 |
Exclusive interview with
Rob Moschetti (M.O.D.)
January
20, 2019
| Interview by Sjouke Bakker
for www.milanomosh.com & www.sod-mod.com
Rob Moschetti recently rejoined M.O.D.! That's awesome news! I did a short interview with Rob in which he explains when and why he was asked to become the 'new' bassplayer and what future plans for M.O.D. are...
"The future is to have fun..."
Rob, great to have you back in M.O.D.!
When and how did this happen?
ROB: Thanks for the kind welcome home.
This just happened around January 10th. Billy and l have kept in touch and
remained friends over the years. When talks of getting out to play the
classics came up, he just asked if l would be interested in returning to
M.O.D. I figured that l needed to get back to where it all began for me.
You
were in M.O.D. before and recorded and wrote the 1994 album ‘DEVOLUTION’,
together with Billy. How long were you in M.O.D. and how much touring did
you do back then?
ROB: I joined in 1992, immediately after
the 'Rhythm Of Fear' album was recorded. We toured Europe in summer of '93.
When the tour ended, Billy and myself wrote the D evolution album, and then
toured Europe and America in 1994. I left the band in late '95.
We did an interview about 13 (!) years ago already. You were not in M.O.D.
anymore at that time, but you were doing a solo-project. What did you do
since then, musically?
ROB: My solo work has been more of a
passion project more than a business venture. Unfortunately 95% of the
musicians l used were not professionals. I wrote and released a couple of
albums but even I understood and accepted that my most successful work was
with Method Of Destruction and Pro-Pain. The one high point of my time after
those bands was working with legendary Rap icon DMC of Run DMC.
And
now you’re in M.O.D. again! How does that feel?
ROB: It feels great to be back amongst a
bunch of professionals. Every member carries their own weight without lame
excuses. I struggled for 20 years trying to bring rookies to a pro level,
but there's a reason why people succeed in music and life and others don't.
Excuses and resistance stops growth. How can you evolve if you're not
willing to do the work.
In your last band ‘The Pain Method’ you did both main vocals and guitar.
What do you prefer? Being a frontman, being a guitarplayer or being a
bassist? And does that bandname refer to your past with Pro-Pain and Method
Of Destruction?
ROB: The Pain Method absolutely was a
play on my 2 prior bands. I love being a frontman. I love singing as well,
but l enjoy playing bass and drums. No matter what instrument l'm playing at
the time, l give every ounce of my soul. I'm just blessed to be able to
express myself, musically in many different ways.
Are you familiar with the M.O.D. albums that were released after ‘Devolution’?
Did you for instance listen to the last 2 albums ‘Red, White and Screwed’
(2007) or ‘Busted, Broke & American’ (2017)? In my opinion, they belong to
the best material M.O.D. ever did!
ROB: I'm familiar with some of it, but
l'm just glad that Billy kept the band going. Those records, as well as
every M.O.D. album is what is allowing us to continue 30 plus, years later.
I
guess you spoke with Billy about future plans… So what are the future plans
for M.O.D.? Where and when are you going to tour? Will there going to be
another record? Will you write and/or play bass for it? Tell us everything
you know, haha.
ROB: The future is to have fun. Those
are Billy's words, and l'm all for it. As far as future albums and touring,
l'm sure that a Europe tour is inevitable. The festivals want legendary
bands that were pioneers of the genre, and that's exactly what S.O.D. and
M.O.D. represent. I will submit song ideas to a future album as well.
Now that you're back, do you think more songs of the album ‘Devolution’
will make the setlist?
ROB: I don't want them to add songs to
the set list for my liking. This is all about the fans and the songs they
want to hear. I will play every song as if they were mine. If we do some of
the songs that I wrote I will deliver them with the same passion as every
other song.
Which songs would you really like to play live again?
ROB: I really love playing the S.O.D.
songs. I was fortunate enough to tour Europe and play those songs in '93. I
was a fan of that album at the same time l discovered Metallica, Anthrax,
Slayer, Megadeth and the entire genre from the '80s. I felt like l had been
drafted by the Yankees. Of course the entire first M.O.D. album is on that
list too.
Did you meet the other guys: Michael Arellano (drums) and Jason French
(guitars) already? Michael is very familiar with the M.O.D. material, he
toured with M.O.D. in 2013 and 2014 and played the drums on ‘Busted, Broke &
American’. Jason is the latest addition to the band and plays with Michael
in 2 other bands (Protest and War Ensemble). When will rehearsals start?
ROB: I'm getting to know the other guys
now, and we are eager to start rehearsing for some summer shows. Right now
l'm re-familiarizing myself with the setlist. I've already played 90% of
those songs, but they’re in a dusty file cabinet in my brain. They are all
coming back to me pretty quickly.
Thanks for this chat, Rob! Hope to see you on tour soon with M.O.D. and I
'm really looking forward to see you play bass again for M.O.D.!
www.facebook.com/MODMethodOfDestruction
www.milanomosh.com
www.sod-mod.com
© Sjouke Bakker,
January 2019
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interviews, click here.