Hidell (pronounced "high-dell") is a new rock band that hails from Calgary, Albert, Canada. The four piece band with two guitarists, one bassist, and drummer, is signed to EMI Music Canada, with a lot of musical history up their sleeve. With the popular Going Down in Flames already out, the much anticipated debut album Up & Coming is sure to be a success.
The familiar faces and names of the bassist, Clint Moffatt, and drummer, Bob Moffatt (left), both 19, are of surprise to new fans. Not many realized that The Moffatts, who were also signed to EMI, split in August of 2001, after touring their last few shows in Canada. Just a few months after that, Bob and Clint formed a new band named Pusch, with childhood friend Paul Cimolini and Shaun MacPherson from Nanaimo, Bristish Columbia, Canada. Pusch started off as a band composed of four talented musicians, that had their first show on New Years' Eve at Sunshine Village, and an outdoor show the next day on New Years Day. Two months later they performed their other two shows, in February of 2002 (8th and 10th), in the Toronto area of Ontario.
They performed very impressive material that they had written since The Moffatts have split back in August. Original material such as Girly, Magazine, Going Down, I Wanna Know, She is Gone, and Living it Up. Along with those, they also performed previous "new" material The Moffatts performed on their last tour: I Don't Owe You Nothing, Thank Me Please and How Does it Feel. Even more than that, they sang some old favourites: Misery and Written all Over My Heart. And they got the crowd going through flawless covers that include Cyndi's Laupers Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Weezer's Hashpipe, and Stone Temple Pilots' Plush. However, Shaun left the band for personal reasons, and they were on their way looking for yet, another guitarist to fill his spot.
Shaun MacPherson
Name changes were up in the air, as Pusch was also the name of a trendy clothing company. After about a year as Pusch, they were briefly renamed as Drums & Wire, and after changing names a few times, they decided on Hidell. Their new guitarist spawns from another defunt band, Cope, that was from Niagara Falls, Ontario.
-
As Hidell, they began studio recordings in Calgary at Sundae Sound with producer (and guitarist) Russell Broom, who has worked and toured with Jann Arden.
-
"The music was kind of alternative rock with great pop melodies," says EMI Music Canada's director of talent acquisition and artist development Jody Mitchell. "There was almost a British influence, a la Hives, Strokes, White Stripes. It's young. It's edgy and very melodic." A year ago Christmas, Mitchell, accompanied by A&R manager talent acquisition and artist development Tracey McNamara, went to see Pusch play at Hamilton, Ont.'s The Casablanca.
-
"What we saw there was the room was full, young screaming teenage girls, but the only publicity that had been done for that show was over their web site," says Mitchell. "(It) opened my eyes that they still have an extremely active and loyal fan base.
-
"I didn't need to see another show after that. The fact that Clint could step forward in that capacity from formerly helping out his brother Scott (in The Moffatts), and now holding his own. He's a frontman. He's a star in his own right, as is Bob, the drummer."
** "We hadn’t really found ourselves," says Clint Moffatt of the earlier band. "We had a lot of heavy rock influences then, but that fell through. We stopped listening to music for a while and then said, 'Well, if we're going to write some music, we might as well write what comes off our guitars as we play them.' The sound ended up being a lot different."
** Clint hints that Hidell's debut album is the tip of the iceberg. "I think the next record is the one where we'll take our influences and give our own distinct design," says Clint. "I hope to keep the Moffatts sound, because it's what we’re based on. We've always had that 'big chorus' sound."
- (taken from Jam!) ** (taken from Chart Attack)
