MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist profile picture

MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist

Drummer/Drum Tech/Clinician/Educator/Author/Scientist/Consultant

About Me

I edited my profile at Doobix.com
Myspace Layouts
Moey's Hardware....I endorse and play exclusively SHINE DRUMS, TRK CYMBALS and VIC FIRTH sticks, mallets, brushes, pads etc. Drop in and check out the diverse product offerings from these great hardware companies! Be sure to let them know that Mike from Red Metric Enterprises sent you and they will take good care of you. .
I also use these fine heads and hardware and anticipate joining their proud rosters of endorsing artists very soon.
Ok... now back to our regularly scheduled myspace programming....
First off, my God-given name is Michael Gaylor. But, the sinister and perverted humorous leanings of the indie rock n' roll community several years ago dubbed me "MoeyG" (or just "Moey") and the moniker just stuck. So, I just go with it....
I have neglected this profile for far too long. Now, armed with a few hours/week of extra time (God forbid!), I am committed to sprucing up around here and more accurately and completely representing the evolving enigma that has come to be known as simply "moey."
What is "moey," you ask? Good question. The answers are myriad, complex and largely enigmatic...but here are a few meager attempts at characterization.....
Moey is....
musician, drummer, scientist, teacher, historian, philosopher, writer, academician, computer geek and internet junkie and all-round cool, compassionate, confused and inquisitive kinda guy. I consider myself to be fiscally "conservative" and socially "liberal." I am extremely environmentally/ecologically conscious. I believe that the cosmos has profound order and that a force (likely forces) well beyond the scope of human comprehension/understanding is responsible for it being so. I will have more to say about this later....
Drumming Influences:
Neil Peart, John Bonham, Keith Moon (RIP), Buddy Rich (RIP), Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, Stewart Copeland, Chris Williams (RIP CW!), Bernard Purdie, Billy Ward, Jeff Porcaro (RIP), Vinnie Colaiuta, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, Kenny Aronoff, Bill Bruford, Virgil Donati, Steve Gadd and a whole lot more.......
For the past five years, I anchored the rhythm section(s) for indie alternative rockers WARM and indie hard rockers (and Digitone Records recording artists), Red Metric. Having recently departed WARM, I am currently working with various indie artists around the Hampton Roads area under the corporate/artistic aegis of my company Red Metric Enterprises, LLC. I am very excited about these new projects and I hope you will check back often for more updates on those projects as they evolve.
If you have the time and would like to learn more about the myriad educational and consulting services offered by Red Metric Enterprises, please drop in on me over at the RME myspace profile and say hello. Just click on the ugly bald guy or shameful self-promotional ad banner below.....

For several years, Red Metric quite literally chewed tens of thousands of miles of asphalt touring all over the US. We lived pretty hard during all those miles, but the great times FAR exceeded the difficult times. And trust me when I tell you we had HUGE fun 24/7 on the road! We met thousands of people and played and toured with a thousand different bands and we went on to establish Red Metric as a hard working, high energy rock band with a thriving national reputation. We accomplished more in just a few short years than so many bands accomplish during their entire careers. Words are insufficient to describe my great pride and joy in having been allowed to share my life so intimately with these guys while roaming the nation rockin' out for any crowd and venue that would have us. The seemingly infinite variety of fond memories amassed during my time and travels with Red Metric will nurture my soul for the remainder of my days. I will revel in these memories as I grow old with them and share them with my children. It was truly a blessed time in my life. I will forever be grateful to the members of Red Metric and all of the band's tremendous friends, fans and supporters who made it possible for us to "live the dream." In a meager effort to pay tribute to those memories, I have assembled this little slide show for your viewing enjoyment. I will continue to add to this slide show as I discover more photos in my emerging pictoral archives. Thanks for the rich memories guys! I will always love and remember you guys and what we achieved together! Enjoy!
When not consumed by my work with these musical/entrepreneurial pursuits, I enjoy jamming and writing songs with fellow players in and around the area. You just never know what bursts of wonderful creativity will emerge from impromptu jam sessions, right? So, I try to do as much of that as I can. It really allows me to stretch out in different musical styles and that keeps me fresh and continually improving and evolving as an artist.
If these activities were not sufficient to propel me towards an early demise, I am also writing several research papers to be submitted to peer-reviewed scientific journals. This work is the culmination of my Ph.D. dissertation research at The College of William and Mary. I am also dabbling in writing a "pseudo fiction" novel. I know...this is insane, right!?
But wait! There's more! FAR MORE!!... When I am not living on metabolic vapor as a result of pursuing these myriad activities, I am changing diapers, making bottles and chasing this remarkable life form around.....

