Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/596928
34 | Overdrive | November 2015 N ate Moran's father died un- expectedly during a hunting trip they were on together when Nate was a boy. Soon afterward, Moran took up the guitar, learn- ing to play by ear and eventually writing his own music. It was hardly the last time music would help him push through diffi cult periods. This summer, though, Moran's music marked a high point in the life of the 25-year-old company driver, when he won the Overdrive-Red Eye Radio's Trucker Talent Search competition at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas. "The one person I can relate to in how I write is Luke Bryan because of all the tragedies he's had in his life," says Moran. "He lost his brother and his sister, and he's continued to keep at it and write good music and put out music that people can relate to." Moran experienced another tragedy in 2009 when one of his sister's best friends, with whom Nate was also close, died from an overdose. "She was a big inspiration to me, and it taught me a lot about life," he says. Her name, Kerri, is tattooed on his arm. Troubles continued this year as Moran and his wife, Jessica, experienced fi nancial troubles and a miscarriage. The couple met at a Florida Volkswa- gen dealership in 2009. Jessica was a ca- shier, and Nate was working in the shop. "I was going through a diffi cult divorce at that time, and Nate was there to share stories with me and make me laugh every day at work," Jessica says. "He would come over to my apartment and spend time with me and my daughter, wanting to be there for us since all of my family and friends were back in California. I Trucker Talent Search winner Nate Moran performs "Middle of the Moonlight" at The Great American Trucking Show in Dallas. Kathleen Craft Basking 'Moonlight' Basking 'Moonlight' Basking 'Moonlight' Basking in the Original song clinches it for Trucker Talent Search fi nalist BY KATHLEEN CRAFT Moran drives through much of the Northwest for Smokey Point Distributing.