MOIST and THE BEACHES at Sound Academy (11 Polson), Saturday (November 30), doors 7 pm, all ages. $35-$45. LN.
Moist are back together?
Well, no, actually. According to frontman David Usher, Moist never broke up.
“We always were and said we were on hiatus. Extended hiatus. It just took a long time to come off it,” says the Montreal-based singer over coffee in a downtown T.O. Starbucks.
“We knew we didn’t want to break up, so we had this nebulous idea that we might play shows if the timing was right and everyone was into it.”
Looks like late autumn 2013 is that time. The band – which also includes bassist Jeff Pearce, keyboardist Kevin Young and guitarist Mark Makoway, who all live in Toronto – is about to embark on a string of dates across Canada.
Usher is as youthful as ever, his signature chin-length waves unchanged. Looking at him, you can’t tell it’s been 13 years since the alt-rockers initially recessed after spending most of the 90s touring relentlessly and releasing three albums.
Since 1998, Usher’s put out eight solo albums, become the father of two daughters and started singing in French, charting a number-one francophone song in Quebec last year.
But the band has always remained close.
“Every year it’s come up from one of us: ‘Should we play a show?’ This year everyone seemed really into it. Timing is a weird thing. I, for the first time, went back and listened to all the songs, which I don’t do very much.”
Bands often regroup or reunite, make an album and tour it. Moist are touring before making a new album.
“There’s a certain chemistry that happens with a group of people, and we need to be out on the road and playing shows to know what we want to write, and to get to know each other again better as musicians.”
For a band whose biggest single was 1996’s Resurrection, a comeback seems preordained. But a lot has changed since the mid-90s, when Moist, Our Lady Peace and Bush videos were in heavy rotation on MuchMusic.
Usher himself isn’t 100 per cent sure what new Moist songs will sound like.
“Unless it’s something we love, then it’s not going to be. But, the idea is that we are writing the album, and hopefully we’ll come up with stuff we love.”
Don’t call it a comeback. Call it a refamiliarization.
“We’re committed to playing for a while, because it takes a lot of energy to get a band up and running again,” says Usher. “I could never say how long we’ll play together, but we’re definitely doing more than these shows.”
Interview Clips
David Usher on why Moist “broke up” in the first place:
David Usher on playing with Moist for the first time in 13 years:
julial@nowtoronto.com | @julialeconte
