The Missouri-grown disc jockey known as Spankalicious will be kicking off his first national tour at 9 p.m. Thursday at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing.

Moore’s manager, Eric Noble, said the tour has put Moore on the fast track to success.

“It’s his breakout tour, so to speak,” Noble said. “It seems like he’s going up.”

Spankalicious’ music is classified as psychedelic bounce and incorporates low frequencies and vocal glitches, sounds that often are found in dubstep music. Moore, however, does not consider his music a part of the genre.

“Dubstep, to me, sounds … real evil,” he said. “I like to have a positive vibe.”

As a new artist in the competitive industry, Noble said, Spankalicious established himself in the music scene by fusing live percussion performances while deejaying.

“(Spankalicious) performs live drumming and percussion, which a lot of DJ’s choose not to do,” Noble said. “It’s a different dynamic.”

Maintaining positivity is important to Moore, as is establishing a personal connection with his fans.
“I like to make sure people know I’m a real person,” he said.

While the past six months have put him on a path to popularity, life wasn’t always in his favor.
The DJ graduated college with a degree in music education and landed a job as a band director, his original career goal.

“I liked teaching a lot, but the school I was in had a lot of politics,” he said. “I didn’t want a part of that.”

Moore said he left his teaching position in 2007. As he opened a new door in his life, he adopted his stage name, “Spankalicious,” but was skeptical about succeeding as a professional musician.

Spankalicious’ performances originally were small shows in various Missouri college bars, but escalated quickly.

Moore said before he knew it, hundreds of people were coming to his shows and he was touring all the states surrounding Missouri. When he moved to Cincinnati, Moore struck gold with his first national tour.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “It’s definitely wild and real because we’re putting all our resources into making sure we have a good production.”

Thursday night will be Moore’s tour kickoff as well as his first time headlining a Michigan show. He said he’s confident his show will draw a good turnout and inspire new fans.

“I’m really excited for Lansing,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of really good things.”

Mac’s Bar owner and booking manager Chuck Mannino shares similar sentiments.

“I think it’s going to be great,” he said. “I’m excited to bring him into East Lansing.”