What can I say? I am the consummate doting daddy. He is the reason I get out of bed every day. Take note of the fact that I did not say "He's the reason I get up...." One cannot get up from that which one has not experienced, right? Since birth, this one has demonstrated ZERO interest in sleeping through the night. GOOD TIMES!
In short, I am a voracious reader and writer and I am always looking for new and exciting methods or courses of study through which I can expand my intellectual horizons and achieve intellectual and spiritual enlightenment. This should be simple enough, right?
Many of you knew (or knew of) my dear friend and mentor of many years, Chris Williams (aka. CW). Most of you also know that CW died suddenly and most unexpectedly in late October, 2006. You also know that he was absolutely crazy about children and wanted nothing more in life than to have his own family with lots of children. When my son was born, CW absolutely adored him. Most guys would flinch at the prospect of holding a newborn baby. But, not CW. He was a complete natural with children of all ages. This is one of the myriad reasons that he was such an extraordinary musical educator and great human being. And he would have been a great father! Indeed, he was a great father figure to many.



Regarding his great love of children and their welfare....one of the causes that was very dear to CW's heart and soul was the search for a cure for a rare and bizarre genetic disease known as Progeria. The disease afflicts very young children and is characterized by premature and rapid aging and ultimately death by early teenhood. CW began working with the Progeria Research Foundation in 2000 to raise awareness for the disease and the foundation and to raise money to fund ongoing research into a developing treatement options (and ulitmately a cure). Since his death, over $6000 have been donated on his behalf to the Progeria Research Foundatioin. If you knew Chris and how much this charity meant to him and the extent to which it stirred his philantrophic passions, please consider donating whatever you can to this important cause. Thank you!



And, by all means, please take a moment to check out CW's career musical project and dear friends of mine, The Pat McGee Band, for a glimpse of the wonderful music and super phat grooves he helped to create and bestow upon the world.......

Be sure to also take a look at this great video tribute to Chris' extraordinary passion for and devotion to THE CRAFT! Few drummers in the biz laid down a fat groove like CW! He literally lived, breathed, ate, drank, slept and crapped drumming and music! He will forever remain one of the most profound creative inspirations ever to grace my life! God bless and rest in peace my brutha! I vow that your passion and dedication and professionalism will forever live on in me.


And lastly.... if you have any interest at all in helping Chris' family directly, please consider purchasing some of Chris' artist merchandise. The shirts are totally cool and durable and make wonderful gifts. Chris designed the logo himself (yet another testament to his versatile artistic talents). Best of all though, all purchase proceeds go directly to Chris' mom to help her pay for some formidable final expenses. On behalf of Chris' family, thanks SO much for your help and interest in Chris' life and career! Both impacted so many at inummerable and profound levels.



And I would be horribly remiss in my duties as a Hampton Roads indie artist if I did not remind all you local/regional music fans to keep supporting great indie music in this area. Toward that end, there is absolutely no better place to start doing that than to keep up with goings-on with the inimitable QUEEN of Hampton Roads indie music over at varockbands.com...Sheila Hodgin! Pump it up, get your drink and snack on and get out to a local rock show! See ya there!

My Interests

Biology of the Sasquatch. Wait.......look! I think we have a sighting! OMG! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!! SAVE YOURSELF!

Ok....but seriously folks......

Many of you may remember me as the bald headed mutant skin basher for Hampton Roads indie rockers Red Metric. In my ongoing tribute to our "life and times" together, I have assembled these videos for your viewing/listening enjoyment. We rocked tens of thousands of miles and drank hundreds of cases of Red Bull and Jager. GREAT TIMES! Enjoy!

Thanks to Hampton Roads' very own AV gurus Tim Younkin and Kristy Babcock for putting these nostalgic video nuggets together for us! You guys ROCK!!

Artist: Red Metric
Song: Hands and Minds
Venue: The Norva Theater
Creator/Producer/Director: Tim Younkin

Artist: Red Metric
Song: Learning Curve
Creator/Producer/Director: Tim Younkin

Artist: Red Metric
Song: Pinkeye
Creator/Producer/Director: Kristy Babcock

Artist: Red Metric
Promotional Video
Creator/Producer/Director: Kristy Babcock

I'd like to meet:

--Like-minded musicians with whom I can establish mutually beneficial professional/creative and personal relationships and with whom I can share musical networking and educational opportunities.

--Intelligent humans who appreciate (and actively participate in) the dying art of critical thinking and scientific inquiry..... preferably while hanging out at a nice coffee shop.

--Drummers with whom I could establish collaborative, instructional, musical/drumming etc. relationships and just plain talk shop about (and play) drums.

--Aspiring writers. My interests and activities in writing are newly emerging and I would love to really start talking shop with writers who are actively writing/publishing.

Music:

Unable to enumerate here the complete number and variety of styles and artists. But, since you asked, here are a few of my current favorites/influences from the rock/pop world....

Strata (these guys are my "rock find of the decade!"), Tantric, Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust, Chili Peppers, Audioslave, Chevelle, Incubus, Trapt, Tool, APC, Pat McGee Band, Dave Matthews Band etc.

From the infinitely rich world of jazz...I dig heavy on jazz greats like Davis, Coletrane, Monk, Brubek etc., as well as great fusion acts like Vital Information, UK, Jean-Luc Ponty, Dixie Dregs etc., as well as contemporary jazz greats like Pat Metheny, The Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra, Yellow Jackets, Chic Corea, Dave Weckl etc.

And since I'm a child of the 80's, I am rather fond of progressive rock giants like Rush, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Kansas etc.

