Newsletter #8

MOIST 8-Summer 95
HEY ALL,
Recently we received a letter from someone expressing concern about the subject matter of our newsletter and some of the more colorful exploits of several of our regular characters.
-As this next section is a serious confidential reply to a legitimate complaint from a valued reader, we ask that everyone else skip over this section and rejoin our regularly scheduled newsletter at the "94-95 and Everything in Between" section...
Att:Disgruntled, Anal Retentive Reader
Re:Disgusing Satanic Newsletter
Dear Reader, Your concern for Jeff's mental health and the collective welfare of our eternal souls was so touching and your arguement so valid and persuasive that we felt it only fair to respond personally...But first...let me close the gates Hell behind me; the din from all those tormented souls makes it real hard to concentrate.
First off-It's called a sense of humor. Yours is either broken or missing---toss living room sofa for change and buy a new one.
Secondly-As per your amateur psychoanalysis of Jeff, while fairly accurate you completely missed the point. You're right, Jeff is kinder and more reasonable than the rest of the band, crew and management put together on a really good day in paradise, which is precisely why we hold him up for ridicule and pounce on his every stray indiscretion as if it were a free meal with a winning lottery ticket hidden inside.
Finally-We reserve the right to employ sarcasm, exaggeration and/or fictionalize our adventures in any way we see fit. After all we're writing this-you're not-and if you want useful tips for good citizens and self righteous anecdotes brimming with good cheer and the kindness of strangers you can write Barney or Robert Fulghum. Besides, even the most depraved rantings of Moist are innocuous compared to events described daily in your local newspaper. Go ahead, pick one up, and while you're at it check the date-it's 1995 and the Spanish Inquisition packed up and went fishing ages ago. But if you're still searching for kindred spirits try the PMRC or the Ontario Censor Board, they're buckets of fun at a party and if you all pool your resources and prodigious intellects I'm sure you can make a serious go of searching out and destroying humor and sarcasm whereever they drop their pants in an effort to make the world safe blandness and mediocrity once again. THBFFT, NYAH, NYAH!!
To recap...we're joking and if it's not a joke it's probably an outright lie. After all, we're a Rock and Roll band not a traveling etiquette seminar and the fine print on our union cards gives us two very clear choices-Either follow the golden path of sarcasm and irreverence or get badly strung out on really heavy drugs. We fell we're made the right choice because...

You can never laugh too much
No border guard in the world will tear your car apart, prescribe a cavity search or turn you away for having a sense of humor(no matter how badly they'd like to)
And, as far as we know, no one has ever been thrown in stir or hunted by an angry mob armed with torches and pitchforks just for trying to be amusing(although somebody oughta smack Jeff Daniels for that whole "Dumb and Dumber" thing).

'94-95 and Everything in Between Department
-prior to Christmas Moist finished up six straight months of touring with the optimistically title "Machine Punch Through" tour. More appropriate names could of been..."Machine Limps Through" or "The Machine breaks down in sub-zero weather somewhere in Norther Ontario again" tour or "Why does Machine tour itinerary say Winnipeg-Los Angeles-Edmonton? Machine knows damn stupid tour routing when Machine sees it" ultimately resulting in the "Machine tired, Machine go home now" tour.
-Thanks to hHead for opening and everyone who joined us in December in Canada and the US.
-Two shows at Vancouver's Commodore ballroom and a brief Christmas holiday later...
On the road in the UK-Plague and Pestilence Tour '95...
And it goes like this...
London

Horrible flue virus possesses bassist Jeff Pearce's body.
Band and crew sympathetic, "Are you all right Jeff?", "Can I get you another tissue Jeff?", "Would you like me to massage your burning temples, Jeff?" in short, would "sir" like anything else?

Leeds

Plague spreads to stage manager and resident miracle worker, Graeme McDonald, who spends too much time in clubs making our shows work, yelling and tossing rented equipment with reckless abandon to get any rest.
Consequently stays ill for entire UK tour.

Leciester

Virus heads for road manager, Stan Wardle(pre morning-coffee)and realizes its mistake, narrowly escapes with it's life by running screaming for the emergency exit of the van infecting rest of band on the way.

Glasgow

Jeff begins to heal.

Manchester and Darby

Jeff perky beyond belief
Everyone else miserable.

Stoke

Van breaks down en route to London.
Jeff better than ever.
Air of palpable loathing pervades crowded taxi.
Graeme passes time retching at roadside while waiting for replacement vehicle.

London

Now mutated virus strikes Jeff unexpectedly, Justice is Served.

