Stanton Moore on Sportscenter/Musicenter
October 2002
by Mike Webb

One day I hope that there will be a music equivalent of Sportscenter. MTV News doesn't cut it like it used to when it was new and novel. So a Sportscenter/Musicenter would mainly have news about new releases, reports from recording sessions, touring artists updates, reports from the venues, and special broadcasts for special events (like the Stones opening night).

In my mind it would go a little something like this (think Stuart Scott from ESPN's Sportscenter reporting after a live gig):

This is Stuart Scott (SS) reporting live from B. B. King's in Times Square New York and I'm standing here with da man - parttime Galactic drummer, and full time bottom banger Stanton Moore. Fella, you laid down a bangin' show. How do you feel right now?

Stanton Moore (SM) - Well Stu, we worked up a pretty good sweat and the crowd was great. Skerik kept things pretty loose, and Brian Seeger can basically play anything on guitar, so we're able to go anywhere the music takes us. And my bass player, Jim Singleton, was just rock solid all night. It was sure thing tonight.

SS - No doubt - you just made your mama proud. You played a pretty heavy bottom end kind of show, but didn't spend a lot of time doing actual drum solos. How do you lead a band of this caliber without stepping to the forefront most of the time?

SM - Well that's what drumming is all about to me. Every great piece of architecture has to start with a solid foundation. And if Singleton and I can set that foundation up right…

SS - Booyah! Hear the drummer get wicked…

SM - Yeah, right…..well, then everybody in the band can kind of step in and build whatever they want on top of it. And the guys in this band just throw in the kitchen sink and every possible kind of coloring, and we just naturally jam all night. It's incredible to just make something out of nothing and we had a great time doing it.

SS - Fo shizzle dawg. Y'all threw in everything tonight - jazz, rock, funk…

SM - …yeah it's an eclectic blend, but we're not trying to make art. We just want people to dance. And since I'm the drummer, that's my main concern.

SS - You pulled out all the stops tonight. What was up with that version of "Whipping Post"?

SM - Well we just wanted to end on a funky jam thing, so when Skerik started blowing that sax line, we all fell in hard. The ending was pretty improvisational, but I think it felt pretty good.

SS - And Charlie Hunter came out and laid down some lines on the 6 string instead of the 8 string bass slash guitar set up that he normally throws down on.

SM - Yeah, when I saw Charlie standing back there, I knew we had to find a way for Brian to step aside for a bit. And Charlie came out and just laid down a cold groove that we could all fall into. So it was all good.

SS - Better than good bro - downright stupefying. Thanks Stanton. We'll catch up with you again when you're back with the MVVP unit. This is Stuart Scott from the momentary funkiest place on the planet right here in New York City. Alright Dan, back to you.

(Mike Webb is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)