I also dig on some new country, rap and hip-hop here and there. And increasingly I am exploring in much greater depth the eclectic, rhythmic offerings from the Latin, African, Cuban, Caribbean etc. musical communities. I'm all about the classical too. Hell, the list goes on ad infinitum. What can I say? :-)

Movies:

A tough question, as I love so many movies. But, generally, I really dig "chick flicks." Does that make me a bad "guy?" Hey, I'm comfortable with my sexuality and I'm all about relating to women. Is that wrong?

Television:

I try to avoid the "idiot box" as much as possible. But, I must admit, I am a Law&Order and Fraiser junky and I do enjoy waxing nostalgic with the TV Land retro thing. Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, Leave it to Beaver, Three's Company, The Munsters etc..... I'm all over em! I feel so dirty now. I'm am also a huge M*A*S*H fan! Arguably the best TV show ever. I also love the Science and History channels, as well as A&E and National Geographic. Can't get enough educational viewing. There is so little of it on the airwaves today.

Books:

As with music, too damned numerous and varied to enumerate in any detail here. Suffice, I am all about digesting some books! I just love to be around them. I could hang out in book stores and libraries all day long. Does that make me a nerd? ha! Don't answer that.
In fact, I am an aspiring freelance writer myself who has been fortunate to have one of my non-fiction prose pieces published recently. if you would like to check out one of my most recent literary contributions, please click on the link below. Writing prose (though possessing a decidedly pseuo-academic feel) is a relatively new venture for me. As a fairly regular contributor to the scientific (research) literature throughout my academic career, I am elated to have my first orchestrated attempt at prose published in a forthcoming wonderful "coffee table" volume entitled Migraine Expressions by Word Metro Publishing (Betsy Blondin, Editor). The book will be available in late July. I hope you enjoy it!

Heroes:

I prefer the term "influences" myself. But, if I had to name a few "heroes," these might feature prominently near the top of my list.....

My son, my father (RIP!), Albert Einstein, Jesus Christ, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Mozart, Mahatma Ghandi, Lao Tzu, Galileo Galilei, Martin Luther King, Leonardo da Vinci etc. The list is rather vast.

Suffice, my "heroes" generally tend to be humans who have contributed substantially to the advancement of human knowledge and civilization through the application of reason, critical thought, benevolence and sacrifice. I'm not sure what else to say.

My Blog

Zen Hut is Complete!

Hey kids...For those of you keeping score at home (all 3 of you..lol!).... I am ecstatic to announce that I have finally completed construction of my illusive Zen Hut. We completed the finishing work...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sun, 18 May 2008 02:41:00 PST

honored to join Vic Firth artist/educator roster!

Hey kids...Despite all of the rather bleak and uncool things that have befallen me in recent months, some great things have managed to spring up from the ashes of misfortune and despair.I am elated to...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Wed, 14 May 2008 11:01:00 PST

Studying with a new drum teacher!

I'm psyched to announce that I have returned to formal drum set studies in an effort to move my playing technique forward in a substantial way.I have retained the services of Jeff Johnson (Johnson Dru...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:23:00 PST

New Collaboration with Brandon Wilson

I'm psyched to announce a new musical collaboration with solo artist extraordinare, Brandon Wilson. Brandon is a very talented and versatile singer/songwriter and I look very much forward to helping ...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:41:00 PST

MANUAL LABOR AIN’T WHAT IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE!

After 3 days of humpin' ass in the Zen Hut, I can honestly report that 1) I have profound new respect for people who do this shit for living and 2) If I had to do this kind of work to put food on the ...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:47:00 PST

NEW SHINE KIT WRAPS ALMOST DONE!

Thanks to graphics designer and drummer extraordinaire, John Dutra, at SHINE DRUMS, my wrap designs for my maiden SHINE DRUMS kit are nearly done. WORD! The snare drum and tom-tom wrap designs are s...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:29:00 PST

EVOLUTION OF THE "ZEN HUT."

Hey kids.....For those of you following along at home, progress is ongoing on what I have now metaphysically dubbed "The Zen Hut." The phrase (and concept) is borrowed from my longtime friend and ment...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:47:00 PST

MOEY ON "HIATUS"

OK...I generally loathe the term "hiatus," so insert whatever noun you feel is appropo at this juncture.That said, I am, for the first time in 6 years of living hard and fast as a pro/semi-pro player,...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 04:56:00 PST

REMEMBERING CW TODAY!

Dear friends&.So many of you knew and loved my dear friend, mentor and brother, Chris Williams (aka "CW"). Among myriad other significant life achievements, CW was renown for his exemplary and passio...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sun, 28 Oct 2007 05:52:00 PST

MUCH THANKS TO JAXX, DOKKEN AND PRETTY BOY FLOYD!!

Now that I've had a chance to sleep and shake off the after-party effects from the show....... (uh, did anybody get the license plate of that bus that ran me over?). I just wanted to throw out some H...
Posted by MOEY-Shine Drums/TRX Cymbal/Vic Firth Artist on Sun, 29 Jul 2007 06:13:00 PST