Tod Moses joined host Tom Proctor on ‘Rocket Shop,’ Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9 FM The Radiator. Catch up with him at facebook.com/TodMosesMusician.

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On Wednesday, September 30, Tod Moses graced our presence at the Rocket Shop radio hour with a live acoustic performance of toe-tapping and storytelling music. After three decades performing a mixture of arena rock, new wave, country rock, alt-country, and contemporary Christian, the artist’s newest album, released in 2020 and titled “Tod” (with one D), is a tribute to a new chapter in the history of Tod.

In the past, Tod has been the frontman for both Ya Know? THAT BAND and Fujita 5, and he also played drums for The Gully Boys. However, he decided to leave musical conformity in the past with his new album. “Tod” isn’t about consistency - he describes this self-titled album as somewhat of a “patchwork” album in which his solo career manifests in new and exciting ways.

“This goes out to all the people who tortured themselves watching the debate last night,” Tod said to introduce his first and yet-untitled song of the hour. He calls this track the “obligatory one political song an album.” With a blunt strum of the acoustic guitar, we were swept up in the untitled melody. The chorus sang:

“It’s just a game we play, we must have lost our way.

Now I'm planning my getaway, can't stand another day.”

Relevant, isn’t it? As a songwriter and storyteller, Tod always finds a way to stitch the fabric of life together in truly captivating ways. He describes himself as more of a poet than a novelist due to his seriously belletristic lyrics. In discussing his artistic process, the musician reveals the loose formula of his songwriting.

“What I tend to do is take one piece of my story, or another person’s story, and go from there,” Tod said on Wednesday. After setting it to music, the raspy twang of his dynamite vocals bring these stories to life. So much so that the first song of the hour didn’t even need a title to catch our attention. Although his stream-of-consciousness songwriting approach does not work for every artist, Tod seems to have mastered the art. Fortunately for other artists, he has shared the wealth among other musicians through the years.

Just like Big Heavy World, Tod supports the promotion and success of local artists. He remembers what it was like to have the guts, but not the money, and he recognizes that having the resources to produce an album is not the same as having the time or skills. This is where Tod comes in: Boarding Gate Studio, Tod’s music production facility located in Northfield, Vermont, is a safe haven for artists who just want to be heard.

“I am perfectly content to be a studio rat in my studio and write songs for other people,” Tod shared. He spoke extensively on this topic, drawing from his personal experience with music production and collaborating with many struggling artists. Being in the music industry for three decades, Tod has seen artists beg, barter, and practically steal in order to get their music out there -- and he did not love it. Today, he remains unsettled by the fact that artists feel like they have to sacrifice or cramp their time to release music.

“Artists are releasing beautiful songs, but shit albums,” Tod said to Tom Proctor, the Rocket Shop radio hour host. “I want to set an environment where people don’t have to feel so constipated by time or money.” Tod said he wishes he had this opportunity when he was starting his music career in Nashville, Tennessee, aka the nation’s music capital. You can only imagine the competition.

Musical masterpieces like The Gully Boys’ Diluvian Dreams, Fujita 5’s Make Your Own Party Hat For The End Of The World, Jim Ruffing’s Blues, and a benefit album for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center called Blue Beetle have all come out of Boarding Gate Studio.

Tod is a native to Akron, Ohio, where his first musical endeavors arose from a budding band scene in high school. But, one could say it was written in the stars for Tod to take on music, as his father was an early rock-and-roller and polka player. Now, Tod is the son and father of bassists -- this family must have some musical genes.

After the Ohio country-rock and new wave scene, Tod moved to Nashville for thirteen years with the intention of writing country and indie music. However, he found more depth in alt-country, contemporary Christian, and 90s singer-songwriter music. To his dismay, however, country did not actually settle into his music until his most recent album in 2020.

“Mainstream country is wildy unappealing to me, it took me a while to embrace that,” Tod shared. He said that after years of trying to avoid this as a musician, he is finally facing and embracing the genre. His logic? “I'm never gonna be a big star, so might as well have fun.” In 2020, Tod welcomes a new crossbleed between his musical roots and new genres he has been exploring.

“I guess you could say, it’s kind of the single” Tod said about Track01 from his new album called “Always Buy The Flowers.” This funky, bluesy tune was the last song of the night, and it essentially encompassed Tod’s artistic journey through the music industry.

“My age makes me a big concept album guy, but not this one,” Tod told Proctor in their radio hour interview. Since Tod moved to Vermont, he said the state allowed him to be more eclectic in his songwriting - even more so than the country’s music capital! A real glimpse of Tod peeks through each and every song on the album.

To end this piece on Tod, I’ll leave you with a word of advice from one local musician, to another: “The first rule is that there are no rules. Just do you.”

Text by Izzy Mousseau

Top photo by James Lockridge

Tod Moses — 30 September 2020 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour