Kip Moore Gives Fans More In Upcoming ‘Wild World Deluxe’ Album
Singer adds four songs to album to give fans new music.
When most singers go into the studio to record, they always have a few songs that they just love that don’t make the album. Such was the case with Kip Moore when he recorded his Wild World album last April. Now the singer is sharing four of those songs that were left over from that earlier version of the album in the upcoming Wild World Deluxe, schedule for a February 12, 2021 release date.
Fans don’t have to wait that long to hear one of the tracks, however, because Moore has released a video of “Don’t Go Changing” (October 30), which will support Music Venue Alliance Nashville. The organization is committed to retaining and nurturing the fragile, yet complex eco-system of every individual aspect of Nashville’s music scene. Many people only think of the artist and their band when they think of going to a concert, but in reality there are so many others who help keep a venue together, including talent buyers, lighting techs, sound engineers, stage and production managers, security personnel, public relations and marketing professionals, promoters, box office personnel and others. In a time like today, when COVID-19 continues to keep venues closed or at limited capacity, it is important for fans to continue to support them in any way they can.
Moore’s video for “Don’t Go Changing” is a call to action for fans to donate to Music Venue Alliance Nashville to help these venues survive when they are unable to have concerts during the Pandemic. The video was shot in clubs around Nashville including 5 Spot, The End, The Basement, Mercy Lounge and Exit/In. It opens with an interview with Chris Cobb, owner of the Exit/In, whose business has been closed for eight months due to the pandemic. Cobb admits it has been hard to keep the club viable.
“We had reserves, but they are gone,” he tells Moore, “and we did get a PPP loan through the CARES Act but it is gone. At this point it’s survival mode.”
This is the story not just for Nashville venues, but venues around the country who are trying to hang on until they can open their doors and return to offering live music once again.
Moore says guys like Cobb put their blood, sweat and tears into their establishments, and they are seeing their businesses close that they’ve worked their whole lives for. The singer is especially close to the Exit/In because it was one of the places he would go to see live music when he first moved to Nashville.
“It’s a scary place to be, living in a garage apartment with $350 in your bank account,” Moore remembers back to those early days. “Those venues were a place of refuge for me because you were surrounded by other dreamers while you were there. I remember going to see (songwriter) Josh Kerr one night back during those days. There were maybe 20 people in the club, but I left the concert with my soul on fire. I definitely have a heart for what these business owners are going through, and I want to do what I can to try to help.”
He doesn’t think people really understand how hard it is for these folks to try and hang on to their club, or any business, while they wait out the pandemic.
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“There are always two sides to a coin,” Moore explains. “We’ve become so polarized that we are one way or the other. We don’t take time to see how people feel like they feel. For me personally I’ve lived a simple nomadic life, I haven’t stopped surrounding myself with the same people (who have always been around me). With that being said, I remember how it was when I was paycheck to paycheck and I haven’t lost sight that there are people who are really suffering. Some people don’t understand that there are people who are in a very desperate place.”
Moore gave an example of a conversation he had with a friend who commented that he thought all venues should remain at 50 percent capacity when the country opens back up. “I was like how can you not understand? You can’t walk around in a fog and not try to help these people. You want to walk back in these clubs one day and they are not going to be there. If you are in a place where you can help then you need to help. You have to do something about it if you can.”
In addition to the video, Moore is auctioning off the guitar he brought with him to Nashville. “I wanted to keep it to give my kids but if I can do something now for these establishments then I will auction it off to help them.”
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Moore actually wrote “Don’t Go Changing” four or five months before Covid-19 hit. “We were talking about how people are getting more scared to stand on their background, whatever their truth is or what they believe in. Don’t let anyone sway you … that’s what we were speaking about when we wrote the song.
“I didn’t originally release the song to honor the venues. When we decided to do the Deluxe version, I knew this song had to be on it. This song has always been one of my favorites. I grew up a rock ’n roll baby, and it has such a swagger and backbeat to it. For me it was a no brainer when we decided on the Deluxe — this was a natural. I knew how well it would go over live, that was a part of it the reason to release it, and I lived the message behind the song, and that’s why I did it.”
As for his own career, Moore says he is fortunate that he has always lived a simplistic lifestyle and been able to build savings once he began to have success in music. He does worry about the future for the people who have been loyal to him over the past years.
“Fortunately, I have been able to continue to pay my guys and the whole staff. A lot of artists are not in the position to do so. I’m having to dip into savings, but I’m willing to do that because these guys have fought with me for so long and I’ve put myself in position that I can do that a little longer. For me personally, I try to take myself out of it in the grand scheme of things (because) I’m okay.
“Do I miss playing? Yes. We played one show this year and there were 75 workers that it provided jobs for. So many people are adversely affected in this whole thing. It stresses me out and if we stay in this state there is no way I can continue to do it and I don’t know what that means for my guys.”
While Moore is very centered, he admits he has had dark days since the pandemic hit. “I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been affected mentally from this.. I do have my faith and for me I have tried to take the words I’ve read through my life and tried to be that light when I can. I fall short all the time. People have twisted the words of scripture so long and bastardized it for their own thing, but it is a loving message, to take care of the people.
“For me I can put my energy into this and ignore the noise of the world and not let people bring me down. I can hopefully focus people’s spirits in a positive direction. I sometimes fall short and get in my own dark crevices. I don’t shy away from it and I don’t try to hide from it. I just try to do what is put in my heart and conduct my life as good as I can.”
Music has been in Moore’s life since he was a teen, and he remembers going to independent record stores to spend his hard-earned money on records.
“I grew up in late the 80s into the mid-90s. I was a teenager in the mid-90s and I was working summer jobs by the time I was14. I was buying tape cassettes and CDs and vinyl … I bought Bob Seger’s Night Moves and played it over and over, reading the lyrics to the songs. I’ve always been captivated by lyrics. I still go buy records as I’m going through cities when we’re on the road.”
In addition to “Don’t Go Changing,” Moore is releasing the songs “Midnight Slow Dance,” “How High” and “Man’s Gotta Do” on the upcoming Deluxe record.
“Two of them are older and two are from 2019. The older ones I’d been wanting to put on records for a long time. ‘Midnight Slow Dance’ is so rock and roll and now it actually works and fits on a project. The ones that made the album for ‘Deluxe’ were already recorded. I’ve been writing songs at my house this year that are for another project that we hope to get out next June.”
Just because the pandemic has created havoc in everyone’s life, Moore has not stopped creating and continuing with his goals. “The drive to be great at what I do has never stopped. I push myself to write better music, I try to do better. I can’t let it get dark and go down those spaces and go down those crevices. It can get heavy at times. I still take time for myself. I took a mountain bike trip in the desert. I’m now planning a surfing trip.
“I do think my perspective has changed in that I find myself researching generator capacity and living completely off the grid. It’s not like a doomsday prep but I think if stuff hits the fan, I might be on a piece of land in Montana … I don’t know. I have started looking at things a little different in that sense.”
The good thing for Moore and other singers and musicians is people can come together with music. “We are all moved, we are all connected with music. I don’t know anyone I’m close with that doesn’t love music. That is one thing we can still do together. We all know how important it is to have music to listen to and go see. My hope is that when people see the video and the donation link, that they don’t just talk about it, but they actually do something about it. These venues are not going to be here if we don’t take care of and support them. They aren’t going to be here when the light switch comes back on.
“When you listen to live music, politics goes away, inhibitions go down, and you are in a safe space where you can share that common bond.”
