Saturday, February 3, 2001
By MIKE BELL
-- Calgary Sun Though it may break the hearts of pubescent
girls all over the world, it can finally be revealed: The
Moffatts want men.
Yes, that's right, men.
And lots of them.
Oh, don't get me wrong, the four brothers are still more
than happy to see the throngs of screaming wee filles buying
their records and swooning at their shows, they'd just like to
expand their horizons and add some males into the equation.
"We want to get both sides of the audience, which
we've never had: The guys and the girls," says Clint, one of
the Moffatt triplets and the bassist for the band.
"We had all the girls before and the guys hated us.
That's the truth ....
"The guys create longevity and when you're in the
industry you want to make music for 15 to 20 years and not two.
"So to get both sides of the audience is something
we're really serious about."
Though not the main guiding artistic factor behind their
latest album Submodalities, the Canadian quartet are hoping a
male audience will be one of the long-term side-effects.
The record is, as you've no doubt already had drilled into
your brain, a departure or progression for the band into rockier
territory, with famed Canuck producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon
Jovi, Aerosmith) steering the ship.
While the boys know -- thanks to slower sales of
Submodalities compared to 1998's Chapter 1: A New Beginning --
that their new sound has already alienated some of their fans who
were used to a more, shall we say, lightweight pop sound, Clint
thinks those who have been brought onboard by it are there for
the long-run.
"It's difficult to stay in the public eye for a long
time and some bands are managing to do it and we want to, too,"
he says.
"In order to (do that) you need to grow with your fans
and change."
Other than simply a matter of maturation (all four are
closing in on 18), Clint says Submodalities also reflects a
growth in the brothers' own musical tastes. He, for example,
cites the somewhat progressive rock bands Sparklehorse and
Radiohead as faves and influences these days.
And Clint thinks that pursuing those influences is a wise
and timely decision on their part.
"If you look at the charts these days ... you see that
bands, the guitar music is really coming back, and people are
starting to enjoy that again," he says.
"It's a cycle and hopefully we can be part of the
forefront of that."
The true test, Clint concedes, will be the tour he and his
brothers have now embarked upon, which brings them to the Jubilee
Auditorium tomorrow night with openers Wide Mouth Mason.
Like their Juno hosting duties last year, The Moffatts see
these dates as a chance to prove themselves and put to rest once
and for all any boy band notions people may still have of them.
"This is a really serious tour for us because it's the
one where we can prove to people what we are all about," he
says.
"People I think are really confused, they don't know
where The Moffatts are going because this is such a huge change.
"But this is the tour where we can show them and put
it down their throats that this is who we are, we're not joking."
(Original text: http://www.canoe.ca/AllPop-Moffatts/020201_noise-sun.html )