Mark A. Moore's Blog, page 4
June 14, 2022
Shades of Cool — An In-Depth Interview with Author Mark A. Moore
Host Ian Wagner and author Mark A. Moore engage in an in-depth two-hour discussion of the life and career of Jan Berry. From Jan’s background to Jan & Arnie, Jan & Dean, Screen Gems, Liberty, the car accident, and beyond, this discussion sheds light on many of the details presented in the book Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry.
Audio Play
https://jananddean-janberry.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Mark-Moore-Interview_Ian-Wagner_Shades-of-Cool_3-15-22_Part-1.mp3Shades of Cool — Mark A. Moore interview with Ian Wagner — Part 1https://jananddean-janberry.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Mark-Moore-Interview_Ian-Wagner_Shades-of-Cool_3-15-22_Part-2.mp3Shades of Cool — Mark A. Moore interview with Ian Wagner — Part 2
May 17, 2022
Jan Berry’s Authentic Original Music Scores Published
Fifty-six years after the car accident that changed his life forever, Jan Berry’s original music scores and charts from the 1960s still exist—the actual documents used by the Wrecking Crew to record the original songs. These fascinating manuscripts open an important window on Jan’s body of work for Jan & Dean and other artists.
In association with Jan’s estate, author Mark A. Moore has begun to transcribe and publish some of Jan’s best arrangements, to shed more light on him as a songwriter and arranger, and to invite further study of the music.
These transcribed scores will interest musicians, music educators, school ensembles, bands, and any musician/aficionado of the West Coast Sound and the Hollywood studio system of the 1960s.
First up is the classic “Dead Man’s Curve” . . . and more will soon follow:
Distributed by: ArrangeMe and the Hal Leonard Corporation.
Licensed from: Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc.
Available from: Sheet Music Direct, Hal Leonard’s premier outlet for digital sheet music.
Jan Berry’s Authentic Original Music Scores
Fifty-six years after the car accident that changed his life forever, Jan Berry’s original music scores and charts from the 1960s still exist—the actual documents used by the Wrecking Crew to record the original songs. These fascinating manuscripts open an important window on Jan’s body of work for Jan & Dean and other artists.
In association with Jan’s estate, author Mark A. Moore has begun to transcribe and publish some of Jan’s best arrangements, to shed more light on him as a songwriter and arranger, and to invite further study of the music.
These transcribed scores will interest musicians, music educators, school ensembles, bands, and any musician/aficionado of the West Coast Sound and the Hollywood studio system of the 1960s.
First up is the classic “Dead Man’s Curve” . . . and more will soon follow:
Distributed by: ArrangeMe and the Hal Leonard Corporation.
Licensed from: Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc.
Available from: Sheet Music Direct, Hal Leonard’s premier outlet for digital sheet music.
April 11, 2022
Review — Gary Pig Gold
“[T]here have indeed been many . . . articles, interviews, television specials and even books (e.g., Bob Greene’s candidly behind-the-scenes When We Get To Surf City) regarding the Titanic Twosome. But it wasn’t until Mark A. Moore’s 450-page-plus, day-by-day, blow-by-blow Jan & Dean Record chronology in 2016 that the serious study of their music and, yes, art commenced. And while that book remains the undeniable go-to reference work on the subject matter, Mark has now added to this California saga considerably, his eagle-eared attention to detail more than intact, with a too-long-awaited biography of the one, the only Jan Berry. . . . From his blessed Bel Air upbringing to his pioneering efforts at establishing what would become known the world over as the California Sound (yes, before Dick Dale, Phil Spector, or even Brian Wilson) Jan power-shifted through the first half of the Sixties playing bona fide all-singing, all-writing-and-arranging, all-producing Pop Star by night while, somehow simultaneously, pursuing studies at UCLA and the California College of Medicine . . . until, that is, the horrific events of April 12, 1966 which, as had somehow been predicted within the grooves of the very record which gave this book its name, left the man battling both physical and emotional demons for his remaining three decades. Dead Man’s Curve tells that complete tumultuous tale. . . But it also furrows deep, shines light, then adds color, weight and substance to the myriad people, places and events merely cataloged throughout Mark’s Record, whilst banishing forever so many of the myths and misconceptions behind Jan, Dean, and their undeniable role in the very genesis of the Los Angeles rock scene.” — Gary Pig Gold, PopDiggers, April 8, 2022. Read the full review at PopDiggers.
March 29, 2022
Mark A. Moore — Pray for Surf Interview, Part 3
Part 3 of Phil Miglioratti’s in-depth interview with Mark A. Moore, author of Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry, illuminates the long and often troubled relationship between Jan & Dean—Jan Berry and Dean Torrence—from the late 1950s through early 2000s. From thrilling highs to crushing lows, the duo’s career was a bumpy ride—but also a testament to friendship and perseverance.