Many thanks to everyone who joined us in the UK. Special thanks to all the people up front in Manchester who teched for us when our crew got dragged into the pit.
US tour begins, two shows in New York state then off to Georgia to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta for a live-to-Internet show, sanity tenuous. Rest of the tour canceled due to hangnail, spend March mostly unconscious.
Before going back on the road in late March, Moist, completely recovered lands in Toronto, full of piss and vinegar. Paul successfully impersonates David Usher at Canadian Rock Awards.
The Junos

Band spends 20 minutes trying to convince security to let them in while manager mumbles and rummages through briefcase searching for missing tickets, 45 minutes following vague and increasingly unlikely directions provided by mimes hosting Juno dinner and an hour and a half sneaking truffles and other contraband to starving backstage crew before performing "Push" and accepting Juno for best new band.
Thanks to all those of you who voted for us at the Canadian Rock Awards, (special thanks for everyone who voted more than once) and to everyone who showed up at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum yelling and causing a general ruckus every time Moist was mentioned. You were very loud and greatly appreciated.
Thanks also to Yvette from Mollies Revenge for working on the "Freaky Be Beautiful" video on such short notice.
Freaky was released in the UK in April.

Back on tour in...
Seattle-We come closer than ever to the rubber glove when van and band get torn apart by over eager US customs officials on the way to a gig at Moe's.
Vancouver-12,000 people, several bands at the Arts Country Fair, UBC, Thunderbird Stadium.
2 days later-
UK-300 people at a chip truck in Brighton.
Edinburgh-poisoned by lobster bisque.
Wales-heated arguement between large van and tiny cattle bridge.
Bridge-1, Moist-0
Back in the US.
Cleveland, Ohio-Buzzardfest, no rioting or helicopters this time but still big fun.
Atlanta, Ga.-Kevin, David, Graeme and Stan mix Jagermiester and Goldschlager in large quantities to predictable effect--wake up in pain missing large chunks of memory, bit of forehead, dignity and self-respect--and swear off both poisons for life.
Pensacola, Fl.-Jagermiester and Goldschlager again. Fishing war continues during encounter with Spanish sailors at the Seville Quarter...and that's about all our lawyer will allow for this one.
New Orleans, La.-Play Zephyrfest, hit casino, siphon gas, pool meager resources, share 50 gram bag of peanuts on 22 hour drive from Birmingham, Alabama to Toronto.
Suddenly we're airborne and heading to Thailand via...
Anchorage, Alaska-pilot swerves to avoid rodent on runway; nerves begin to fray.
Hong Kong-Pilot pretends to be monstrously fast downhill skier during arrival and departure; nerves seriously frayed.
Bangkok-Plane drops 200 meters in 5 seconds and comes into runway with wings at 45 degrees until the last possible second; nerves shot.
After ten days in Hadrin Bay and Koh Samui, writing, swimming and drinking "Maekong" (local whisky, more subtle than rubbing alcohol but not quite as flavorful) we start back to Bankok for heavy promotion schedule and a gig at the Blue Moon Junction.
Paul, determined to have at least one more adventure in Thailand, unwittingly flips off local crimelord, band and crew flee to airport in cunningly designed yet extremely dangerous motorcycle cabs to board yet another potentially fiery ball of twisted metal.
Some time, several paranoid fantasies and one episode of food poisoning later and we're back in Canada getting "screeched in" by the friendly staff at Junctions in St. Johns, stopping ever so briefly at the Ft. Erie Friendship Festival and returning to Vancouver to record demos for our second album, rest and recharge for our August tour.
Excuses and Explainations Department
When we recorded "Silver" we had no idea that so many people would buy the thing and send us so many letters. Up until that point the only mail we had seen were bills, threats from collection agencies and take out menus...So when the letters started coming in we assumed it was more of the same and ran screaming...realizing our mistake, and being responsibly minded we tried to answer each letter personally...not a bad idea...just one that becomes ludicrous when you and your mail are seperated 75% of the time by 1000s of miles, an army of humorless border guards (packing major latex) and 3 weeks of high profile gigs in some of the finest bowling alleys in the state of Nebraska.
Add distance to our high level of organization (imagine a blind, three legged elephant, drunk on shaving lotion, flailing about on roller-skates in the middle of a 4 lane highway during rush hour) and you see my point.
While we do read and enjoy every letter we receive we simply can't respond to each letter personally...So every now and again we get together, hash over our latest experiences and send out this newsletter which although hacked together from nothing does originate and arrive to you directly from us and not somebody named #3 who inhabits desk #6 at Fanclubs R Us in Don Mills.
Hopefully we will be more organized in the New Year when our second album is released.
Until then,
Nauselbaum,
Moist.