We were lucky to catch up with William Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi William, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Finding purpose is an interesting idea. For a military brat, I didn’t have to go looking. I already came preprogrammed as — curious. Curious about people, cultures, technology, art, ideas, and my own “limits.”
In interviews, I often get asked, “What would you do if you weren’t a musician?” That always seemed like an odd question to me. For many musicians, creating music is their purpose. They convey ideas and improve upon them. They teach or discuss music and make it a reality.
My purpose is to be useful. Being a musician is just a label of a personality that is curious. Just because it’s music, it doesn’t stop there with all forms of art. I see music as an outlet to engage all of my skill sets, not just the musical ones. Music is about communication; it helps me empathize with others. It makes me ask how something works and more importantly wh something works.
Why does this audio compressor work better with someone’s voice? Why isn’t my dryer drying? That’s the same question in my mind.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is William Perry Moore and I’m a full-time musician & producer. I wear lots of hats.
Skillsets aside, I’m the lead singer of the 10-time international touring rock band, The Adarna. I’m the bassist & singer in Seattle’s Death by Overkill. I’m the former lead guitarist for The Slants who are best known for winning their Supreme Court case against the Patent & Trademark Office.
I run the WVS vocal performance studio in Seattle and I serve on the board for the Slants Foundation to help mentor emerging Asian American Artists.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three important qualities that were impactful in my work are:
1) Surround yourself with people that are doing what you’re doing. Great talent hangs around great talent.
2) Evolve. Music, technology, business, and ideas are constantly changing. I’ve noticed that every 5 years, each of these areas is completely different from 5 years ago. So you have to learn new methods and be a student of upcoming methods otherwise…you’re going the way of the dodo, buddy.
3) Be a good hang. Be a good friend, be a good husband, be a good brother, be a good neighbor, and roll with punches. Compliment people who you’d admire and raise up others, don’t put them down.
**Bonus Remove all poisonous people from your life.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I am fortunate that my immediate family is made up of my heroes. I am the son of an aerobic-instructing Filipina firecracker and a worldly aquatic military country boy. I’m the brother to a ferocious & kind breakdancing genius.
I am fortunate enough that these passionate people had the perfect balance of never-say-die attitude and could adjust the entire plan because they saw a better way.
They nurtured our curiosity, taught us how to work for things, taught us to be worldly, understand what is expected, they showed me how to say fuck you and I’m sorry.
The most impactful thing my family ever did for me — they walked the walk.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.williamperrymoore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamperrymoore
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/williamperrymoore
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@williamperrymoore
Image Credits
Against the Grain Photography & Bob Dehart
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