February 6, 2022
Review – Blitz Magazine
A highly detailed account of the life and times of Jan Berry, the late and beloved mastermind of Jan & Dean . . . With Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry, technical writer, researcher, historian and musicologist Mark A. Moore . . . tells the tale of a most driven and determined visionary, whom the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and numerous others counted among their own principal inspirations . . . Collaborators and insiders including the Matadors, Jill Gibson, Arnie Ginsburg, Lou Adler and countless others weighed in with first hand observations, as did Jan Berry’s father, his siblings, his medical school classmates and various other friends, acquaintances and industry leaders. To his considerable credit, Moore does not let the matter of fact approach that often characterizes a technical writing background define the tenor of the narrative. Moore makes his role as avid devotee of Berry’s body of work apparent from the onset, while managing to present as balanced of an account as possible. Indeed for such a tale to be told properly, it demands a narrator who unwaveringly prioritizes attention to detail. It is that insistence upon perfection that likewise guided Jan Berry’s vision in the studio from the onset. From their earliest experimentations with overdubbing and lavish vocal arrangements, through their combined sense of humor and Jan’s groundbreaking symphonic work (the Bel Air Bandits on Liberty), Jan & Dean were Blitz Magazine’s obvious and inevitable choice for Best Duo of the Twentieth Century. In turn, with this comprehensive study (which was more than two decades in the making), Moore has created a masterwork that will stand as a primary go to source for its vaunted subject matter. Essential. — Mike McDowell, Blitz, the Rock and Roll Magazine for Thinking People, February 6, 2022. Read the full review online.
December 17, 2021
Review – Ugly Things Magazine
“With Dead Man’s Curve, [Mark A. Moore] has written what is surely the definitive biography of Jan Berry—scrupulously researched and rich in color and detail. Moore was in an enviable position as a biographer [with] a huge amount of contemporaneous documentation to work from. In addition, he interviewed practically everyone who knew Jan or worked with him over the years . . . With all of this material to draw upon, Moore was able to craft a meticulous account of Berry’s life without any missing pieces or chronological holes. It’s an incredible story in two acts: the first filled with excitement, humor, confidence, creativity, and triumph; the second with pain, struggle, challenges, rip-offs and some smaller victories along the way . . . Berry’s role as one of the principal architects of the West Coast sound has been forgotten to some extent, an oversight that this book should go a long way towards putting right . . . Berry’s clean, spacious, ornately-sculpted production and arrangements on Jan & Dean records like “Ride the Wild Surf,” “Dead Man’s Curve,” “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena,” “Honolulu Lulu” and “You Really Know How to Hurt A Guy” (to name just a few) still sound remarkable today. Working with engineers Bones Howe and Lanky Linstrot, he pushed the limits of the recording process, spending countless hours getting the sound he was looking for . . . The triumphs and tragedies of his life, the highs and the lows, the thrills and the pain, make [Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry] one of the most compelling music biographies you’ll ever read.” — Mike Stax, Ugly Things #58, Winter 2021. Read the full review in Ugly Things Magazine.
November 24, 2021
Mark A. Moore — Pray for Surf Interview, Part 2
INTERVIEW — In Part 2 of this in-depth interview with Phil Miglioratti, Mark A. Moore—author of Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry—discusses Jan’s profile as a singer, songwriter, music arranger, and record producer, among other topics.
Pray for Surf Blog — Mark A. Moore, Dead Man’s Curve Interview, Part 2
September 30, 2021
Mark A. Moore — Pray of Surf Interview, Part 1
INTERVIEW — Part 1 of author Mark A. Moore’s multi-part interview with Phil Miglioratti, discussing the new book, Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry.
Pray for Surf Blog — Mark A. Moore, Dead Man’s Curve Interview, Part 1
September 21, 2021
Review – Endless Summer Quarterly
With his latest tome Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock and Roll Life of Jan Berry, Moore will likely become a Mark Lewisohn figure to Jan & Dean fanatics. . . . 2021 is shaping up to be the year for reappraisals of Jan Berry’s work, first with Joel Selvin’s ode to the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1950s and early 1960s Hollywood Eden (where Jan is a major player) and now in Moore’s definitive Jan biography. . . . . The first half of this book, chronicling Jan Berry’s development as a music (and mischief) maker in tandem with the burgeoning career of Jan & Dean, makes for great reading. . . . Jan was the studly boy wonder who could throw the ultimate campus party and somehow trick the cops into buying the beer. . . . . The only thing more impressive than putting on the whole world (the duo was on a meta hot streak with albums like Jan & Dean Meet Batman and the original version of Filet of Soul before Jan’s accident) was the sterling academic future ahead of them. In fact, Jan Berry was a med student by day/rock star by night! Had there not been any gold records, these guys probably would’ve been fine anyway. . . . Moore interviewed a number of the musicians and industry peers who worked with Jan and they all marvel at his talent and forward-thinking studio work . . . an innovator before it became acceptable and expected for a pop artist to think outside the box. . . . The second half of the book documenting the years after Jan’s car accident is both inspirational and harrowing. . . . At over 500 pages, Dead Man’s Curve: the Rock and Roll life of Jan Berry is a feast for fans of Jan, early rock and roll, and the powerhouse of pop percolating from the Sunset Strip. The section of the book dealing with Jan’s rise to fame is like reading about the greatest frat party of all time set to a killer soundtrack. If the goal here was to enrich the experience of listening to those Jan & Dean records once more or to encourage the uninitiated to think about them (and Jan) seriously for the first time, then I’d recommend you check out the book. It’s a heck of a story . . . and a lot more than what they could ever fit into a made-for-TV movie. — David Wills, Endless Summer Quarterly, September 2021. Read the full review at ESQ Online.
