Bob Moffatt

Bio:

First, for no other reason than clarity, I offer this disclaimer:

I'm not the Bob Moffatt from "The Moffatts". I've been a member of the Musicians' Union and SOCAN since the late 70's, and had done numerous live shows, tours, and recordings - including an album on a "real" label - by the mid 80's. The other Bob's career hadn't even started by then... So now on with the bio..... I’ve been musically inclined since I was a child, and I’ve been singing since I could talk. There was a piano in my house from the time I was 4 years old, but by age 7, guitar had become what was to be my lifelong instrument. During late elementary school I took up drumming, and in my high school years, played drums in stage band and concert band. Other than music class in school, I’ve never had any formal training, so to this day I only know enough music theory to get into trouble, and I can’t sight-read to save my life... I joined the Musician’s Union in 1977 or '78, and became a full-time musician in 1979. I relentlessly played the club circuit in Ontario and Quebec, covering a variety of musical styles from heavy metal to country, and even did stints in a couple of "Holiday Inn" lounge acts. During the 80’s, I landed gigs on bass and backing vocals with a couple of Ottawa-based major-label recording acts, during which time I gained a lot of touring and studio experience. A couple of songs became Canadian hits, and one actually made the Billboard Top 100... After that small taste of what seemed like success, I decided to pursue my own record deal. But after a couple years of demos, a FACTOR grant, and some very encouraging phone calls from a couple of A&R people, it never materialized. I continued to do club and session work around Ottawa until I relocated to British Columbia in 1990... I played the “A” room circuit for a few years, then in 1995 settled in Nanaimo. It’s a small city on Vancouver Island of about 80,000 people, but surprisingly, it’s also home to a large pool of very talented musicians and a thriving live music scene. The local music community is a respectful and mutually supportive group of people; much different from the Ottawa scene were the musicians all seemed to be in competition with each other... Since late 2005, I've been drumming with a really cool 70's disco band named "Wunderbread". Finally I get to play in a band with HORNS!!! I hated disco in the 70s, but these people make it worthwhile - they're some of the most talented musicians I've ever played with, and some of the nicest people I've ever known. We just have a blast playing together. .. In late 2007, a number of present and past Wunderbread members put together a new band called "The Paramounts", which is a Motown and soul thing. I'm on guitar in this band. It's a little out of my comfort zone, being primarily a rock guy, but it's a lot of fun, too. .. I also do a lot of freelance and sit-in work now; as a singer, as a guitarist, or on drums - even a little bass work from time to time. I’m not sure why I keep getting the call – there are certainly younger, prettier, and more accomplished players than me here. Maybe I’m just the town gig slut who can’t say no. :-).. .. ..

Member Since:

November 05, 2006

Members:

Me

Influences:

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In no particular order...

Chicago (the Terry Kath years - especially the first 5 albums)

King's X.. Van Halen.. Led Zeppelin.. Earth, Wind & Fire.. Dan Reed Network.. And anything else that rocks or grooves nicely.

Sounds Like:

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VOICE: I'm a baritone, but my range goes from B1-B4 (before falsetto), so I have some tenor range as well. Classic rock like "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Fooled Around and Fell In Love" are in a comfortable spot, while Joe Cocker and Stevie Ray Vaughan require little or no effort. But most Queen and ACDC stuff is just too high...

GUITAR: I learned to play guitar using my older brother's Beatles song books, and I gained my musical sensibilities from listening to the Beatles at a young age. But as far as guitar playing is concerned, my real influences were my idols coming up: Terry Kath, Alex Lifeson, Neal Schon, Steve Lukather, and Edward Van Halen. I don't think I play like any of them, but you'd definitely hear their influence... BASS: I'm a rock and pop guy on bass, definitely not a James Jamerson, Stu Hamm or Billy Sheehan. I play a real stay-at-home, 4-on-the-floor kind of style. I just lay down the groove, and the dumber the better. Maybe that's the right approach, because I enjoyed the greatest career success playing bass... DRUMS: To me, groove is everything. I lay it down, keep it simple, sit in the pocket and give 'em a reason to move. Live music gets too cluttered when the rhythm section is too busy...

Record Label:

Unsigned