Interview with Maurice 'Moe' Shorter 2010

As a long-time resident of Washington, D.C.'s Ward 8, Maurice 'Moe' Shorter - impresario for Junkyard Band - talks about the history of Junkyard Band and go-go music; and the marketing and management of go-go bands, particularly Junkyard Band. Shorter details the origin of Junkyard Band, which was formed by a group of children in the Barry Farms community of southeast Washington, D.C. He describes the band's various rehearsal spaces in the community; involvement in the community; creativity in regards to the creation of their improvised instruments and later the writing of their music; and the growth of their audience and change in performance venues over the years. He talks about working with Derrick McCraven, who brought two neighborhood bands together to create Junkyard Band. Shorter describes go-go as a musical experience and the community intertwined; he explains why Wards 7 and 8 of Washington, D.C. were attracted to go-go music. He talks about the evolution of go-go music and go-go bands from Chuck Brown to Junkyard Band to those of the late 1990s and 2000s; the subgenres of go-go music which include gospel go-go, bounce beat (beat-ya-feet), traditional, and grown and sexy; differences in the crowds who attend the various sub-genre performances; what influenced the development of go-go music; the improvisation and freestyle of go-go rappers; and the change in venues for go-go performances over the decades. Shorter talks about his ability to take the tools he learned at Howard University and use them to the best of his ability to promote and manage bands; he is able to combine his business skills with something he loves - music. In addition to managing bands, Shorter served as a commissioner for D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for 12 years.

Interview. Dated 20101203.