Australian musician, songwriter and drummer Clare Moore is best known for her work with The Moodists, Dave Graney & The Coral Snakes and The Dave Graney Show.
She spoke to The Write Drop for our At The Bar series – reflecting on her favourite wines and winery; plus a great tip for a whisky bar in Edinburgh, UK.
Dave Graney & The Coral Snakes celebrate the 30th anniversary of their ’90s classic The Soft & Sexy Sound; playing it in its entirety on this national tour of Australia. Adored for its blend of pop, lounge and arty diversions, Moore reflects on the making of this album with legendary producer Victor Van Vugt.
MY CITY
I really loved living in London during the 1980s with our band The Moodists and would love to go back there to that time somehow. It was before all the development so places like SOHO were still very seedy and full of cafes and strip clubs for example. There was still evidence of WW2 in East London and I often felt like I was walking around the set of an old ‘50s Pinewood Studios film. We met so many fantastic people then from all over Europe particularly Scotland, Ireland and France that we still keep in touch with. It was a great time to be there and to be touring UK and Europe.
FAVOURITE FOOD MEMORY
Probably having the dessert Bombe Alaska at the Arkaba Hotel Adelaide. When you are eight years old and a waiter comes to your table with a huge flaming merengue and fruit arrangement you can’t not be impressed.
FAVOURITE BAR
I recently went to the British Hotel in North Adelaide which hasn’t changed at all since the ’70’s. It was beautiful to be in the small rooms heated by open fires while people sat quietly and sipped port. Next time I go there I shall order a Fluffy Duck in memory of the dear departed Tracy Pew.
DRINK THAT DESCRIBES YOU
A Fluffy Duck.
BEST HANGOVER CURE
Sal Vital for sure.
BEST INTERSTATE BAR
The Ern Malley Bar Magill Rd Stepney South Australia. This small piano bar is charming and has music and dancing even though there is little space. It is delightful.
OVERSEAS BAR
We were invited to an Edinburgh Malt Whiskey club by a friend who was a member which was a rather special experience. We ate vegetarian haggis and sipped Malt Whiskey…when in Rome.
FAVOURITE WINE
Ant Series Heathcote Vermentino from Bellwether wines.
FAVOURITE WINERY
Bellwether Wines Coonawarra. It really is a wonderful experience staying at this place. It’s a huge old shed where they bottle wine and serve food and sometimes have music . You can camp there or they have glamping tents which really live up to the term. The camping area is surrounded by paddocks of sheep and there’s a donkey and a huge dog that looks after everyone.
NEXT DESTINATION
Most of the bigger cities and towns in Australia for our next tour.
It’s 30 years since you made The Soft and Sexy Sound album – what memories do you have of that time
I guess after having already recorded several albums we were looking forward to a bit of experimentation with the instruments we wanted to include and more backing vocals, strings and things like that. Robin Casinader, who plays piano and keys is also a violinist and arranged all of the string parts on the album. It was fun to shake things up like that.
What do the ‘90s represent
The 90’s was a time when the music industry seemed to open up lot to the more independent acts. We had great opportunities like appearing on TV ..Recovery for example, playing at the Big Day Out and having national radio coverage through JJJ.
Songs that made the album
The Soft’n’Sexy Sound was in a way a continuation of the sound we had on Night of the Wolverine. I started playing with brushes on N.O.W. as we had been playing live shows without a bass player and I felt the need to make the drums quieter. Playing quietly and slowly is indeed harder than the opposite, and it was also difficult to play with brushes live so that the drums were audible. All these issues were worked out though and songs like I’m Not Afraid to be Heavy and The Birds and Goats – they each have such a cruisy and soft ‘70s sound, I feel like the band along with our producer Victor Van Vugt really found the right approach. Rock and Roll Is Where I Hide is the song that confused us all. Its quite slow and long, involves several stops, is a bit of a shaggy dog story, was never a single and is the requested song of ours to date.
Working with your life partner Dave Graney.
We find working together pretty easy after all this time. In the studio for example, after we record all the instruments, I find myself doing most of the editing and Dave handles the mixing and out board plug ins. We just found which parts of the recording process we were most interested in and good at I guess.
A favourite fashion memory
It would have to be backstage at the Big Day Out performing on the same stage as Urge Overkill when they arrived wearing the most perfect rock and roll outfits and looking a million bucks. We were in awe! Just before they went on stage, they were in plain Black T-shirts and jeans. All of that previous glamour was just for our benefit.
An album that changed your life
Casanova by The Divine Comedy is my favourite album of the 90s. They’re an Irish chamber pop band who released this in 1996. It has all the best elements of ‘60s and ‘70s hits that I love – rock and jazz stylings, trumpet solos, string arrangements – it is brilliant.
