Interview: Former Sick Puppies Frontman Shimon Moore Is making a name for himself
Sofa King Cool caught up with Shimon Moore and we discussed his new song Hallelujah, his upcoming album, being a solo artist after being in The Sick Puppies, Playing Festivals, and what is next for Shim
When Shim Moore first began writing solo music, a piece of early career advice stuck with him. He recalls, “Somebody once told me, ‘When you’re making music, the difference between good and great is blood. If you bleed on a record, people are going to hear it. If you don’t, people are going to hear it too’.”
Truth is, Shim’s blood courses through every song he’s ever written and recorded. Millions of fans worldwide connected to his songwriting, spirit, and soul across four full-length albums from the RIAA platinum-certified Sick Puppies—which he founded. Following his split from the group during 2015, the Australia-born and Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and producer did what he does best: write.
“I lost my band, a lot of my finances, and most importantly, my identity,” he admits. “I wasn’t going to stop though. I had to find a new identity and the songs to go with it. It was a whole rebirth. It couldn’t be some acoustic shit or a retread of what I’ve already done. It had to be fucking amazing. After a couple of failed attempts at collaborating again, the universe delivered me this ultimatum, ‘If you don’t do this yourself, it’s never going to get done. Just do it’.”
Back at square one, Shim transformed the bedroom of his L.A. apartment into a makeshift studio and bought $4,000-worth of equipment from Guitar Center. Borrowing amps and guitars from friends, he personally produced and engineered what would become his independent solo debut in under 44 days—barely making the deadline to return the gear. He transferred the chaos around him into the boldest anthems of his career introduced by the 2018 debut single “Hallelujah.”
On the track, bluesy clean guitar cries out before snapping into a gospel-style chant—“Can I get an Amen or a Hallelujah?”—carried by a full choir. It culminates on a wild guitar solo before divebombing back towards the hard-hitting hook once more.
“You can create the life you want regardless of the perceived obstacles,” he goes on. “‘Hallelujah’ is all about digging yourself out and starting the work. I didn’t have a specific projection of where this was going. I had no idea what my destination would be, but I knew I had to get moving.”
Elsewhere on the record, “Our Time” serves as an empowering affirmation set to a soundtrack of orchestral swells and unbreakable distortion, while “Fearless” encourages “the superhero in all of us” with a seismic chant. Shim adds, “That’s a conversation I’ll have with my son someday.”
In the end, this body of work represents the artist at his most poignant and powerful, and ready to tear up stages around the globe. “Music should sound exciting at all times,” he leaves off. “If it excites you, you won’t shut it off. I wanted to make a record that didn’t let up. This is my sound. It’s real. It’s empowering. It’s who I am. There’s a lot of blood on it.”
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