Scott and Bob Moffatt Interview

With the release of their edgy and impressive new album, The Moffatts returned to their home country for promotion. During their first day back, we were able to sit down and chat with brothers Bob and Scott at the MuchMusic headquarters before their big Intimate and Interactive show.

If you guys weren't brothers what would you of named the band? Have you ever thought about it?
Scott Moffatt: No not at all. I think now, we definitely have a name that is very modern rock and we're definitely getting into more of an alternative vibe. I think we thought of different names, but really, I think this is a name that represents our band properly enough. We are brothers. It's kind of like a name I think can last a long time. I don't think it's one of those things that can be considered a fad, or that we can't get out of. You know, you have bands like the Backstreet Boys, which is kind of hard to grow out of. I mean, you can't become a great band or vocal group or be perceived as a great vocal band with the name the Backstreet Boys.

Because that's the way you'll be perceived all your life.
Scott: I know that, and they're not even boys, they're like..

Men...
Scott: Exactly, like 25-year old guys. It really doesn't fit the band. I mean, it's something that, I think it was a short-term plan, a short term name plan. And I actually feel sympathy for them for having a name like that, and you know. Whatever. A name's a name. I hope you can make good enough music that you can get by.

You guys were working in Hawaii and you recorded in Hawaii. Do you miss it at all or the way that you recorded?
Scott: I don't think so. I think we're not very laid back people. I think we're very intense and whether we were recording in Hawaii, or the U.S., or Jamaica, we really wanted to get the album done, and do the best we could. I think that's why Hawaii was really relaxing. You wake up in the morning and it's beautiful outside, and it's like 90 degrees out. I think it's a great atmosphere, but every morning, when we planned on surfing, we had to go into the studio to get a few songs done.

You guys kept an online diary as well.
Bob Moffatt: Yeah, we did.

Who came up with the idea for that?
Bob: I think it was an idea that had come up from the record company. You know diaries on the internet...Dear Diaries? From the canoe site.

I don’t base my opinion on commerciality.

Did you get any feedback from (the fans) during this online diary?
Bob: Well, they would write. It was good reception from the fans. For the last year, our website really hasn't been updated and the photos were kind of old, so we're in the middle of updating it now. It was just a way for our fans to know what we were doing. In certain parts of the world, our fans haven't heard or seen anything of The Moffatts for two or three years, and those little things go a long way for the fans, and I think they really enjoyed it.

Since Napster is one of the biggest music controversies, what are your opinions on free music trade?
I think all of us in the band are really against Napster. I think it's something that's really detrimental to any song writer because songwriters don't make money off having their songs downloaded for free, nor do the artists. I think we're musicians and this is our job. Our job is to make music and like anybody, they're working for a job to get paid and we're no different. So I think we definitely need to get Napster. This thing needs to be take care of because MP3s and whatever—they do make money of making downloads. I think that Napster is the complete opposite and really can ruin a lot of careers for songwriters and for bands that really rely on that success of writing songs where they might not sell a ton of records. But they're going to have this huge internet following and if they can get their songs downloaded a lot, I think that a lot of money that can be made out of that. We as musicians and songwriters, we need to make a living too.

Are you a part of any campaigns against the industry, like Artists Against Piracy?
Scott: Oh yeah. We're very much against piracy. We've done a lot of commercials for piracy rights and stuff like that. We do stuff with MTV and other music channels in Asia where piracy is a massive issue. We always try and do something to make our attacks.

Do you feel that you've made a dent, perhaps?
Scott: Maybe. I mean, our fans are very open-minded and they really respect what we have to say so hopefully we've made some sort of impact with what we've said about piracy. I have no clue we have no way of researching that. Our record sales have been very successful in Asia, so we're very excited about it.

Is it what you expected from this album?
Bob: You can never; it's been just released. This is just its first week and it's gone world-wide. I don't think anybody can predict people's response no matter what company you work for (if you're releasing a new product.) I guess if it's manufacturing there's a formula working behind it, and there's people saying "We'd like to push this button and make the right product so people will definitely jump for it." But for us, it's to create something different. We're not a formulated band, so it's kind of like a risk. You know, we really love this record and so far the people working with this record like it, so we're hoping for the best. I guess that's all we can say.

