Biography
The Life and Times of Anthony Bernard Daniels aka
Moose Harris
Urban Groovz Records, 2012
Singer, Songwriter, Lyricist, Musician, Producer, Business Man. Also known as M. Harris, A.B.D., Moose, The Musical Centurion, or his birth name: Anthony Bernard Daniels.
Anthony Daniels has gained invaluable life experience through every corner of Louisiana, from the northernmost tip in Shreveport to the Crescent City near the mouth of the Mississippi River, and is already a well-known star in various genres all over the state of Louisiana and the American South. Born in New Iberia, Louisiana on St. Patrick’s Day, 1980, Anthony started his music career at the age of 3 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church with The Sunshine Choir. His first Piano Lesson was at age 6, first picked up a saxophone in the sixth grade and by high school, was self-taught on the drums. It was during his Freshman Year in Basketball that he got the nickname “Moose” (the M in M. Harris – now also referred to as Mooshus) for his aggressive play against taller opponents (he topped out at 5'11 playing Forward and some Center positions). All the while, making use of Cassette Recorders and Karaoke Machines was Anthony's passion like most kids of the 80s and 90s was Video Games. When Daniels left New Iberia in 1998 to attend the University of New Orleans (his military career started the year before, ending with an Honorable Discharge in 2003), he immediately returned to his musical roots as a Jazz Vocalist, a Classical Saxophonist and a Drummer for the school’s Pep Band. There he studied under the likes of Dr. Wee-Kee Wong Brody, Ellis Marsallis, Ed Petersen, Leah Chase-Kamata, Terrence Blanchard, and Steve Masakowski (bassist for Astral Project.)
While attending school, Daniels began experimenting with hip-hop and rap production on his computer and works with a few friends from both inside and outside of school. These experiences were expanded in 2002 when, after a semester of taking a Sociology of Music class taught by Dr. Alan Turley, Daniels became front man for the band The Reggae / Ska Conspiracy. Over the next couple of years, fans came in droves from Mobile to San Antonio to experience the Mardi Gras like atmosphere created to go along with their original mix of Reggae, Blues, R&B, Ska, and Hip-Hop. This is where the main beginnings of M. Harris began.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zDUGltvDrM)
In 2003, M. Harris’ business and production skills were manifested in the release of Urban Groovz Compilation: Volume 1, under his Urban Groovz Entertainment Brand. (www.cdbaby.com/urbangroovz) This initial album is still selling today across the world and is partly responsible for the latest Hip-Hop renaissance in Louisiana. Daniels continued his freelance production work and other music projects, all of which were wildly interrupted when Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005. He moved home to New Iberia, then to Lafayette several months later. “After Katrina things actually took a better turn for me,” Harris said. “With the existing Indie scene in Lafayette, and hanging out with many musicians (involved in) the Indie scene, it was easier to start networking and linking with people doing shows.”
The combination of collaborating in the Lafayette Indie Scene, and making 3-4 trips a year to Atlanta, Ga as an exclusive Producer for Rexless Records (relocated from New Orleans after Katrina, with benefits to record his own music) led to the creation of M. Harris’ first solo Album UNORTHODOX.
In addition to the Atlanta trips, 7 of the 18 songs on the album were recorded with several of the above mentioned Indie Musicians out of Lafayette, which allowed for Live Instrumental Recording at the studio of Jay Burton in St. Martinville, Louisiana. Even Dr. Turley came down from Austin to record saxophone parts. Out of the 18 total songs on this album, M. Harris wrote or co-wrote 16, produced 17, sung all harmonies, and even played drums, Fender Rhodes, and Organ throughout the album.
M. Harris was able to contribute to 4 more albums from his journeys to Georgia: The Soundtrack to the DVD Movie Rexless Teevee Volume One Alpha in 2006. N 2 Deep by Da Heat and 8/29: The Movement by the N.O. Wordsmyths in 2008, and Str8 2 Da Point by S-PYanage in 2009.
A Meeting with David “Wyzdom 360” Abshire in 2008 led to the forming of the Hip-Hop band The Congre'Gation in Lafayette. For M. Harris, this was a dream of being able to combine elements of several genres of music, but have the roots and basis come from his 2 favorite genres, Funk and Hip-Hop. It was a way to go well beyond what The Reggae / Ska Conspiracy did musically. For the next year, The Congre'Gation took the place of the now defunct Reggae/Ska Conspiracy for M. Harris, as he was able to fully rhyme, sing, and play saxophone & drums in this band.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg6QObGJcZA) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw4GF3aVkWE) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VmlBwSgjyU)
New Opportunities came towards M. Harris when he moved from Lafayette to Ruston, Louisiana in 2009. By the end of that year, he had added 5 more states as performance spots as a solo artist, and revived work as a professional in the Radio Industry through Communications Capital II LLC of Louisiana.
