Abra Moore (born June 8, 1969) is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

-styled rock singer-songwriter. Moore was a founding member of the Hawaiian rock band Poi Dog Pondering, but left to pursue a solo career after the group's move to Texas in the late 1980s. Her 1997 album ''

Strangest Places ''Strangest Places'' is the second album by the singer-songwriter Abra Moore, released in 1997 by Arista Records. Moore was nominated for a Grammy Award for the single, "Four Leaf Clover". Track listing All songs written by Abra Moore, except as ...

'' included the hit "Four Leaf Clover", which received airplay in

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

U.S. radio markets and VH1 and

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to shift its programmin ...

rotation, and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Early life

Moore's parents are Dale and Lisa Moore. Her father named her after the heroine of John Steinbeck's '' East of Eden''. She was raised in

Puna, Hawaii Puna is one of the 9 districts of Hawaii County on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island; County of Hawaii). It is located on the windward side (east side) of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaū district ...

, with three brothers—Matt, Pepe, and Zack—and sister Mia in a bohemian household that had very strong

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

influences, including jam sessions by guest musicians.

Career

Abra was influenced by the sax music that her brother, Matt Moore, an accomplished Hawaii Jazz musician, played during her childhood. When she was 19, she joined Poi Dog Pondering with a group of friends, moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 1988, and then to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, in 1992. Abra left the band shortly afterward to pursue a solo career. Her first album was ''Sing'' (1995), followed by ''Strangest Places'' (1997), which had a companion CD ''Live from the Strangest Places'', featuring acoustic versions of several tracks from the album. A single from this album, "Four Leaf Clover," peaked at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it was her only charting single. "Four Leaf Clover" was nominated for the 1998

Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...

. During this time, another of her songs, "Trip On Love," was featured in the soundtrack for the 1999 film ''

Cruel Intentions ''Cruel Intentions'' is a 1999 American teen romantic drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos de ...

''. "Don't Feel Like Cryin" also featured in the 1998 film '' Sliding Doors''. Abra continued to work on her next studio album ''No Fear'', while contributing songs to several soundtracks. Amidst rumors of creative differences and contractual conflicts, she changed management and recording companies and the album was eventually shelved, although her record label, J Records, did release promo copies. Most of the songs later appeared in slightly altered versions on ''Everything Changed'' (Koch Records, 2004). Abra's most recent CD, ''On The Way'', was released by

Sarathan Records Sarathan Records is an indie rock record label based in Seattle, Washington. The label was formed in 2005 by Jonathan Kochmer, a member of indie band Two Loons For Tea. Artists *Airpushers *Shane Bartell * Chrisopher Blue * The Purrs *Sensat ...

on June 12, 2007. She appeared in the 1991 movie ''

Slacker A slacker is someone who habitually avoids work or lacks work ethic. Origin According to different sources, the term ''slacker'' dates back to about 1790 or 1898. "Slacker" gained some recognition during the British Gezira Scheme in the earl ...

'' and has done other occasional film work in addition to her music career.

Discography

;Albums *''Sing'' ( Bohemia Beat Records, 1995) *''

'' (

Arista Austin Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

/Bohemia Beat Records, 1997) ''Reached No. 24

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Heatseekers'' *''No Fear'' (

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

, 2002; never commercially released) *''Everything Changed...'' (

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

, 2004) *''On the Way'' (

, 2007) ;EPs *''Live from the Strangest Places'' (Arista Austin, 1998) ;Singles * "Four Leaf Clover" (1997); #63

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, #27 Billboard Alternative Songs, #1 Billboard Adult Alternative Songs * "Don't Feel Like Cryin'" (1998); #17 Billboard Adult Alternative Songs

References

External links

Official WebsiteOfficial MySpace
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Abra 1969 births Living people American pop pianists American women pianists Musicians from San Diego Actresses from San Diego MNRK Music Group artists Poi Dog Pondering members American rock pianists American country pianists American rock guitarists American pop guitarists Arista Records artists American country guitarists American banjoists American country banjoists American pop keyboardists American rock keyboardists American country keyboardists American women rock singers American women pop singers American women country singers American rock songwriters American country singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters J Records artists American film actresses Actresses from Hawaii People from Hawaii (island) Singer-songwriters from California 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from California Guitarists from Hawaii 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from California Country musicians from Hawaii 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Hawaii

Early life

Career

Discography

See also

References

External links