Official Press Release

Date: November 25, 2004 | Label: Fusco-Moore Productions | Release: “Live in the Studio”

In fall 2004, Chris Moore, Jim Fusco, and Becky Daly came together in the studio to record finished versions of the songs they had previously played live in concert. Made possible by Jim’s new mixer, Chris played acoustic guitar and harmonica, Jim played electric lead guitar, Becky alternated between piano and tambourine, and they all sang—at the same time. Although Jim later overdubbed drums and bass tracks, the primary music of this album was recorded live.

Combining songs from Jim and Chris’ previous and future solo releases, this album acts as a greatest hits of sorts, a veritable Fusco-Moore primer. “Break It To Me Slow” (from Formula) and “Looking For You” (the title track of Chris’ fourth album) are the most recognizable, memorable songs from the early concert performances. “A Changed Man” and “Words” (from Formula and LFY respectively) are the secondary hits—the B-sides—of these albums.

At their most recent concert, the trio performed songs from Jim’s latest album, That’s All—the romantic “Your Loving Model” and the beat-driven, effects-laced guitar sounds of “That Was the Day”—and Chris’ second album, Wish I Knew—the sad “Goodbye.” These selections, particularly the lead guitar on “That Was the Day” and the solo on “Goodbye,” demonstrate Jim’s rapidly developing mastery of the electric guitar.

Perhaps most significantly, this new release marks the advent of an as-yet-unreleased Jim Fusco song (the lyrical and harmonic “Harmony”), Chris Moore song (the surprisingly simple—for Chris—love song “Marie”), and Fusco-Moore collaboration (“Where Are We Now?”).

Chris, Jim, and Becky hope that Live in the Studio will take them to the next level by allowing them to share their music with their family, friends, co-workers, and other music lovers that they have yet to meet. Live in the Studio includes studio-produced versions of the ten songs, as well as enhanced CD content such as live concert footage and liner notes.

Life in the Studio

Notes by Chris Moore

Life in the studio is very lonely much of the time. There are early summer mornings spent preparing the equipment that can’t be used until later in the afternoon, once everyone in the house has woken up for the day and will allow noise (or “music”…) to be made. Then, one person must sit down and lay out a drum track or two (or three or four, depending on how many songs are slotted for recording that day).

But Live in the Studio is not the product of these aforementioned solitary methods.

For me, the best part of recording this album was the balance between “concert” and “studio production.” We were able to utilize Jim’s brand-new mixer and thus increase the quality, but we were also able to sit in a circle (or triangle, for all you discerning mathematicians reading this) and record together.

There’s something risky about live music. Aside from the fact that you risk wasting your time on a song that sucks (which, of course, did not happen for this album!), you must rely upon your bandmates—in my case, Jim and Becky—to be dead-on-balls accurate.

There are no quick fixes on Live in the Studio.

We sat down in two long sessions, as well as several shorter ones, and recorded our favorite tracks through several mid-song breakdowns and countless false starts. Becky and I had to come to terms with our tendency to make ridiculous comments at the beginning of every take.

Consequently, Jim had to come to terms with the fact that we had made more work for him than necessary when he went to edit the tracks down for a final mix.

This live album and our 2004 Christmas album, Our Christmas Gift to You, reminded me why I write and play music. I write because I have to write in order to survive, but I play because I love my dear friends Jim, Mike, and Becky and cannot think of anything I would rather be doing than listening to their own music or recording our music together.

At the risk of falling victim to the ills of sentimentality, I hope that you’ll enjoy listening to this album. We have truly put our hearts into it with the goal of making good music.

-Chris Moore

11/22/04

Album Credits

ALBUM CREDITS

Chris Moore – Acoustic guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

Jim Fusco – Electric Lead Guitar, Overdubs, Vocals

Becky Daly – Piano, Tambourine, Shakers, Vocals

ART CREDITS

Packaging design and production by Jim Fusco.

Photography by Becky Daly, Mike Fusco, and Jim Fusco.

SONG CREDITS

“Goodbye” written by Chris Moore (Wish I Knew, 2004). “Looking For You” and “Words” by Chris Moore (Looking For You, 2004). “Marie” by Chris Moore (unreleased). “A Changed Man” and “Break It To Me Slow” by Jim Fusco (Formula, 2003). “Your Loving Model” and “That Was the Day” by Jim Fusco (That’s All, 2003). “Harmony” by Jim Fusco (unreleased). “Where Are We Now?” by Jim Fusco and Chris Moore (unreleased).