   
The Moffatts broke up as a musical unit on August 25, 2001. At least that's when it became official. They made an announcement at a concert, sending out a ripple effect as stunned fans learned the news. The official fan club ended it's quarterly newsletter in January 2001. The official website themoffatts.com scheduled it's closure for December 1st, 2001. A final DVD was put together and The Closing of Chapter 1 was sold on December 18th after being bumped back several times.
But many fans still wonder about The Moffatts, a band that touched and inspired crowds through the music and inspirational spirit. They transcended 3 major music styles. Here's something I assembled in an email to a curious individual. It was detailed enough that I thought others would enjoy reading it as well.
People tell me from time to time that they stumble across my website after trying to find out whatever happened to The Moffatts, and now you know.
The band started to fall apart in about November 2000. They made plans to split and spent the next year cutting ties with their fans (even though they promised a US tour to the end). It was also around that time that Dave came out to his family that he's gay (some say bi, but I really don't know or care). That's only been public news for about the last year. In a recent article Dave said that his father didn't speak to him for a year after coming out.
In August 2001 they played their last string of Canadian dates and made an announcement to fans at the final show. Stunned fans were devestated, heartbroken, optimistic, or some combination of the afore mentioned. It was intially announced as a 1 year hiatus while Dave backpacked in Australia until his visa ran out. The official website had a brief statement about it that said "there aren't any tour dates on the books at the present time."
Despite rumors of the early band lineup, Pusch had Clint (frontman/lead vocals/bass), Bob (drums/vocals), Shaun (guitar), and Paul (guitar/vocals). The non-Moffatts were family friends, and from a band called three.hour.midnight. They debuted New Year's eve (4 months after the moffatts broke up). And they did 2 shows in February '02 to a packed moffatt-type crowd. The screaming girls helped win them a recording contract. Shortly thereafter they played at the '02 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and then were quiet for a while. Rumors spread like wildfire. They re-emerged in early '03 under the name Hidell (high-dell) with Shaun gone and added another friend named Chris Ainsley(guitar). They had a few odd jobs in '03 and released the album Up and Coming in Thailand. Complications prevented it from being released anywhere else. Their official website launched, they put out an EPK, music videos and got a little bit of air play with Venus Butterfly. But they sort of dissolved from there. In fall '03 they recorded a 9 track untitled demo. They were at odds with their record label and had very different directions planned. The official band quitting announcement never really happened, but probably occured in early '04. Clint and Bob have worked on some side projects along the way, including laying down instruments for Steve Gardner's album, and singing for the cross-canada Holiday Train. They've recently been spotted doing background vocals on the Jann Arden cd. Original members of three.hour.midnight have regrouped under the new name Poco Nemo.
Scott went with an underground/grassroots approach. He formed The Boston Post around the time the band split. It included family friends Jon Gant (guitar), and Shawn Everett (drums). They spent about a year recording an EP album (later reduced to an LP). They met Neil Gupta who laid down bass for them and later joined the band. With some Much Music promotion, they had a tour in Ontario debuting January 7th, 2003. They played at small bars, and lived the lives of starving musicians. They played for beer and money, and slept in the van. They toured Western Canada in March, and Neil was kicked out of the band. Clint Moffatt filled in as bass player in March, and Scott played bass in sept/oct tour in Ontario. Shortly thereafter they added someone new who only appeared briefly. The band sort of dissolved from there. One project shawn has been working on is an independent film about the moffatts. But it's supposed to be about the true moffatts, not just the bubblegummy happy stuff. There hasn't been talk about this in a long time.
In september 2003, the moffatts were billed as reuniting for the Fire on the Mountain benefit concert in BC. Nobody knew exactly what this meant. I hopped in my car and drove for 10 hours to check it out for myself. Anticipation built as I watched band after band play at the Sport Mart Plaza parking lot. The mob of girls patiently waited, and grew in size as the day wore on. Eventually Chantel left the stage and the mob trampled poor folks in lawn chairs to cling to the front gate. I, who had a great seat was suddenly in a sea of pushy girls. I made my way to the right and hopped a little metal fence. I found myself in a not so crowded "press" area and felt much better. Nobody seemed to care, so I sat on the floor in the front and set up my tripod. The Moffatts took the stage... all four of them. They ended up playing 7 songs, all with just an acoustic guitar. It included Misery, a cover song, 3 from Submodalities, 1 from Hidell, and 1 that Scott wrote. They left and talked to press for a few minutes before sitting down to sign stuff. It was pretty much Dave's first public appearance since the moffatts split, and he was mobbed. It was a crowded, but memorable night.
The Moffatts' original announcement at their final concert was that they were taking a 1 year hiatus. Dave was planning on travelling to Australia to backpack with his mom until his visa ran out. Dave did in fact go down under, but only for a couple of months. He made an appearance at the first pusch concert and even sang during some songs (including shine). He also accompanied Pusch to the olympics in '02. He lived in Calgary and worked as a sales clerk and at a gay bar. In mid '02 he worked with a major writer and recorded a few songs, but never did anything with them. A year later he moved to Victoria for a change of scenery. He worked as a sales clerk and even did some amateur modeling for Mikel. Dave was spotted at a couple of Boston Post and Hidell shows in fall '03. In early '04 he started up a small business with a couple of friends, DSS entertainment. Undoubtedly low on funds, he amateurly recorded some songs, and signed some of his photos. He sold them to lingering fans online through myspace. In summer '04 Dave moved to Winnipeg and wanted to pursue a culinary arts degree. He never ended up going, and worked at a bar and as a telemarketer. He did some more modeling on the side, and hosted karaoke nights at the bar. In spring of '05, Dave was in the play Miss Saigon, and hosted the Zigs Fashion Show. And in March '05 he auditioned for Canadian Idol. The episodes aired in June, and we saw Dave make it to the top 32 before being eliminated. He has since moved to Calgary.
Scott, Clint, and Bob regrouped as "the moffatts" (rumored title "moffattts"). The '04 Holiday Train (Clint and Bob sang on the '02 and '03, and Scott made a couple appearances during the '03 train) billed it as the return of The Moffatts. They did lots of press, and said to expect a single to be released in about 6 months. However without Dave, it really can't be The Moffatts. Joining the new band is Steve Hotchkiss. Nothing much came from that.
Then in late '05 the twins moved to Thailand and lived there for a year. They started out working on a program called STARS intending to teach English through song, along with their father Frank. They soon emerged as the pop duo Same Same, and played to huge crowds of adoring SEA fans. After releasing the album "The Meaning of Happy" they promoted it like crazy, and toured until taking a break at the end of '06.
Scott came forward again in late '05 asking fans on his myspace page to donate instruments, sound samples, and anything that sounds interesting. Intruiged, there was a big response. Scott took an acoustic guitar and those fan donated items and recorded a solo album entitled The Allegory of the City. The preorders included a bonus mini-album never to be released again.
Dave collaborated in early 2007 with pianist/composer, Paul Minard, to record some new music (not Dave's). Early hopes to release the first song "Your Smile" to online sales and radio promotion will ideally lead towards Dave pursuing music further. At this point we just have to wait and see (as always).
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