Herb Moore
Feb. 18, 1944-Dec. 5, 2019
Mountain View, California
Herb Moore, a songwriter, musician, gardener, and friend who embodied the idealism of Palo Alto’s creative community, died on Dec. 5. He was 75.
Thoughtful and poetic in an increasingly fast-paced valley, Herb stayed true to more durable values, building community and creating music that was his own blend of bluegrass traditionalism, Grateful Dead reverie, and homespun eccentricity and humor.
He also crafted videos, hosted parties, revered nature, and grew luscious tomatoes and greens. Ever curious, Herb taught himself computer animation during his final year of life, even as his health failed due to the daily demands of dialysis.
Herbert Brooke Moore was born on Feb. 18, 1944, in Washington D.C., to Charles Lansdale Moore and Mary (Brooke) Moore. His father was an aeronautical engineer with the U.S. Navy; his mother was a homemaker. But World War II was raging, so he didn’t meet his father, who was serving overseas in the Army Air Corps, until he was almost age two.
He grew up in Northern Virginia, playing football and running track at McLean High School. He discovered music at age 15, teaching himself guitar in his bedroom, his rhythmic foot-tapping so loud it could be heard in the living room. “Once he found music, he breathed it, like air,” said sister Terry Moore.
Herb put himself through American University, graduating on the Dean’s List despite holding down a job. After graduation, he joined AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. This volunteer work in New Orleans and New Mexico deepened his lifelong empathy for the underdog.
Long-haired and hopeful, he came to Palo Alto in 1968, when it was still casual and affordable. He quickly joined the cadre of youth who hung out at St. Michael’s Alley, a funky spot that was the focal point for Palo Alto’s folk revival scene. Later, he loved “holding court” and drinking wine with artist and musician friends at Palo Alto’s Café Verona, Vicolo Pizza, and Mayfield Bakery.
Professionally, Herb worked as a technical writer for software companies. Encouraged to learn BASIC programming language by Bob Albrecht, one of the founders of the People’s Computer Company and ComputerTown USA, he went on to co-author Atari Sound and Graphics: A Self-Teaching Guide, an accessible tutorial for novice programmers. He also worked on the icon systems for Marimba software and the user interface system for Dow Jones Telerate software. “He was able to bridge the worlds of art and engineering,” said friend Richard Sachs.
Meanwhile, he expanded his musical versatility on acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion, banjo, dulcimer, flute, and recorder. He learned the skill of piano tuning. For years, he played guitar and sang lovely duets with bassist Leonard Hanitchak.
A central passion —“scrapophony,” the art of making music with found objects—entered his life on one winter day in 1972. Maddened by a constant barrage of rainwater on the metal-roofed garage, he wrote “Baroque Rain,” featuring dried peas rattling down a drain spout and sheets of banging metal.
A member of the band Elm Street and many local jams, he wrote songs ranging from the elegiac “Potomac Memories” to the whimsical “Pork Chops in the Bakery” and “Snail Pickin’ Time,” an ode to organic gardening.
At the Pacific Art League, he played at art openings and watercolor classes taught by Palo Alto artist Steve Curl. At Stanford, he created music for the dance performance “Along the River” at Andy Goldsworthy’s sculpture. He played at Peninsula School, the Palo Alto Junior Museum, and the Tuolumne River Film Festival. “He was always a fixture on the music scene here,” said Curl, “soft-spoken, with a light touch on his guitar and a twinkle in his eye.”
In response to the diagnosis of a devastating genetic disorder in Palo Alto toddler Sophia Herzog Sachs, he recorded a CD, “Sophia’s Garden,” based on the genetic sequence of a missing enzyme and incorporating her voice. Funds were donated to a foundation created in her name, Sophia’s Garden Foundation.
He was a dedicated and enthusiastic part-time employee of the Midpeninsula Media Center, where he helped provide live coverage of government meetings for the cities of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto during 2016.
In one ambitious project, Herb traveled miles to record the sounds of wild water, creating a collection titled H2Overture. He also created a documentary film featuring the Creative Ecology art and science exercises led by artist Linda Gass at East Palo Alto’s Cooley Landing. “An avid hiker and gardener, he loved nature almost as much as music,” said friend Caroline Rose.
Passionate about edible gardening, he shared his harvest with friends and in a “produce swap” with Transition Palo Alto, a nonprofit group geared toward bringing people together to build a more sustainable world. With Transition’s Peter Ruddock, he created a video to promote passage of the state’s “seed library” law, which increases biodiversity through local seed saving and sharing. “He was a big supporter of everything involving food, sustainability, and local community,” said Ruddock.
One of Herb’s proudest memories was his creation of an impromptu “rain orchestra” to celebrate Palo Alto’s World Water Day anniversary. He invited the crowd to simulate a rainstorm by playing instruments made from found objects, plinking on bottles, cans, and other refuse. Proud of his astrological sign—Aquarius—he saw water as a metaphor for building community.
Like rain, he said, “individually, we are like one drop, but together we can fill a bucket.”
Herb is survived by his sister Mary Teresa Moore of Fort Mill, S.C., sister Helen Moore Lynch of Rock Hill, S.C., and many friends. He was preceded in death by his father Charles, his mother Mary, and his brother Charles.
Tags: arts/media
