How did the band get started? I was actually in another ska band called Random about a year and a half ago, but we started to head in different directions musically so we split in half. Half of the band is now in an Emo band, and the other half (being the horns) split into what we now call Moffett. I had talked with Bryan for a long time about starting a swing band, so we took the horns, added Mike and Ryan, and became Moffett. Our trombone player has since quit and we have added Christie on vocals. At first it was all swing, but has developed into some funk, ska, and hardcore influences.
What is your goal as a band? We try to play mostly secular shows so that people have a chance to hear some good music, that had a posotive message to it. We don't preach, but we do say the meanings of the songs during shows (which are all Christ influenced).
What style do you play? It is a blender of Swing/Ska/Funk/Groove/Hardcore. Basically if you take some old mealticket and mix it with Suspect Bill and MU330, you get us.
What is the music scene like in your area? Well, the chicago area (which is only 2 hours away) is amazing because of Jump Up records. They are the reason why I have to choose this weekend between The Blue Meanies and Less Than Jake. In the past month I have seen The Aquabats, Mustard Plug, The Vandals, Insyderz, MxPx, Get Up Kids, and Homegrown in the area. The Christian Scene is quite good with bands like Nifty 50, 5 Men Down, Against The Flow, Human Industry, The Outsiders, The Lilacs, and many more. Down here in lafayette the punk scene is pretty good with Squirtgun being from here, but the ska scene is dead except for us and another band. We travel to places like Bloomington, Ball State, and Chicago to hit the good scenes.
What bands influence your band? hmmm...well my biggest influences are bands like Mu330, Mealticket, The Hippos, etc. I like non-pop ska that has crazy horn parts. Bryan (who writtes most of the music) is into bands like Incubus, Mr. Bungle, and Mealticket so it is kind of a crazy mix. The swing influences we have are major old school. We have a much older feel to our music cause Bryan is basically Benny Goodman himself. He is the most amazing song writter and clarinet player I have ever seen.
What kind of a ministry does the band have? Like I said, we try to play secular shows like frats and the union. Most people are pretty open minded to what you have to say as long as you don't jam it in their heads.
If you had the choice, which band would you tour with? I think we would tour with FIF because they play a good mix of secular and Christian shows and they get a huge amount of respect. They actually started out playing secular shows like we try to do.
Any interesting concert experiances or funny/weird stories? Well, the worst experience we had was playing was in a barn on a generator. It had to have been the absolute worst place to play in the history of music. It smelled like doo doo and the sound system kept cutting in and out. i can't believe everyone kept dancing. We made a tape of it and the horns sounded like we were back in 5th grade again. I have since burned that tape:-)
What's the wackiest thing you've ever done in concert? Well, I have like this chain on my wallet and I was skankin all over the place like mad and my chain got caught on a mic stand and I couldn't get it off. I was supposed to play in like 30 seconds so I quickly grabbed my belt to take it off when I cracked my reed. Bryan is just nuts and is known to play his guitar on his head in the middle of a show or to throw it on the ground to get a cool distortion effect. We are all pretty nuts live and we get funny looks but we enjoy it.
A few quick questions: Favorite lyricist?Reese Roper/ Mike Park
Guitarists? Masaki/Eddie
Artists? Incubus/MU330, Mealticket/Focussed/Telegraph
Do you ever play cover songs? We are working on "Wake Me Up Before You
Go Go" by wham!!!
Any heroes, and who? Frank Tate- because he continues to keep such a
wonderful label Christ centered and he doesn't rip people off. Mike Park
because he runs the cheapest label anywhere and he speaks his mind
Best and worst things about being in a band?
Best- Playing live Worst-Making a group decision
Anything people should know about the band? Look out for the freak show
What 5 cds do you think everybody needs to hear? Mu330- Chumps On Parade, Skankin Pickle- Sing along, Mealticket- Misconceptions, Slapstick- Anthology, Dance Hall Crashers- Lockjaw
Do you have any cds,demos, etc., out? Yes, we have two comps available through our web-site and a 7" soon.
How can people contact you for merch and stuff? www.christianska.com/random
Any final comments? Thanks for wanting to know about our insignificant little band
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