After getting his professional start in bluegrass in 1982 with the group Southern Connection, Moore made the jump to a higher profile group in 1985 joining Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for stint lasting six years.  In 1991 Moore and fellow Quicksilver members fiddler Mike Hartgrove and bassist Ray Deaton joined forces with banjo picker Terry Baucom and mandolin player Alan Bibey to form IIIrd Tyme Out.  After three critically acclaimed albums for Rebel Records, the band�s personnel shifted and they moved to Rounder Records where they spent five years recording five albums before moving to their own label, Chateau Music Group. On January 8, as part of their new Cream of the Crop series, Rounder released Footprints: A IIIrd Tyme Out Collection.  Americana Roots caught up with lead vocalist and sole remaining founding member to talk about the new release, the new band configuration and life in general. AR: Were you involved in picking any of the songs for the new collection? RM: They contacted us and told us they were putting together this compilation, Footprints, which is part of the Cream of the Crop series.  This particular collection of songs, except for two, was previously recorded on Rounder by IIIrd Tyme Out and they sent a listing of what they thought was a good set of songs to put on the compilation.  Except those first two songs, �Footprints in the Snow� and �One Kiss Away from Loneliness,� which were unreleased until this compilation came out, it�s really a good representation of the five years we spent with Rounder Records and our growth as a band.  That was a very recognizable ensemble, as far as IIIrd Tyme Out goes.  Myself (guitar) and Ray Deaton (bass), Mike Hartgrove (fiddle), Wayne Benson (mandolin) and Steve Dilling (banjo), we were together for several years and whenever people thought about IIIrd Tyme Out, even after some of those guys left the group, that�s the five people they thought about.  So it�s a good representation of what we were doing during that time period.  I think that was a very creative time for IIIrd Tyme Out as evident from some of the songs on this compilation, from the bluegrass-y stuff to the ballads.  �Across The Miles� was a different kind of thing for us; �Milk Cow Blues� was a different style for us.  Coming around full circle to some of the gospel and quartet stuff and the acapella stuff.  Even now I think we are a very diverse group as far as what we bring to the table musically and what we are able to present to people vocally and instrumentally. When I looked at the list they sent, I didn�t have any suggestions, I couldn�t improve on what they had picked, it seemed right the way it was.  Then they asked about maybe adding a couple of songs to give people something they didn�t already have. AR: So �Footprints In The Snow� and �One Kiss Away From Loneliness� were newly recorded? RM: Yeah, they were recorded in 2007.  At that time it was myself and Ray Deaton, Steve Dilling, Justin Haynes on the fiddle and Alan Perdue on the mandolin.  That was the five on those two cuts, the rest of them, of course, had Mike Hartgrove and Wayne Benson on fiddle and mandolin, respectively.  Not too long after these songs were recorded Alan decided to get off the road and stay at home more.  Wayne Benson re-joined the group, so then we had four of the five that are on this compilation back in the group.  Justin was set; he wasn�t going anywhere. Then later last year Ray Deaton told us of his plans to leave the group, so we�ve got Edgar Loudermilk playing the upright bass and doing some vocals with us, too.  We don�t have any recordings as of this time with this particular ensemble. AR: It�s a tendency of all bluegrass groups to have some change over; do you find it a challenge to maintain a distinctive sound? RM: You can work towards keeping a particular sound, and I know there are some in this business that really strive to do that, but I want to stay within a certain realm of �this is what we sound like.� If you looked at the mandolin playing position between Alan Bibey, who was the first mandolin player in the group, and then Wayne Benson and then Alan Perdue, their styles are very similar, so I guess you look at that when you are auditioning.  I don�t like to try to tie their hands as a musician and not let them express themselves and be themselves on their instruments.  I think it�s very important to let them bring their ideas to the group and it may change your sound just a little bit, but I don�t try to make anyone sounds like someone else.  But again, if they�re not of a certain caliber, they�re not going to get the job anyhow.  I think it is very important to have people bring their own talents to the group and not be afraid to use them.  It doesn�t mean their ideas will always float, but I want to hear what they think, I want to hear what they�ve got to offer. AR: You guys do a lot of touring.  Is it difficult to balance family and career? RM: Yeah, to say the least.  Our 2008 schedule isn�t even complete yet, we�re still working hard to find more show dates, so what you see on our Web site is definitely not the end of it.  It is hard to balance every thing when you look at the big picture.  Between your family life and, in my case, trying to procure some show dates, keep the Web site updated, taking care of the band business and I�m also chief cook and bottle washer on the bus, so if it breaks down, that�s my baby, I�ve got to take care of it, too.  It�s a seven- day a week job it seems like and I hate to say job, but I guess that�s what it is.  I love what I do, wouldn�t change it for nothing, but it�s juggling. I do make time for things, I have to make plans and stick with them or else something would suffer, either the business would suffer or the family would suffer. AR: Ralph Stanley is still traveling and playing at nearly 81 years old; can you see yourself still doing this at that age? RM: If I am physically able, yeah, I think so.  It may be out of necessity that I�m still touring heavily at that age, but hopefully it will be more about the love of the music and I just want to be doing it.  I would like to think I could slow down a little at that point and not travel quite as much, but as a performer and as a singer that�s what I enjoy doing and that hasn�t changed from going from being a sideman to being the owner of a band, that part never changes even though everything else around you does. AR: You sing a beautiful duet called �I Give All My Love To You� on the new Rhonda Vincent album, Good Thing Going, how did that come about? RM: I got a call from Darrin Vincent, her brother, who was doing the producing on that recording.  He said he and Rhonda had been talking and she had written a new song with her husband and her daughter and were going to be recording it.  She heard it as a duet and she thought it would be great if I could do the other part.  He asked if I would be available and I told him that as soon as I could get there I would be happy to do it.  I�m four and a half hours from Nashville, so it�s not like I can just run over there and do it, so I have to plan my trip. The next time I was in Nashville I went by.  Before I had gotten there I had received an MP3 of the track with Rhonda�s vocal on it.  I thought I was going to be singing a harmony part on the choruses, or maybe some on the verses, depending on what she was looking for.  We got to talking about it and Darrin says, �Oh, no, no no, you�re singing the second verse.�  I said �Oh, OK! Let me see what I can do with that.�  I really didn�t have any idea I was going to be doing that, but luckily she had put it in a low enough range where she could still handle it and it was still low enough I could hit the higher notes.  So we worked with it a little bit and I think it turned out very nice. AR: Are there plans to get back in the studio this year? RM: We are working on material now to get back in the studio and record about 12 sides.  There�s going to be some original stuff, although we do have one old Marty Robbins song we are looking at pretty hard, he has a wealth of good songs to pick from his recorded stuff, but, a lot of original stuff, not only from within the band, but from outside of the band, too.  We�re looking forward to getting back in probably some time in February, so it will probably be actually late summer before it comes out. AR: Any recommendations on artists to pick up on if someone is new to bluegrass? RM: The Infamous Stringdusters are up-and-coming.  Another one would be the Steep Canyon Rangers.  They�ve really got some good stuff going and they�re working really hard, too.  They�re doing a lot of writing, they�ve got a lot of energy in their shows and I really like the guys, too, they�re good down to earth people. Eric Banister has been published in Bluegrass Unlimited, Country Standard Time, Blue Suede News and Maverick.  He is currently working with legendary pedal steel guitarist Bud Isaacs on his autobiography.