Peter Joseph Moore (August 6, 1956 – November 11, 2023) was a Canadian music producer who was first recognized for his innovative recordings of the

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...

, produced on a shoestring budget.Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
Cowboy Junkies
Retrieved on: September 23, 2008.

Early life

In 1976, Peter, and a few other students, started the campus radio broadcast station

CHRW-FM CHRW-FM (branded as Radio Western) is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 94.9 FM in London, Ontario. It is licensed as a community-based campus radio station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The station ...

, while at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

("UWO") in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

. He was the on-air DJ for the new music program covering the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and new wave scene.

Radio DJ

At that time most records from the current artists were imported from England, which created a problem fulfilling the radio's "33% Canadian content" obligation. Since there were very few Canadian releases, Moore started recording the live shows of local and touring

Canadian punk rock The first punk rock bands in Canada emerged during the late 1970s, in the wake of the US bands Ramones, The New York Dolls, and Blondie, and the UK band Sex Pistols. The Viletones, the Diodes and the Demics were among the pioneers, together with ...

bands at his own expense and playing them on his radio show, "The Simon Less Radio Program". In 1979, while still studying for a degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, Peter founded a record label called Silent Head Records and provided a rehearsal space in his own rented house for the local punk scene.

Producer

By 1981, his self-taught producing/engineering skills had reached a professional level and he branched out into other forms of music such as

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and classical. After graduating UWO in 1982, he founded MDI Productions (incorporated in 1986) and moved his operation to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In Toronto, Moore continued to produce rock, jazz, and classical recordings as well as film and TV scores. In 1985, he was approached by Adcom Electronics, Canada’s largest professional video supplier, to create and manage a new audio division. His duties included designing and outfitting professional music, film, and television studios throughout Canada such as Film House, CBC Toronto, Pathe, Manta, CBC Montreal, Sounds Interchange, Eastern, PFA, Sound House, CBC Vancouver (exceeding sales 1.8 million in his last year, 1989). In 1988, Moore produced the now famous one-microphone recording ''

The Trinity Session ''The Trinity Session'' is the second studio album by Canadian alternative country band Cowboy Junkies, released in early 1988 by Latent Recordings in Canada, and re-released worldwide later in the year on RCA Records. " Working on a Building" ...

'' by the

. The album was released in early 1988 on Latent Records in Canada, and re-released worldwide in 1989 by

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was recorded at Toronto, Ontario's Church of the Holy Trinity on November 27, 1987, using one ambisonic stereo microphone connected to a Beta VCR. It became an international success story selling more than 1.5 million copies in the first year. He left his employment at Adcom and has been producing, mastering and restoring music full-time ever since. In 1993, he produced

Willie P. Bennett William Patrick "Willie P." Bennett (26 October 1951 – 15 February 2008) was a Canadian folk music, folk-music singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and mandolinist. Bennett was part of the 1970s folk music scene in Canada, and wrote and recorded ...

's album '' Take My Own Advice''. He was the music producer/engineer/mixer for the 1996 movie ''

Hard Core Logo ''Hard Core Logo'' is a 1996 Canadian music mockumentary film directed by Bruce McDonald, adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by Michael Turner. The film illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock, documenting a once-pop ...

''. He wrote three of the songs and co-wrote with Swamp Baby the rest of the songs acted out by Hard Core Logo to playback. His work on ''Hard Core Logo'' won him, and his co-writers, the

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for

Best Original Song The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

at the

17th Genie Awards The 17th Genie Awards were held on November 27, 1996, to honour films released in late 1995 and 1996. They were the ''second'' Genie Award ceremony held in that year; the 16th Genie Awards were delayed from the fall of 1995 and took place in Ja ...

in 1996, for the song "Who the Hell Do You Think You Are?". He later appeared in the role of a recording engineer in the sequel ''

Hard Core Logo 2 ''Hard Core Logo 2'' is a 2010 Canadian drama film written and directed by Bruce McDonald. It is a sequel to McDonald's 1996 film, ''Hard Core Logo''. ''Hard Core Logo 2'' assumes the same filmmaking style as McDonald’s latter-mentioned cult ...

''. Moore was later noted as a Master at re-mastering analog media for the digital age. When a long-lost tape of

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

's was found, her Amchitka benefit concert for the birth of

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

, it was brought to Moore who "painstakingly restored each minute of the 40-year-old tapes." A similar challenge was brought to Moore in 2013 when

Garth Hudson Eric Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025) was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for The Band. He was a principal architect of the group's sound and was described as "the mo ...

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

decided it was time to digitalize

the Basement Tapes ''The Basement Tapes'' is the sixteenth album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and his second with the Band. It was released on June 26, 1975, by Columbia Records. Two-thirds of the album's 24 tracks feature Dylan on lead vocals backed ...

which he had recorded throughout 1967 while

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

was recuperating at

Big Pink Big Pink is a house in West Saugerties, New York, which was the location where Bob Dylan and the Band recorded ''The Basement Tapes'', and the Band wrote parts of their album ''Music from Big Pink''. The house The house is located at 56 Parna ...

after his 1966 motorcycle accident. Many poor, unofficial copies of these recordings have been released over the years but never an authoritative edition. Twenty reels of quarter-inch tape contained 138 separate performances. Moore "mastered the set, transferring the originals." Garth Hudson reported that "Peter Moore with his incredible talent .... assembled and revived tape that had been crinkled, stretched." "Several reels were mouldy and Moore had to delicately unwind and re-spool some 1,800 feet of 'very, very thin' reel-to-reel tape by hand on a few others to 'flatten them out.'" The resulting product won wide critical acclaim and Moore won a

Grammy Award for Best Historical Album The Grammy Award for Best Historical Album has been presented since 1979 and recognizes achievements in audio restoration. Since this category's creation, the award had several minor name changes: *In 1979 the award was known as Best Historical R ...

in February 2016. Moore died on November 11, 2023, at the age of 67. Singer-songwriter John Borra, Moore's friend and frequent collaborator, has announced the release of the Moore tribute album ''Last Dance at the E Room'' in fall 2025.Alex Hudson
"John Borra Celebrates Toronto Studio with 'Last Dance at the E Room' Album"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', July 8, 2025.

Notes

External links

Peter J. Moore. Official site.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Peter J. 1956 births 2023 deaths Canadian record producers Best Original Song Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners University of Western Ontario alumni Engineers from Toronto Grammy Award winners Canadian audio engineers Mastering engineers Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Musicians from Toronto