Moist

Biography/History

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Moist (1992-2001, 2013-present): a Grunge band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

ormed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1992, Moist was the efforts of Mark Makoway (guitars) and Jeff Pearce (bass) who had met while at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. After moving to Vancouver, they formed an early version of the act. Kevin Young (keyboards/backing vocals) and David Usher (vocals) had also moved from Kingston to Vancouver to go to school. The two halves met when that first version of the act was breaking up and the four decided to do some writing together.

After a mutual friend introduced the band to drummer Paul Wilcox, they quickly wrote and recorded songs for the independently released, self-titled cassette. Influenced by the Seattle grunge movement spearheaded by the likes of Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney, Moist spent much of 1993 touring Canada and writing.

Their debut proper, Silver (1994) boasted strong independent sales leading to Moist signing to 'EMI Music Canada'. The album sold 400,000 copies in Canada on the strength of the singles Push, Silver and Believe Me.

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Creature followed in 1996 to sales in excess of 300,000 units featuring the hits Leave It Alone, Resurrection, Tangerine and Gasoline.

David Usher then released his first solo album, Little Songs.

As a group, the the soft-toned Mercedes 5 and Dime (1999) followed. The compilation CD & DVD titled Machine Punch Through arrived in 2001.

The band then entered a 12 year hiatus whereby David Usher continued to record solo with Morning Orbit (2001), Hallucinations (2003), If God Had Curves (2005), Strange Birds (2007), Wake Up and Say Goodbye (2008), The Mile End Sessions (2010), and Songs from the Last Day on Earth (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 RYE, to release the album Wolves (2004). Kevin Young toured with Usher and worked as a freelance writer.

With Francis Fillion on drums and second guitarist Jonathan Gallivan, the act reformed in 2013 to release Glory Under Dangerous Skies in 2014 under the 'Universal Music Canada' label.

Louis Lalancette would take over bass in 2014.

2017 would see them perform at the famed Sound of Music festival in Burlington, Ontario.

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