| Concert Preview of February 8th Concert: Written by Sandra Sperounes of The Edmonton Journal Forget the hordes of screaming girls. What the Moffatts crave now is adulation from guys their own age. Talk about asking the impossible- most 16-year-old boys would only go to a Moffatts gig to check out the chicks, not the music. Teen triplets Bob, Dave, Clint and older brother Scott know this all too well. But with their new and slightly rockier album, Submodalities, the Moffatts believe they're slowly gaining the respect of their male peers. "They don't buy our albums now, but there's no negativity towards the band anymore," says Bob, 16 on the phone from his part-time Calgary home. "They go, 'Well the Moffatts, they're cool. They have good sound.' They're not neccesarily buying the albums, but its a step in the right direction." appealing to their own gender is a minor obsession for the Moffatts. They first tried to do so by recording five tracks with Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette) for their Chapter One: A New Beginning. At the time, bassist Clint called the songs "alternative," but they sounded no edgier than Barry Manilow. So for Submodalities, the Moffatts went with Bob Rock, producer of such manly groups asMetallica, Motley Crue and Aerosmith. The result? A disc full of catchy riffs and Beatlesque melodies - suitable for Power 92 (a pop station), not The Bear (a rock station). Still, Submodalities shows off a cynicism not found in the likes of their "Dances With Chairs" colleagues. Take the song Spy for example:"I feel like a tramp/Who's been blown off for years/I cant hold back these acidic tears." Not exactly words to jump and spin around to. Oddly enough, Spy was written during happy times- in the dressing room of Wembley Arena in London, England. "Scott had his acoustic guitar out and Clint, Dave and I had a bunch of glasses and we just pulled out some spoons and started banging on the glasses," remembers Bob. "The song just started coming out and we never reallytook notice of it until the album came around and Bob (Rock) said, 'I can make this song a Moffatts-sounding song even though it's not your typical Moffatts song.' i think it takes the album to a different level- it broadens it." Initially, Rock was supposed to record only one song with the Moffatts, but ended up taking over the entire Submodalities project. "He liked what we had to offer in terms of what we play and how we sing, so he decided to continue working on our project," says Bob. "That was cool. When you talk to a producer of that status, you're pretty flabbergasted." But not flabbergasted enough to pick up pointers from Rock during a two-month stay at his Maui recording studio. "He taught us to really go outside our perimeters. When you're a musician, you never just jump out of your shell and try something new," says Bob. "For us, (Rock) was always in studio telling us, 'When you sing that part, do something crazy at the end of it.'" By crazy, Rock meant a few extra "yeahs" in Bang Bang Boom- not demonic growls. "I think (Rock's advice) helped us out because you experiment a little more," says Bob. You wouldn't think the Moffatts needed any urging to experiment. The brothers started off as pint-sized country starsthen recorded the pop-infused Chapter One:A New Beginning before embracing the rockier sound of Submodalities. Expect a few more changes for their next album. "I think our lyrics will become more mature," says Bob. "I think we're going to stick with the sound that's similar tothe base of this album, but you'll hear more interestingideas, like Spy on the next." With all these changes, aren't the Moffatts scared of losing their diehard female fans in their quest for male bonding? Nope on a rope. "All our lif we've seen our fans adapt to our music no matter what style it is," says Bob. "They seem to enjoy everything we put out." |
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| The guy's pic in the paper |
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