Tell us about yourself and your music
I began teaching myself guitar and piano at age ten. By 16 I was playing in a band and writing songs. After touring with Kilgore Trout in the 70s warming the stage for Aerosmith and other I bought an old hearse and traveled the country for four years, settling down in Arizona, living in the sticks with no electricity or running water for 18 years..just writing songs and playing acoustic. Then, I came back to Michigan, got the old band back together and started rocking again. Several members and four albums later…here we are!
Talk to us more about your latest release
Our latest release is a classic style rocker. We started out as blues/bluesrock, but each album had it’s own “flavor”, and I felt it was time to rock the house! I had local artist Dennis Preston do the cover art for this album…felt it was time. He’s been doing album covers for many years, is well known, and he wanted to do it….we are very grateful…the cover is awesome, and is what got us noticed for a review in issue 80 of Rocktopia’s Fireworks Magazine! Thanks, Dennis!
What inspired you to write this release?
I’d been writing a lot of classic rock style songs over the years, the band was right, the time was right, time to release one. Each time we’d get new members our sound and style would change slightly, even though we could play the old albums as they were played. This band ROCKS, so I wanted the new album to reflect that…it does!
Any plans to release a video?
We have some live video of us..from a concert we did with Savoy Brown, from a Grandstand show we did, and from some other gigs.
Any plans to hit the road?
not at present…currently back in the studio working on the next album, as well as 2 solo albums. But, who knows…gigs come and we go!!
As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?
Hopefully, sounding more retro than most bands today, we’re turning the heads of classic rock lovers around the world.
Who have you been listening to lately?
I listen to no one…unless by accident, so that I WON’T be influenced by anyone else, probably why my sound is retro. Part of why I hid away for 18 years..just me and a guitar.
Tell us about your passions
Besides music? Historical restoration..I make old casings and trim no longer in production, build fireplace mantles and Victorian style porches, etc. I collect fossils..have all my life, study plants and animals, bird watching, fishing, classic cars, and archeology. (I also collect old amps..but that’s music related)
What else is happening next in your world?
Is there time for anything else?
Thanks for an awesome interview, Robert!
Connect with Moss Agate
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moss-Agate/8071228834
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MossAgate1
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-44709074
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/mossagate
