Moist (Canadian band)
| Moist | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| Genres | Alternative rock, hard rock, grunge |
| Years active | 1992–2000, 2013-present |
| Labels | EMI |
| Website | http://moistonline.com/ |
| Members |
David Usher Mark Makoway Jeff Pearce Kevin Young Francis Fillion |
| Past members | Paul Wilcox |
Moist is a five-piece Canadian alternative rock band who gained popularity in the mid-to-late-1990s. The band is led by lead singer David Usher, and feature Mark Makoway (guitars), Jeff Pearce (bass), Kevin Young (keyboards) and Paul Wilcox (drums).
Biography
Moist formed in Vancouver, BC in the fall of 1992. Mark Makoway and Jeff Pearce had met while at Queen's University in Kingston, then moved to Vancouver where they formed an early incarnation of the group. Kevin Young and David Usher had also moved from Kingston to Vancouver to go to school. The first version of Moist was just breaking up when the four decided to do some writing together. Encouraged by this, they decided to form the new band and started playing shows. A mutual friend introduced the band to drummer Paul Wilcox. They quickly wrote and recorded songs for an independently released, self-titled cassette. They spent much of 1993 touring Canada and writing material for an expanded release. In January 1994 they completed their first full length CD, which was titled Silver. Strong independent sales led to the band signing with EMI Music Canada. The album went on to sell 400,000 copies in Canada on the strength of singles like "Push", "Silver" and "Believe Me". The band was also successful internationally in countries like the UK, Germany and Thailand.
In late 1996, Moist released their second album, Creature, to favourable reviews. The album included the hits "Leave It Alone", "Resurrection", "Tangerine", and "Gasoline", all which were placed on high rotation on MuchMusic. In addition to these, a remixed version of "Tangerine" became a hit on radio and MuchMusic.
Following the band's second record, David Usher released his first solo album, Little Songs.
In early 1999, the band regrouped to record their third full length album, the melancholic and soft-toned Mercedes 5 and Dime. The album was released in the summer of 1999 in Canada and later in 2000 in the United States. Singles included "Breathe", "Underground", and "Comes and Goes". While touring in support of their final album, drummer Paul Wilcox injured his back, causing him to miss the band's final performances. Soon after he announced that he was leaving the band and retiring from music.
David Usher continued to record, releasing Morning Orbit in 2001, Hallucinations in 2003, If God Had Curves in 2005, Strange Birds in 2007, Wake Up And Say Goodbye in 2008, The Mile End Sessions in 2010 and Songs from the Last Day on Earth in 2012. Mark Makoway published a guide to the music industry, called The Indie Band Bible, and continued to produce and mix records. Jeff Pearce formed the band RYE, which released its only record, Wolves, in 2004. Kevin Young toured with David and worked as a freelance writer.
In a posting on a the official Moist website on 15 June 2013, it was announced that the band had reformed and would be touring in the November/December of that year. The post also stated that the band was in the studio and "playing around with some new ideas". Usher's drummer, Francis Fillion, will replace Wilcox on drums.[1]
The members of Moist entered the studio the Week of January 26th 2014 and began recording new tracks written over the previous weeks.
First named tracks revealed on the bands face book page January 31st 2014 include; "Still I Won't Look Down" and "Comes to Life"
Two more title were announced February 1st. "We are Water" and "Comes the sun"
In total 9 tracks were recorded the weekend of January 31st to February 1st for the now tentatively titled album "Moist IV"
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [2] |
CAN [3] | ||
| 1993 | Moist | - | |
| 1994 | Silver | 14 | 4x Platinum |
| 1996 | Creature | 9 | 3x Platinum |
| 1999 | Mercedes 5 and Dime | 4 | Platinum |
| 2001 | Machine Punch Through: The Singles Collection | - | |
| 2014 | Mosit IV |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Main [4] |
CAN [5] |
CAN Alt. [6] |
CAN CanCon [7] |
CAN AC [8] | ||||||||||||||
| 1994 | "Push" | 37 | 32 | — | — | — | Silver | |||||||||||
| "Silver" | — | 31 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1995 | "Believe Me" | — | 11 | — | 8 | — | ||||||||||||
| "Machine Punch Through" | — | 72 | — | 5 | — | |||||||||||||
| "Freaky Be Beautiful" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1996 | "Leave it Alone" | — | 3 | 6 | — | — | Creature | |||||||||||
| "Resurrection" | — | 8 | 5 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1997 | "Tangerine" | — | 25 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| "Gasoline" | — | 27 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | "Breathe" | — | 30 | 5 | — | 22 | Mercedes 5 and Dime | |||||||||||
| "Underground" | — | 42 | 7 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| "Comes and Goes" | — | — | 10 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. | ||||||||||||||||||
- Note: The Rock/Alternative chart was dormant from 1973 to 1995, hence no ranking for Silver's singles.
Awards and recognition
- Won Juno for Best New Group at the 1995 Juno Awards.
- Won Juno for best video (Gasoline) at the 1997 Juno Awards.
- Won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best album (Silver) in 1995.
- Won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best group in 1995.
- David Usher won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best singer in 1995.
- Kevin Young won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best keyboard player in 1995.
- Won an MMVA (MuchMusic Video Award) for Favorite Canadian Group in 1995.
- The video for the song Tangerine won Best Video, and Best Director at the (MuchMusic Video Awards) in 1997.
References
- ↑ http://moistonline.com/news/
- ↑ "Moist Top Albums/CDs positions". RPM. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ↑ "Gold Platinum Database: Moist". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ↑ "Moist > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ↑ "Moist Top Singles positions". RPM. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ↑ "Moist Rock/Alternative positions". RPM. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ↑ "Moist Canadian Content positions". RPM. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ↑ "RPM - Library and Archives Canada | RPM - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
External links
- Moist entry at JAM! Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
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