With its soaring pop harmonies and fresh-faced charm, "Never knew what love was/until you loved me" could be the new millennium's "I wanna hold your hand" and new Capitol Records recording artists The Moffatts aren't afraid of the comparisons, either, even though the four brothers are still just 15 and 16 years old. The Moffatts not only play their own instruments, they write their own songs and are, in their own words, an honest-to-goodness "rock-pop" group.
"Bands like the Beatles, Beach Boys and Bee Gees have set musical milestones," says Bob, one of the three triplets in the group along with Clint and Dave (Scott is the older brother by a year). "We look to bands that have really made a difference, who have come up with something new. We want to be known as good musicians and good songwriters. We want to continue to evolve with every album."
The Canadian band's Capitol debut, Chapter I: A New Beginning, which already includes the international hits, "If Life Is So Short," "I'll Be There For You" and "Miss You Like Crazy," has sold more than 1 million copies around the world and is ready to spread Moffattsmania to America and the U.K. The disc sports four new tracks produced by Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, Aerosmith), including the first single/video, "Until You Loved Me," also featured on the upcoming Capitol Records soundtrack to the new Drew Barrymore film, Never Been Kissed.
"It was unequivocally a positive experience," says Ballard about working with The Moffatts. "They are very gifted musicians. I was impressed with their focus, their discipline, the way they played together as a unit."
After all, when the Fab Four were that young, they were just starting the Quarrymen in Liverpool and hadn't even met Ringo Starr, while The Moffatts have already put out three albums, played more than 1,200 shows around the world, including performances at the White House and Parliament Hill in Ottawa, gone platinum in numerous countries, hit the country charts, been written about in USA Today and Entertainment Weekly and appeared on countless local and national TV shows, including "Good Morning America."
The Moffatts are no new kids on the block, but young, polished biz veterans. The Vancouver-born teenagers have been performing before audiences since they were old enough to walk -- 15-year-old triplets Clint (the short-haired, first-born bassist with the blond bangs), Bob (the middle child drummer with the long brown hair) and Dave (the spiky-haired keyboardist, the youngest and the fraternal triplet) along with older brother, 16-year-old Scott (the long-haired guitar whiz with the blond streaks). The boys made their public debut 12 years ago when father Frank had them record a version of the Judds' "Grandpa" as a present to their own grandfather. The impromptu performance took place at the world?s largest suburban mall in Edmonton, Canada, where the boys drew an admiring crowd, effectively launching their career.
What followed was an incredible success story that led to the boys opening for the Osmonds, being invited to Nashville by Ralph Emery, who featured them on his TV show, "Nashville Now," and performing at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, where they became the youngest band to ever receive a major label recording contract. After relocating to Nashville, the band released "It's A Wonderful World" in 1993. They followed it up with "The Moffatts" in 1995, which went on to sell nearly 300,000 copies, establishing the band as a top touring act throughout their native Canada and the U.S.
And while they were thrilled with their country music career, The Moffatts were intent on spreading their success around the world by exploring their own increasing interest in rock and pop.
"Country music was what we grew up listening to," says Clint. "It's our roots and it got us started, but we felt we wanted to make music that appeals to a broader audience." They signed to EMI Germany and began to record a new album of pop and rock, Chapter I: A New Beginning, redefining themselves in the process. "If you're singing this kind of music, it can be heard all around the world," echoes brother Bob.
And universal it has been. Produced in New York City and largely self-penned, Chapter I: A New Beginning features the infectious falsetto vocals and soaring harmonies of "I'll Be There For You," the lush ballad and aching vocals of "Miss You Like Crazy" and pure pop of "Girl of My Dreams" and "If Life Is So Short," the exuberant, rocking "Wild At Heart" and the psychedelic rave-up, "Crazy." So far, the album's been a best-seller in Canada (platinum), Spain (gold), Portugal (gold), Singapore (gold), Indonesia (2x platinum) and Malaysia (2x platinum), selling more than 300,000 alone in Thailand (3x platinum) and the Philippines (5x platinum), where the band has toured selling out arenas with up to 10,000 screaming fans. With their signing to EMI worldwide, The Moffatts have set their sights on the United States and England, with an impressive full-court music and marketing blitz.
"We feel our music is good enough for millions of people to buy it," says Scott, the oldest of the four. "But that's not up to us. We want to do what we love and the record company has to do their job and we just have to hope the public enjoys it."
In January of this year, the band returned to the studio with noted producer Glen Ballard and came up with four new songs to include on the American release of their pop-rock bow -- the first single, "Until You Loved Me," "Written All Over My Heart," "Misery" and "Raining In My Mind," the last of which the band co-wrote with Ballard.
"I've seen bands twice their age who didn't play as well," says Ballard. "They're clearly getting better and more mature and it's reflected in the music. They're long-term."
Echoed Scott, who counts the Beatles, Nirvana, Bush and fellow Canadian Bryan Adams among the band's faves, along with country stars Dwight Yoakam and Garth Brooks: "We're teenagers who are continuing to grow and mature as our own musical tastes evolve."
Indeed, the new material shows a harder-edged, aggressive group beginning to stretch out and incorporate various influences, as in the Middle Eastern vibe of "Until You Loved Me" (with Ballard himself playing sitar), the buzzsaw guitars of "Written All Over My Heart," the mandolin intro to "Misery" and the driving, chunky rhythm guitars on "Raining In My Mind."
"You need to expand to get to the next level," nods Dave. "You have to grow with the fans and grow with the music."
The Moffatts are no strangers to success. They've worked very hard to achieve it and don't take anything for granted.
"Our motto is to be the easiest band you've ever worked with," says Scott. "We dream every night. There are so many things we want to accomplish, both inside the music industry and outside."
The Moffatts are on their way. "They're headed for the next level," says Glen Ballard. And he oughta know.