Mae Moore
Mapping the human heart has long been Mae Moore’s calling, and her many fans on both sides of the border prove she’s always been good at it. She got her start in the smoky folk clubs and coffeehouses of southern Ontario, later moving on to the thriving club scene of Vancouver, B.C.
Her first big break as a songwriter came when she co-penned the lyrics to “Heaven In Your Eyes,” the 1985 hit for Loverboy from the “Top Gun” soundtrack. This led to her 1990 debut album Oceanview Motel. The album spawned the hit single “I’ll Watch Over You” and earned Mae a Juno nomination in 1991 for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year.
From there, Mae left for Australia to record her follow-up album Bohemia (1992), the title track from which went on to success in both Canada and the U.S. For her 1995 third album Dragonfly, Mae set up shop in her own home, recording the album in those comfortable confines.
Mae turned in a 1999 self-titled Big Hip Records release, produced by Jann Arden, followed by a lovingly assembled retrospective album Mae Moore: Collected Works 1989-1999, released in 2000. It offered fans and critics a good look at her remarkable musical growth over the years.
At the same time, Mae relocated again to British Columbia, to live in the quiet woods of Vancouver Island, not far from the capital city of Victoria. To record Funny World, Mae once again felt there was no place like home. “It’s a wonderful atmosphere,” she says, “and far more personal.” Producer Joby Baker, a brilliant musician himself, took advantage of every conceivable instrument… including the kitchen floor!
The songs for that album are, as Mae points out, “reflective of where I’d been in the years of living by myself. They’re about personal growth.” That growth was spurred by her artistic evolution. “I enjoy being a writer these days,” she says, “because I do have a lot of life experience and perspective. I always thought of myself as a songwriter first, setting a landscape for each song, seeing things the way a painter does.” Oh My! was recorded with husband Lester Quitzau, and saw Mae return to her stripped down acoustic sound. That album garnered them a West Coast Music Award nomination.
These days Mae sees greater need for the healing power of music. “More than ever we need to connect in community,” she says, “and not feel so isolated. Songwriters bring the world together. That’s also my mandate: helping people feel less alone. When she is not in the studio, Mae can be found alongside her husband Lester Quitzau, working their organic garden and heritage apple orchard, or tending their flock of motley , but much loved hens. Mae has gardened organically for 35 years and is most at peace when doing just that.
