Friday, July 6, 2001
By LISA WILTON
Calgary Sun
Move over Matthew Good Band, Tragically Hip and Alanis
Morissette -- The Moffatts are the new saviours of Canadian
modern rock.
Scott Moffatt likes to think so anyway.
"Personally, I think we've opened a door for modern rock
bands in Canada," says the eldest Moffatt during a phone
interview from his family's Bragg Creek home.
"Before (the single) Just Another Phase was released, Our
Lady Peace wasn't being played on Top 40 radio. I mean, you heard
Creed and stuff like that, but besides that ... (The song) opened
up that door for a lot of Britpop-influenced bands."
The 18 year old is going to need plenty of that gutsy self-assurance
if his band is to pull off their next studio album.
Moffatt hopes the follow-up to their sort of big-selling latest
release, Submodalities, will attract an older, more musically
sophisticated audience and also appeal to the band's loyal
fanbase. To their credit, The Moffatts tried to break free from
the boy band mould with Submodalities, which featured a rockier
guitar sound than their previous efforts.
"Being stamped with the stigma of being a boy band is very
difficult," says Moffatt.
"It's hard to break out of that ... But I think it's
happening slowly. They won't be the first to admit they're fans,
but they really appreciate the fact that we're not the Backstreet
Boys or *NSync."
Critics tended to be kinder to the brothers since they were the
only band -- barring Hanson -- who played their own instruments
and didn't run around in silver space suits.
"The industry right now has respect for The Moffatts."
The Moffatts haven't set a date for recording the new record yet,
but Submodalities producer Bob Rock (Tal Bachman, Metallica,
Veruca Salt) has already expressed interest in working with the
guys again.
"Bob Rock is a great music man," says Moffatt, whose
own musical tastes run more towards the alternative side of
things, with Gorillaz, Radiohead and Hank Williams III being his
current faves.
The Moffatts play the Coca-Cola Stage tonight. The last time the
band played the Stampede was two years ago when a freak snowstorm
made their set a little bit interesting. "I was freezing my
ass off. But there were five or six thousand people in the
audience so it was a blast."
(Original text: http://www.canoe.ca/AllPop-Moffatts/010706_rock-sun.html )