the regular cassette recordings.
The New Adventure is more of a conventional album than Threads was. Stylistically it's quite varied, covering most of my influences and even a bit more (yes, there's a reggae song on it!). If there's any kind of a unifying theme it's probably that of honesty in the face of life changes and adversity.
Track Listing:-
Note: sound samples have been compressed to conserve bandwidth.
The real thing is proper CD-quality.1. Always a Beginner 
(28 sec., 169KB)2. Devil's Advocate (49 sec., 290KB)3. Strength (38 sec., 224KB)4. The Heart of Seasons (34 sec., 200KB)5. Miracles (29 sec., 169KB)6. Different Worlds (30 sec., 175KB)7. Cafe 976 (34 sec., 203KB)8. Strangers (32 sec., 186KB)9. Saving It Up (33 sec., 196KB)10. Fairytale (30 sec., 178KB)- All Songs Copyright © 1995 Poor Man Music
- Lyric Page
- All Songs Copyright © 1995 Poor Man Music
- Derek Moo: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Bass, Keyboards,
Percussion & Drums (easy bits), Quantizing and Programming (hard bits),
Lead and Backing Vocals, Tin Whistle (5).
- Ethan Gregory: Backing Vocals (6), Clarinet (8).
- Ginger Lewis: Backing Vocals (3,7), Flute (3,10).
- Helen Pataki: Viola (7,10), Oboe (10).
- Jonathan Siders: Backing Vocals (2,9).
- Lisa Strand: Backing Vocals (1,6,10).
- Produced by Derek Moo.
- Recorded at PowerBug Studios, San Diego, January-June 1995.
- All songs written and arranged by Derek Moo.
- Sequenced using Cakewalk Professional 3.0, Korg X3 Music Workstation, trapKAT MIDI drum controller and Roland TD7 Sound Module.
- Recorded on the Alesis ADAT digital 8-track recorder.
- CD mastered by Ethan Gregory.
Thanks to the singers and musicians who helped make this album possible, especially to Lisa and Jonathan for making the trip (special thanks to Jonathan for plugging, er, saving it up....)
Thanks to Mike Gabriel for the use of his electric guitar, and to Kathy Araullo for the rainstick. Thanks to all who supported this project and listened enthusiastically.
Deepest thanks to Ethan Gregory, without whose overwhelming generosity this album would not have been possible. Let me know if you ever need lessons on how to fry a reverb unit!
Copyright © 1995 Poor Man Music.