Then & Now

During my 23-year sentence to hard labor in the music business, and driven by a young man’s dreams of riches and fame, I became a creature of the night and a full-time traveler of the land, all with a smile on my face (on stage anyway) and guilty only of total dedication and a dream in my heart. 

Today, I consider myself one lucky power pop survivor from the original heydays of an era that has long since passed.  But not only did I make it “really medium!” in the music business, I also got the girl!  Don’t believe me? Read on!   

Over the years, my musical adventures have taken me to 45 states and London, England.  During my 4-month stay in London, I struggled to keep warm, find hot tea and, oh yes, find a record company interested in my material!  But that story is on another page herein.   

My journey through the music maze took me to places I never dreamed of going and it allowed me to meet many of my musical heroes.  Highlights include chatting with Paul McCartney on the phone, doing shows with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, A Flock of Seagulls, Sparks, and also bowling with members of The Go-Go's and Blondie.  As a studio musician, I’ve played bass on some very well-known artists’ recordings including Willie Nelson and Micky Gilley.   I also worked with Buddy Holly’s producer and manager Norman Petty at his studio in Clovis, New Mexico where Holly recorded his greatest songs.  In fact, Norm was the one who inspired me to write more songs and to release my first record which turned out to be the "Fresh Out!" EP.    

In 1990, my band Private Numbers had an original “wake-up” song uplinked to the Space Shuttle crew of STS-31 on the morning they deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.  In more recent years, riding the coattails of my post-music career and through participation in the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, I’ve had two of my custom guitar picks flown on the International Space Station where they hovered in weightlessness for a year.  I also got to sing harmony with Roger McGuinn of The Byrds at the 2016 Astronaut Scholarship Gala at Kennedy Space Center. There are so many of these incredible "how did I get here?" experiences that came about as a direct result of just being in the music business and “showing up!”   

 After I officially retired from the music biz in 1991 at the ripe old age of 36 and after our cross-country move back to my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina our attempt to blend into our new community was met with more than a few bumps in the road.  I quickly came to realize that many of my stories and experiences were quite unique and they just didn’t correspond to anything considered “normal” in comparison with others that were not familiar with the music business.  While all of these things were part of my previous life and normal to me, I discovered I didn’t fit in. I felt isolated and detached.  But I had to find a way to deal with that, not just for myself but for my family’s well-being.  I eventually did.   

For the next few years, I re-invented myself in the video production business, played with my kids, and watched them grow. I went on dates with my wife!  Our family took vacations together, we planted gardens and took the dogs on long walks.  This was my new normal!   

In 2010, after almost 20 years of of being away from the music world, I was outed from my past by an eager young power pop fan in Japan who sent me a Facebook private message inquiring if I was THAT Bruce Moody and, if so, could I send him a copy of my first EP “Fresh Out!” which, at that time, had been originally released 30 years ago!   

One thing led to another and suddenly there was renewed interest in my music.  My new friend in Japan wrote to me about a guy named Martin Tremblay who owned and operated Meanbean Records in Canada.  One day, I got a message from Martin asking if he could re-issue my “Fresh Out!” EP, once again on vinyl.  “Why not?,” was all I could think.  Since then, Meanbean has released my songs on three separate vinyl EPs; the re-issue of “Fresh Out!” and two other EP’s, “Still Fresh!” and “Get Fresh!” that contain previously unreleased material. 

My current album release “Forever Fresh!” is a power pop anthology from 1979 to 1986 and consists of twenty-three original songs that have been digitally remixed and remastered.  The album was originally slated to be released on CD in Japan in early 2020.  But along came the coronavirus and the entire world seemed to come to a screeching halt!  Finally, Counterfeit Records released the album on CD in the USA on November 1, 2020 and Wizzard In Vinyl released the album on CD in Japan shortly after the new year 2021.  To date, there are no plans to release the album on vinyl.   

We’re all still waiting for the corona virus and all its variants to get under control so we can get back to a world as close as possible to the one we fondly remember.   

Presently, I’ve been recording new songs for a release sometime in 2023.  Terry Carolan from Just Boys and New Movies, along with Jeff Tracy from Blue Cartoon and Kei Sato from The Choosers, have been kind enough to contribute a few tracks to this new project!  The plan right now is to release this new material on vinyl with a possible CD release.  Please check back for release dates!   

But in the meantime, I suggest you grab a copy of “Forever Fresh!” now and have some fun listening to these old friends of mine!  

Peace & Love,

Bruce