PRESCOTT – Imagine looking out at a sold-out crowd at The Armory, knowing everyone is there to see you perform your own music. Quite the indescribable feeling, right? It’s a night that Prescott High School alumnus Reggie Moe had dreamed about for years and it came true Jan. 27.  

Moe, known as Bainbridge in the music world, is an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) artist who writes his own music and performs across the country. 

For those who don’t know what EDM is, it’s a sort-of umbrella term, Moe said.  

“There are a lot of different subgenres,” he said. “Like you would say rock has alternative or classic, etc. It’s made on a computer and is danceable. It’s very heavily influenced by Disco.” 

EDM is also known as dance music or club music and is a broad range of “percussive electronic music genres.” Moe specializes in the subgenre “Dubstep,” which originated in South London in the early 2000s and has reggae roots.  

“It all kind of came out of the Michael Jackson and Madonna era in the 80s and 90s, featuring synthesized beats,” Moe said. “Technology got better and better and it was more about the electronic beats than the actual artist in front of that. It became more about sounds than it did about the people performing the vocals on the songs. It’s pretty safe to say that it’s all on the computer. It’s sort of like composing. We write the drums, the drumbeat, the melody, all the sounds. It's rather complicated writing and producing everything within the song. Like learning a language. Once you know the language, it becomes easier.” 

Bainbridge is signed to Disciple, a record label based out of Los Angeles. He has performed at Red Rocks, The Gorge and The Armory, to name a few concert venues. He has also performed at major music festivals such as Lost Lands, Bass Canyon, and Forbidden Kingdom. The night of Jan. 27 at The Armory was special though, for three reasons.  

“I felt like a million bucks. It was a huge night,” Moe said. “I had never been to The Armory before, I’d never played there. I got to open for my idol in this genre of music, someone I had been listening to since eighth grade, Excision. It was my birthday, and I released a song that day. Dad was there, tons of friends, friends from high school, and old co-workers.”  

But how did he get there?  

Moe lived in Prescott until he was 17, then moved to Colorado with his mom and stepdad. He was a member of the Class of 2013, graduating in Colorado.  

“I loved it out there. That’s where I ultimately want to move back to. I have tons of friends out there and my best friend (who is also a successful dubstep artist under the moniker High Zombie) is out there,” Moe said.

Music became a passion for Moe at a young age. He began playing the trumpet in sixth grade and played all throughout high school as the first chair. He played in the jazz, concert and marching bands under the direction of Prescott High School band instructor Jason Canfield, who he credits with being a huge influence.  

“I’ll never forget the garage band class at Prescott,” Moe said. “There is no other high school that I know of that has that.” 

He also picked up the guitar in seventh or eighth grade, teaching himself along the way. He even played in a metal band with friends in high school, but one of their bandmates broke off and went on to become a semi-famous metal drummer.  

“We just knew he was way too good to be in our band,” Moe laughed. “That was it for our band.”  

Moe said his passion for music truly started growing in middle school, when he started to find himself. He was attached to his iPod and knew metal was his genre.  

That’s what I really started to get a passion for, in like seventh or eighth grade. Before then, you’re still kind of like a kid. You’re starting to find yourself. Then I knew this was my genre.  

Bullet for My Valentine – which he admits is a rather graphic name – is his all-time favorite band. 

After high school, he studied at Colorado State University, but found himself uninterested in the course offerings and skipping class. He spent a significant amount of time in an internet café trying to figure out how to write music. 
“My friend’s older brother had shown me some electronic music, so it was always in the background of my mind,” Moe said.  

That all changed after he went to his first electronic show. Like a lightning bolt, he knew that was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.” 

He dove into learning how EDM is made. He purchased software and a laptop, watched YouTube videos, and spent his days trying to figure it out.  

“That was the epiphany,” he said. “Once I went to that show, I knew that was something I wanted to dive into. It probably took maybe a year after that for me to really get into it.” 

During his time in Colorado, he began attending what he called an “infomercial” school, an internship at a studio meant to push people into the music industry. Not wanting to spend thousands of dollars in student loans at a traditional music school, he gave the program a try.  

“A lot of it was more traditional in terms of, here is how you record a band, here’s how you mic up a drumset,” Moe said.  

It wasn’t what he was looking for, though he learned some practical skills. He eventually decided to move back home to Prescott in 2015 and attend Minneapolis Media Institute in Edina, Minn., a world-class studio run like an actual school with classes. There he earned his associate’s degree, while working a job and writing music in his free time. He made valuable connections with the people he met there, including his ex-manager who helped him launch his career. They split ways in 2021, at which time he began working with a new manager based out of Brisbane, Australia who has booked larger engagements.

While his star was rising, Moe had to address a problem many professional musicians face: Alcoholism. After a particularly bad night, which he chose not to divulge, he knew he had to become sober.  

“I wouldn’t be standing here today if I weren’t sober,” Moe said. “It was like a lightbulb moment, kind of like a sign from God. Everyone around me said I had a drinking problem.” 

He was able to quit drinking on his own, without AA or treatment. He credits his success to a great support network. He has been sober for six years.

His branding - angels vs demons - is heavily influenced by his sobriety and past struggles.

"Everyone has demons and things they struggle with; it's a constant battle we all face in life," Moe said. "But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to represent that visually with my branding and in turn to provide the same escape for others that dance music gave to me. Always remember that you are not alone."

Moe feels fortunate that he can live comfortably doing what he loves to do. He hopes he never has to feel like he’s working. He encourages other aspiring musicians to reach for their own stars.  

“The first two biggest hits for me I wrote in a Starbucks in Cottage Grove on a laptop,” Moe said. “Dude, you have to want it. You just have to put in the time and hard work. It takes around 10,000 hours to be super solid. A kid with a laptop that can do all of that is just wild to me. I always say, if I can do it, you can do it.” 

He  is also grateful to The Twisted Oak Coffee House in Prescott for keeping him fueled all these years chasing his dreams.

For upcoming show locations and dates, find Bainbridge on all social media and streaming platforms.  

“It feels great, but it also feels like I’m just getting started,” Moe said. “There’s still a long way to go and a lot of stuff that I want to do.”