Before the album was released, at Psykoblast, you got to expose a bit of the album. What was the early reaction to it?
Bob: It came as a shock to us, because with Chapter One: A New Beginning, we really traveled the world and a lot people were familiar with our music before we went on tour. This time around, when we did the tour with Christina, they hadn't heard a lot the music. So they were like, well this would be basically if I was going to see, well I know a lot of bands so I can't put myself in that position, but if I were to go see maybe Deep Purple, I mean, you might not know 60% of their music so for that, that's basically what it was like for them. They hadn't heard a lot of our music, but they loved it. It was like they'd heard it a million times and stuff.
Scott: Fans are really reacting to our music in a different way. Before, when we played stuff like I'll Be There For You and Miss You Like Crazy, our fans were going crazy and screaming and they were not even listening to the song. They were just enjoying being there. I think now, they're also enjoying being there, but they're also enjoying listening to the songs. And not analyzing, but taking in what we have to say in our music. They're really appreciating it for what it is.

Do you think they're appreciating it more?
Bob: Yeah.

You can’t provide your fans with a false image of the band, because sooner or later, they’ll find out that you weren’t honest to them.

What sort of headspace were you guys looking for before you went in to record the album like ideas, song ideas, stuff like that?
Bob: Well, coming into the record we had written nine...no, seven of the tracks for the record. Two of the tracks we didn't write at all. Then in Hawaii, we wrote three songs with Bob Rock, who we really liked working with. So basically, we came in there with our direction, our ideas and where we wanted to go and Bob Rock told us "You know, you have a huge audience and between the four of (you) since you all have your favorite songs, songs that could be possible singles, songs that have a lot of potential to make a record." Some of the songs didn't even make the record that were personal favorites.
Scott: We had people tell us that our B-sides for Bang Bang Boom could be hits. All The Answers, which is the second song on the single—this is the first B-side. It's kind of one of those songs that really is taking us up to the next level. Quite Radiohead-influenced, but very Pink Floyd with that kind of techo experimental sound. And Two Beats, which is very much that modern rock type of vibe. It's very fun and very catchy. Our album is very deep, you know, for having 12 songs and I think there's not one bad song on the album and I think that Bang Bang Boom, this might sound funny, but I think that maybe...
Bob: It's the only song on the record like it.
Scott: It's the only song on the record like it, but it's not the strongest song out. I think that the rest of the songs are stronger than Bang Bang Boom. Maybe I'm more attached to the songs, and that might just be my opinion, but I really think the rest of the songs on the album are very strong, and hopefully people take time to listen to it instead of just dismissing it as a pop album and actually listen to it and say "Hey, it's not what I expected."
Bob: It's one of those records where you can listen to all the songs, and for me personally, I've records I listen to where there's only two or three songs I enjoy, and I enjoy every song on this record. The fans of course will have their favorites, but I think it's a record that fits well together. It's very much like a unit.

What do you think is the strongest song on your album then?
Scott: I don't base my opinion on commerciality. I think the strongest song for me—they're all very strong—but the one I'm the most connected to would be Spy. It's the last song on the album, and I think it's just my favorite because lyrically, it's very deep and it's not a love song. It's something that has some more meaning to it than just a love song like Miss You Like Crazy. Which I'm not trashing Miss You Like Crazy. I'm just saying that lyrically, that had no meaning to me. Musically, it's very experimental, very Led Zeppelin-influenced. There are some sections in the song which are very blues oriented and very melodic. It's a very adventurous song for me and that's why I'm so connected to it.
Bob: For me personally, it would be I Don't Want You To Want Me. I think that, really, there a lot of different songs on the record that take us in different directions, but this one makes the biggest impact from the beginning of the song to the end of the song. It's like right-in-your-face rock music. We had a couple songs on the last record that weren't rock (they were pop/rock) and they directed us to a different level, but this one, straight up, is a rock song. A lot of the bands I enjoy listening to, like the Foo Fighters could do this song in a heartbeat and have no problem with it. It's hard for me to make this decision because I don't think you can pick a song that really lasts on the record. They're all quality songs.