(home of Louisiana’s biggest sports station, ESPN Radio 99.7 FM, and the Award Winning afternoon talk show Fox and Company of which M. Harris, as Moose, was a Board Operator, and On-Air Personality)
Radio Industry work started for him in New Orleans originally in 2004 (under another award winning show – KGNO's Ken Ramsey High School Football Report, of which M. Harris, as Anthony Daniels, was an On-Air Location Reporter). The Title Track to UNORTHODOX also made the 2009 list as one of the Top 50 Underground songs in New Orleans, gathered together by Chuck “Lyrikill” Jones, founder of The New Orleans Soundclash Producer Beat Battle.
2010 added the formation of The Track Meet Producer Beat Battle in Shreveport in April, and M. Harris' own Radio Show, Urban Flosarus, on KSCL Centenary College Radio 91.3 in Shreveport (with online streaming from the stations website, www.KSCL.FM) in August. Urban Flosarus also gained syndicated status through a deal with NO-Line Radio.com out of New Orleans to air broadcasts on the weekends beginning December 2010.
In late 2010, the trips to Atlanta cumulated in an album called The Atlanta Chronicles. (www.MoooseandSpy.Bandcamp.com) The album is described as “an exploration into three adults and the message learned, received and not being taught to the world — the life of balance.”
“We realized there is a deeper level of life we needed to show,” M. Harris said about the content of The Atlanta Chronicles.
“There is a problem with giving people what they want. With the saturation of political correctness, taboos, mainstream media, the average listener doesn’t know what they want anymore. Combine that with those not really knowing the scope of music beyond what they think they know. We decided we would give the people what they need. They may not know it now, but patience and effort creates insight.”
The 15 tracks on the album are centered around “being able to dance to it” and “being able to learn something from it.” Moose Harris (now being used instead of M. Harris) interjects the beats with words like, “Have you noticed all the Kool-Aid ’round you they drinking? Eat, drink, be merry is what they thinking. And you know? I totally understand that situation, but you never at your best without moderation.”
Since its release on November 23rd, 2010, The Atlanta Chronicles has received beyond stellar reviews and has opened up new locations of interest that previously were unknown to Moose Harris. Collaborations and show offers have come from several new cities and states, including a performance in the New Orleans Hip-Hop Toys for Tots Concert in New Orleans (December, 2010), the Denver Black Arts Festival in July 2011, and the Ouachita County Fair in Camden, Arkansas as Producer, Host and Featured Artist of Urban Flosarus Live, the first all Urban Music showcase in the Fair’s history.
It is the combination of the albums, performances, production credits, and Urban Flosarus that has Moose Harris looking towards the future, beyond the Southern United States. Businesses like his Urban Groovz Records (mentioned above formally as Urban Groovz Entertainment) and his minority business interest in Fashion Company Uncouth Dezyns out of New Orleans are ready to expand beyond their humble beginnings. After 16 months on the air at KSCL, Urban Flosarus went into full syndication beginning in January 2012. A second Radio Show The Grapevine, with emphasis on R&B, Soul, Blues, and Jazz, was also started in January 2012 and went directly to syndication. Internet Music Video Views of 2 songs from The Atlanta Chronicles reached new viewing highs to the point that viewing goals set were reached a month ahead of schedule (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hInxuhCwl2I). The first full length Video Recording of an entire Moose Harris Performance (with S-PYanage, in Hot Springs, Arkansas) was released by Southernmade Entertainment in February 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2heleEUQsU).
The sudden influx of collaborations has worked in Moose Harris' favor to work on a new solo album, to be entitled SPAM; that will not be released until 2012. This project will be a multi-disc “concept album” based on 4 of Moose Harris’ most artistic influences: Salvador Dali, Pablo Piccasso, Andre 3000 (of Outkast) and Marvin Gaye (hence the title taken from each first name, SPAM.) The title also stands for a call of separation between the creations of realistic secular spiritual music verses the flood of people making music as copycats. As a preview toward this conceptual project, Moose released the exclusive EP The Musical Centurion II in February 2012. It is exclusive in the fact that the 13 track EP will only be available on Moose’s Revernation.com page (http://www.reverbnation.com/store/view_item_album/artist_447942?item_id=1420261) or directly from him at shows.
“There have been a lot of inward changes that have happened,” Anthony (Bernard) “Moose Harris” Daniels said. “Being in North Louisiana (and elsewhere) for two years has opened me up to a lot of personal and musical variety. Whatever I might have been trying to figure out while in Lafayette, I think I’ve got a better hold of it here. It also might have to do with turning 30 (to be 32 on 3/17/12), but there’s definitely more understanding on the inside and outside.” This understanding is what has him looking to a future of being balanced and entertainingly educational to the rest of the world.
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