Wednesday, April 7, 1999
By JOE MATYAS -- London Free Press
Bob Moffatt was on the phone, sounding like a
seasoned performer. He was incredibly poised for a 14-year-old.
"It was my turn to do the interviews today," he said.
"We all take turns."
Bob was speaking on behalf of his triplet brothers Clint and Dave
and big brother Scott, with whom he'll be performing at The Drink
in London tonight.
The Moffatts received a big boost recently when their song, Until
You Loved Me, was included on the sound track of Drew Barrymore's
new teen flick, Never Been Kissed, which opens in London this
weekend.
With the release last year of an album called Chapter I: A New
Beginning, which has sold more than a million copies
internationally, the youthful Moffatts have been called Canada's
answer to American bubble-gummers, the Hansons.
"We don't mind the comparison, but we think we have our own
sound," said Bob Moffatt. "We think we have more of an
edge than the Hansons."
The Moffatts started performing before their ages reached double
digits.
"We started out as a country group, but we switched to a pop
rock sound about two years ago," Bob said. "Everybody
agreed that was what we wanted to do and what we should do."
"Everybody" included their father Frank, who has guided
the musical career of his sons from the beginning.
"Dad's always watching out for us," said Bob. "But
he doesn't manage us any more. We're in the hands of music
business professionals now."
The Moffatts first appeared on stage in British Columbia and
after attracting regional attention, moved to Nashville. It was a
gamble that paid off. By being in the mecca of country music, the
Moffatts made valuable connections in the music industry.
They toured with the Osmonds, performed for seven months at the
Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, cut a country music album and sold a
quarter of a million records.
They became a touring band, played more than a thousand gigs and
made 200 television appearances in four years.
By then, they were polished performers, but they didn't want to
continue in country music.
"We liked country, but we preferred pop and rock music,"
Bob said. "It was what we listened to and what we wanted to
play. Rock and pop cover tunes had been creeping into our shows
and it was only a matter of time before we switched."
The Moffatts list Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Bush, Foo Fighters,
Korn, Metallica, Nirvana, Silverchair, Van Halen and White Lion
as their favourite bands.
The boys are based in Victoria again and their education is
directed by a local school.
"We're in home study programs and we have to do homework and
write tests while we're on the road," said Bob. "We're
pretty good about keeping up with our studies because we all
believe it's important. We're all getting As and Bs."
Despite their experience, the Moffatts are still so young that
they've become joke material for Canadian comics.
Mike Bullard, the standup comedian who hosts the Open Mike
television talk show, poked fun at them during this year's Juno
Awards.
The Moffatts performed live on the show and were nominated for
two awards -- best new group and best pop album, but didn't win
either.
"It was fun to do the show and get some national
recognition," said Bob. "If we keep working hard and
writing songs, we'll have future opportunities."
The Moffatts considered Bullard's jibes to be "hilarious."
"It was done in good fun," said Bob. "Mike is one
of our biggest boosters. He's had us on his show and promoted
what we're doing."
The Moffatts are currently on a 12-city tour of Canada.
They were in Edmonton recently when Scott turned 16.
"We went skiing and bowling to celebrate his birthday,"
said Bob, adding the chemistry between Scott and the triplets is
just as strong as among the triplets.
"He's our big brother and he's very much a part of what we
do and who we are. He's not an outsider because he's not a
triplet. We all think of ourselves as individuals who are
brothers."
The Moffatts have attracted a large, loyal following of pubescent
females.
"It's very flattering, but we don't want to be a band that
appeals only to girls," said Bob. "We'd like more guys
to show up at our concerts. When they do, they usually enjoy our
music more than they thought they would because it does have an
edge."
A New Beginning was produced and distributed by EMI, the British
label.
"It has given us an international audience," said Bob.
"Our biggest market is in Southeast Asia -- in Singapore,
Thailand, Malaysia and the Phillipines. We performed for 10,000
people in the Phillipines. It was great being there, but it was
also an eye-opener because there's so much poverty."
(Original text: http://www.canoe.ca/AllPop-Moffatts/990407_mission.html )