You mentioned before there was a double meaning to Antifreeze and Aeroplanes, what was that?
Scott: There's no double meaning. There's a hidden meaning that people don't see, maybe because they haven't heard about what Antifreeze and Aeroplanes means. Antifreeze means heroin, and Aeroplanes means pot. It's just like one of those songs where I think we wanted to make a statement or talk about an issue that really has the capability to kind of bring to attention this issue to our fans. I think it's hard for any band to get their fans to listen to them and I think we're in a position where we could actually have our fans listen to us. That's what we want to do, instead of just take it for granted the ears of our fans, we kind of made us of it and tried to put some issues on this album that would impact them in some way.

From The Junos, you guys have a Gemini nomination now. What do you think of that?
Bob: The awards that we've won have basically been because of what we've done with music and I think the cool thing about the Gemini nomination is that this one has absolutely nothing at all to do with music. It was our very first time hosting an event. In a way, we kind of had to act a little bit. It was really cool. If we won, it would of been something different I guess, a different area of entertainment.

Who gets the input on nominating and actually choosing a winner?
Scott: Nominee...I think it's...
Bob: It's the industry.
Scott: It's the industry that nominates the bands and whoever wins it, the industry makes another vote of who of should win it from those groups that get nominated.

Do you know who you're nominated against?
Scott: Nope.
Bob: No.

Over this past year, is there anything memorable that you guys remember, or appreciated?
Scott: Yeah, I think pretty much we've appreciated our everything. Everything we've done. We learn from our mistakes and from our good decisions. But I think that we've been in this business for a very long time, most people would actually consider us veterans in the industry itself, I think that we've taken in a lot. Enough to be able to kind of get by. I mean, we understand that there are certain things that cure the bands, that can seperate a band. We're really, we're in a great position to make money. A lot of the rock bands in the past have wasted their money on drugs or not knowing where the money was going, and I think that's something that we have a little bit of an advantage on because we've learned a lot from people in the industry that we've been around. People in the industry really see us as young guys. They want to kind of take us under their wings and kind of educate us and really grow with us, and I think that's kind of a cool situation to be in. So we've had the opportunity to come back and work with Glen Ballard and Bob Rock. Numerous people in the industry have really taken the time out to teach us some great things.

What's your secret for longevity then?
Both: I don't think there is one.
Bob: First of all, you gotta be true to your fans. You can't provide your fans with a false image of the band, because sooner or later, they'll find out that you weren't honest to them. That's not something your fans could be proud of.
Scott: Also, making the best music you can and really involving yourself with your music instead of just writing a song that'll be a hit. You have to be true to yourself and write a song that you really love. And whether it's going to be the most commercial, successful song, fine. And really when it comes down to longevity, it doesn't matter. It matters that you make great songs. You makes songs that you can relate to and hopefully that other people can relate to. Whether it's the song Diddy wrote or it's a song that can be considered a classic in a few years. You know, you really have to find that fine line between writing commercial smashes and some that will live on.

What can we expect from The Moffatts on the tour? Singles? What's next for you guys? We heard your releasing the video for Just Another Phase?
Scott: We're premiering it today, yeah. Just Another Phase is the next single. Tours...I think we'll be doing one in the spring next year here in Canada and hopefully we'll do something pretty drastic with the tour, we don't know. We've been taking ideas from really great bands like Pink Floyd and Radiohead, to Bryan Adams. We're just trying to do something original, but something that people can go "Wow, that's very cool, that's very interesting, something that I've never seen before."

Will we get a taste of that tonight?
Bob: You'll get a taste of six songs off the new record and then four kind of re-vamped hits of ours.
Scott: They're like the basic melody and we re-worked them to make them more mature. Now we can actually play them with our new show.