Keith Moore - San Rafael News Pointer Review

Beth Winegarner
Editor

Some Marin residents write films about evil men who try to create galactic dictatorships, some write about islands where huge teddy bears devour the rich and beautiful.

Keith Moore, a Novato resident and guitar teacher has combined his love of filmmaking with his love of music to create, The Fluorescent Shaded Teddy Bear Murders," a soundtrack and screenplay.

Although he was born in San Francisco, "I've been stuck in Marin County my entire life," he said with a laugh. His family moved to Mill Valley, then to Novato. He went to the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he got a degree in Film Studies, but returned to Marin, wary of the life of a Los Angeles intern.

"When I graduated, the big rush was for everyone to go to LA and become interns and coffeeboys, and that depressed me," Moore said. "I thought it would be more fun and better to come back to familiar territory and do what I want to do."

Moor's love of film came at an early age, watching films like "Star Wars" and "Raiders of the Los Ark." "I had other friends in film school who felt the same way. You see 'Star Wars' and — that's it. You're not able to articulate it. But a lot of my classmates thought, 'That's why we're here.'" he said.

Likewise, seeing KISS on television at the age of seven kindled Moor's rock-star fantasies. After that, "my cool rock-and-roll mom bought me a couple KISS albums." He started learning guitar at age nine, but soon found what hard work it was.

"I pretty much hated it. When I had the opportunity to quit, I did, but later I realized maybe I was suffering because I wasn't good yet. And that the more I practiced, the better I got," Moore recalls. He had an on-again, off-again affair with his instrument until he hit his teens. "When I was 17, I had a predictable failed relationship with a woman. Rather than taking it out on myself, I ended up doing these marathon practice sessions."

Moore had started writing at age 14. Combined with his love of movies and music, it wasn't long before he started writing screenplays and songs.

"By the time I was out of high school, " was looking at all the big film schools. I filled out the applications — and got back the postcards, laughing at me. My grades were fine, but when there's that much competition…" he said.

Finally, he was accepted to UCSB's Film Studies program. He wanted to study screenwriting; instead he found himself writing papers on different movies he's seen, assigned through the program. "I had a silent film class, one on experimental film, lots of foreign films, so it was great."

"I have a much greater appreciation for films outside of Hollywood now," Moore continued. "Lately I've been looking at a lot of Bollywood movies and a lot of Hong Kong cinema. A few years ago, that was unheard of."

When Moore returned to Novato, he began teaching guitar at Marin Music to pay the bills. He's been teaching an average of 30 to 40 students a week for the past seven years, a job which he mostly enjoys. "It depends on the different personalities, but the ones that have even a passing interest I get along great with, even if they don't practice as much as I would like. When they're receptive, then it's not work," he said.

But for the past two years Moore has been hard at work on "The Fluorescent Shaded Teddy Bear Murders," first writing the screenplay and songs, and then recording the music.

"It's about an island town of super-rich pretty people invaded by giant teddy bears [who] eat only the pretty people," Moore explained. "The hero's this accordion virtuoso who has an unsightly facial tick."

He got the idea one night as he was falling asleep. "I had this weird image of these giant teddy bears waiting to beat me up as I left work. The next morning I was thinking of a Time magazine article about the dangers of using genetics to improve humanity in the future: to eliminate flaws in appearance. Somehow I merged the two ideas together."

Moore describes the story as a "crazy adventure flick," humorous with a serious undertone. Although he's considered producing the film, after having it rejected numerous times, he's not eager to go through the wringer again.

"Somewhere along the line, I got the idea to present the story to the public instead of Hollywood," he said. "So I decided, basically, to self-publish. But there's a stigma attached to that — it must mean your work sucks and you're doing it out of vanity. But you reach a point where you just have to stick your neck out."

Moore did option one script, just over two years ago. It was about an alternate reality where teachers were treated like rock stars, and rock musicians were shuffled to the sidelines. In it, a rookie teacher gains celebrity teaching sexual education."

"I was analyzing the nature of celebrity," he said. "I came up with it around the time Lady Diana was killed — with the photographers chasing her down."

"Teddy Bear Murders" was recorded at Studio D in Sausalito, Laughing Tiger Studios in San Rafael, Icehouse Studios in San Rafael, and Edelman Sound in San Anselmo. Moore wrote the soundtrack in the first four months of 2001, and then spent the fall recording and mixing it.

The CD is currently available at amazon.com and cdbaby.com, a seller of independently produced music, as well as at Book Passage in Corte Madera. Moore will have a booth at the Marin County Fair, where he will sell albums and possibly perform, and will appear at the North Beach Festival in San Francisco this month.

Part of the proceeds from the sale of "The Fluorescent Shaded Teddy Bear Murders" will go to Ashoka, an organization that provides venture capital to promising non-profit organizations. [They're not getting another penny out of me, after the way their bureaucracy treated me! Keith]

Just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Moore had returned from a two-week trip to China. "You get the reality check. The government may be oppressive, but you don't see that on the streets. There's our perception based on media, and there's the real one from going and checking it out," he said.

He's interested in connecting with other nations below the government level. "When I found Ashoka, it seemed the perfect way to do it," Moore said. "They don't focus on one particular cause. They look for people who are passionate about their ideas. What better way to make a change?"

Despite the changes in his life, Moore still likes the old favorites: action movies and 80s music. "I like Journey, Hall and Oates. A lot of my students think that's really sad," he said. "But I try to find new bands. I like anyone that has a sense of musicianship but who tries to be creative. It's hard finding new music — there's so much out there. It's challenging to get yourself heard. You can devote your whole career to that instead of making music."