Shim Moore Reveals Reason for Sick Puppies Split

In 2014, many were caught by surprise when Sick Puppies and singer Shim Moore went their separate ways. As a legal battle ensued, both sides largely remained quiet about the details behind the split, but Shim has now opened up about what happened that led to his exit from the band.

In a video interview posted to his Facebook page (seen below), the vocalist explains, “Here’s the reason that the band broke up. Most people assume there was a problem with the band. The problem was with me and the manager. I wanted to get a new manager, and the band didn’t want to get a new manager. So when it came down to it, it was well, if we have to choose, we’re gonna keep the manager and we’re gonna get a new you.”

Though not going into the details about his rift with the manager, Moore states that he had sued the group's manager, who still remained as the manager for the other band members.

He recalls, “We’re not talking, but we need to talk about this, cause this is our business. So I’m still suing him as my manager, but he’s still your manager, so we need to talk, clearly.” The vocalist adds that they then went on tour for a month and never discussed the managerial issues. “It was so tense and escalated. By then it was just locked in and there was no way to have a civilized conversation.”

“I really do think that if we had been able to sit down, as painful as it would have been, and just tried to resolve the situation, even if it was like okay, we’ll have separate managers if we can figure out a reason to keep going, the band would have kept going. But because we didn’t and because we both got real angry and because in the litigation part of it, we were pretty hostile, both sides, it was just like, nah, gloves off, let’s go.”

During the chat, the singer reveals that he never quit the band and technically was never kicked out of the group by the other members. "The reason that we were fighting was because I believed that legally, they weren’t allowed to just kick me out. They felt that they had grounds. I didn’t feel they had grounds. That was why there was lawyers involved," says the singer.

Moore states that he learned of his ousting online. "The weirdest thing is I found out that I wasn’t in Sick Puppies through a post on Facebook from my band’s Facebook page," said the singer, who was at a songwriting camp in Canada at the time.

According to Shim, he continued the legal battle though it grew tiresome. “I’ve come this far, I’ve fought this fight. It’s been two years. At some point, my kid’s gonna come to me when they’re 10, 15, 25, and they’re gonna say, ‘Dad, I’m in the middle of a fight and I’m tired and I’m spent and I don’t know if I should just bow out and cut my losses or if I should fight for what I believe I am worth.’ And I’m not going to be able to conduct that conversation the same way if I bow out now,” said the singer.

As for why he chose not to speak when the split initially happened, he reveals that initially he was advised to "take the high road," adding, "Because there was not much else positive to say about the situation while I was in it. It was the most painful thing I’d ever been through. And to the other side’s credit, they didn’t really say anything either. I think they saw the legacy in the same way that I saw it which is one of the only things that we ever had in common.”

Reflecting on that time, the vocalist says, “I’m actually really, really, really happy. I’ve got a happy family, I got my freedom. I’m proud of how I handled the situation when it went down with Sick Puppies. I’m proud of how I went through it and I’m proud of the fact that I fought for my rights. I didn’t give up and I fought for as long as I could until it was time to finish. And that defines who I am as a person and as an artist.”

In addition to the video, Moore states, “The way that the Sick Puppies break up went down left me pretty messed up in the head. So I just did my best NOT to speak about it from a place of negativity and risk hurting the legacy of the band for all our fans. If I’m being honest, it just took me a while to truly get there.”

"Even though I’ve recorded and released music since Sick Puppies, it wasn’t till 2020 that I really felt like I was comfortable in my new skin and the past was fully the past. I think that’s partly due to time – but also because of how I’ve been able to connect and collaborate on songs with fans during “The Hollywood Rebellion” live streams on Twitch. I’m not sure if they realized it but the Rebellion has helped me a lot, and together we’ve created some awesome songs during this pandemic. AND we get a time capsule of music to remember that there’s still beauty in painful times. It’s not just my music now… It’s OUR MUSIC and it’s FREE for everyone who wants to come and hang out."

In the time since the split, Sick Puppies continued with Bryan Scott taking on vocals for their 2016 album, Fury. Shim, meanwhile, returned with a self-titled album in 2018, featuring the singles "Hallelujah" and "Crucified."

As he alluded to in his comments, he's been active on Twitch, streaming four days a week at twitch.tv/hollywoodrebellion. He's also done private, exclusive VIP concerts on Zoom chatting with fans, taking questions and song requests. He's also been taking part in the Rockstar 101 weekly podcast that can be heard here.

Shim also recently turned up as a guest on the new Royal Bliss song and video "Medication" that can be heard and viewed below.