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Woody's Bio
"Woody Moran's songs sound like what might happen if Glenn Fry & Don Henley from the Eagles decided to join Steely Dan," commented one reviewer. "The cool blend of jazz, soul and old school rock, gives all of us "older songwriters" hope that real music is always welcome," said another review.
The signs of a diversified musical perspective were self-evident as far back as his Texas high school, where Woody Moran played snare drum in the marching band, 1st chair clarinet in the orchestra, was awarded a university scholarship for upright bass in the school lab (jazz) band, learned a cappella gospel harmonies in church, and played guitar & sang in a rock band. However, Woody did not immediately follow his music inclinations after attending the university but chose a different path in life as a business executive in the musical instruments, audio and software industries. This life choice put him in contact, and sometimes in the studio with some of the greatest musicians, engineers and producers on the planet, resulting in an incredible first hand performance & studio education as well as numerous mentions of special thanks on albums (including: Yes, Dixie Dregs, Journey, Kilamanjaro, Starr Parodi, Jason Miles, T Lavitz) and in one case even a gold record award (David Lee Roth).
The encouragement to re-engage his muse was the result of a private party full of musicians at Tangier in Los Angeles where saxophonist Tom Scott was headlining. Woody performed a brief set on acoustic guitar and the response was epic. Woody started performing in Los Angeles with a loose and ever-changing collection of phenomenal musicians that he named his "Occasional Friends" since he never knew exactly who was going to show up. At the same time he became inspired to write songs for the first time in many years.
The resulting CD was entitled "Tu-Toned Stranger", named after the title song which was a finalist for "2008 Best Rock Song of the Year" by ISSA (Independent Singer Songwriter Association). Co-produced by Calvin Banks (Roy Ayers, Big Mountain), guest performances on "Tu-Toned Stranger" included T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs), Barry Ledere (Brooks and Dunn), and Grammy award winning producer Jeff Bova. Woody's most recent CD, "A Brand New Situation" boasts guest performances by Mike Garson (David Bowie, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins), Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Slavior), and award-winning German film composer Volker Barber. Woody has called "A Brand New Situation" his collection of dysfunctional love songs.
Woody continues to hone his songwriting craft working with other songwriters and performing. He is a member of ASCAP and is submitting songs for film and television, and his song "It Will Come Back To You" was chosen for a compilation CD for Adult Contemporary Radio Programmers. His engaging stage presence makes him a favorite acoustic performer at house concerts, but he loves the freedom of performing with a full band.
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