Official biography published on social media (April 29, 2017).
Steve Moore, aka The Mad Drummer, has made quite a name for himself touring with the showband Rick K. & The Allnighters. His unorthodox approach and visual antics (a carryover from his metal roots) has been attracting a great deal of attention over the last several years. However, it was the actions of a random fan that really put Steve on the map
On June 1, 2010 a random fan uploaded a performance of Steve Moore on YOUTUBE entitled, This drummer is at the wrong gig. The video immediately went viral receiving over 5 million hits in less than a month. Even Mike Portnoy (drummer for Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold) tweeted about Steve saying "O MY GOD.....This guy RULES!!" Within weeks, Steve was recognized by Ludwig, Pro-Mark, Sabian, Evans, Modern Drummer, Yahoo, Drummerworld, and was the topic of every drum forum on the web.
Steve has taken full advantage of the momentum, making numerous appearances, performing clinics, and somehow still performing nearly 200 shows a year. He was featured on The Bio Channel as well as NBC, where he performed as a guest on "The Office." He has performed in Russia as well as Germany, where he was showcased on Germany's #1 Late Night Talk Show (TV Total) for three consecutive nights. He even performed at The Adams Drummers Festival in Belgium, where he closed the show with Mike Portnoy by his side!
Steve Moore is drummer in Rick K. & the Allnighters. He become an online phenomenon thanks to a video recording of his slick moves while performing a cover of ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man.
Steve Moore, from West Virginia, started playing drums at age six. He joined Rick K. & the Allnighters, with whom he is on the road about 200 days a year, around 1997.
Young Steve started doing the typical cover thing like most people do, but by the time he was 17 most of the bands Steve was drumming in were pretty much original bands. Steve: "Most of it was really really progressive, really really heavy stuff. Some punk-style stuff, but most of the stuff would've been in the vein of like, Joe Satriani, Dream Theater, Rush, just your typical progressive metal." Some of Steve earlier bands include a band called Triple X. They were based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Another band he was with, was called Dofka.
Official biography:
Born February 24 in Elkins WV, Steve Moore has built his entire life around a childhood dream. After seeing Chuck Berry on tv at age five, Steve begged his parents to let him take guitar lessons. One year later, he was playing all of his favorite songs on guitar for his family. For the next three years Steve continued to study guitar and banjo, along with the piano. At age nine the school band director gave his class a music test and tried to talk Steve into playing in the school band. Steve ignorantly said, horns are dumb, and walked away.
The director being unsatisfied, called Steves parents the next day, and told them their son had an amazing sense of pitch, and asked that he reconsider. Steve finally gave in and joined the school band under the condition that after six months of playing the trumpet he would be permitted to switch to the drums. Six months later, he would reprioritize his life forever!
Steve performed in the usual school band programs and garage bands though his teens. By high school he was playing every weekend with the areas best bands. However, he soon became restless with merely playing on the weekends and realized that West Virginia was not exactly the music capital of the world. In order to make a living playing music, he would have to relocate.
For the next six years, Steve moved around the North East working in styles from progressive speed metal to punk. Influenced by drummers like Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, and Dave Lombardo, he sharpened his skills at playing with drum loops, odd meters, and polyrhythms. Steve was recording albums and touring (here and there), but was still not making a living playing drums. To support himself he would wash dishes and work in factories. A recording engineer, feeling sorry for Steve, let him sleep on the studio floor for six months in return for his drum tracks.
Not exactly what he had in mind when he left West Virginia, but it would have to suffice until he could get a road gig. Steve had learned at a very young age, that most people hear with their eyes and was not too proud to use this to his advantage. He also noticed that people often associated with spectacles, or characters, much like Ringo Star.
He decided against the cookie cutter approach, and tried to be as over the top as possible. One way or another, he was going to be noticed
In 1997, a variety showband called Rick K and The Allnighters hired Steve on the spot. The band had a Vegas Style approach, with lots of glitz and flash. Not only were they eager to showcase Steve, they were also established, and in a position to offer him 150-200 dates a year. Steve was playing everything from 50s and 60s, to country and pop.
While traveling, Steve would study drummers like Krupa, and Rich, and take notes on their showboating and mannerisms. Steve was finally touring the country, and making a good living as a professional musician.
In 2004, Steve Moore released his first dvd entitled Over The Barrel. With Steves unorthodox stick flips and twirls, the dvd was an immediate success and sold over 2000 units in the first two months. Soon after, he was featured in DRUM! Magazine. After viewing the dvd, Waldo the Squid was quoted as saying that Steve was "...twisting, twirling, stick flipping, and flailing like a Vegas version of Tommy Lee."
Steve Moore is now endorsing major companies, with Ludwig being his greatest prize. He even has his own signature drumstick with Pro-Mark. After all the years of struggle and hardships, things are slowly coming together. A far cry from washing dishes and sleeping on the floor
Steve has made a lifetime commitment to his drumming. His past performances range from the smallest club circuit tours to a headlining show in front of 22,000 people. He has performed in hard core punk clubs as well as casinos in Las Vegas. In addition, he has been on the same bill with a wide variety of performers from Yngwie Malmsteen and Motley Crue to Toby Keith and George Jones. He has also won numerous drumming awards, held clinics, written articles, and given private instruction.
