MOIST ****

Moist was a five-piece Canadian alternative rock band that was popular in the mid-to-late-1990s. The band was led by lead singer David Usher, along with Mark Makoway (guitars), Jeff Pearce (bass), Kevin Young (keyboards) and Paul Wilcox (drums).

Biography

Moist formed in Vancouver, BC in the fall of 1992. Mark Makoway and Jeff Pearce had met while at Queen's University in Kingston, then moved to Vancouver and were already playing in an earlier incarnation of the group. Kevin Young and David Usher had also moved from Kingston to Vancouver a few years earlier, to go to school. The first version of Moist was just breaking up when the four decided to do some writing together. Encouraged by this, they decided to form the new band and started playing shows. A mutual friend introduced the band to drummer Paul Wilcox. They quickly wrote and recorded songs for an independently released, self-titled cassette. The cassette caught the attention of EMI, who released the band's first full-length studio Silver, in 1994. The album went on to sell 400,000 copies in Canada on the strength of singles like "Push", "Silver" and "Believe Me".

In late 1996, Moist released their second album, Creature, to favourable reviews. The album included the hits "Leave It Alone", "Resurrection", "Tangerine", and "Gasoline", all which were placed on high rotation on MuchMusic. In addition to these, remixed versions of "Tangerine" also became hits both on radio and Muchmusic.

Following the band's second record, David Usher released his first solo album, Little Songs.

In early 1999, the band regrouped to record one more album, the melancholic and soft-toned Mercedes 5 and Dime. The album was released in the summer of 1999 in Canada and later in 2000 in the United States. Singles included "Breathe", "Underground", and "Comes and Goes". While touring in support of their final album, drummer Paul Wilcox injured his back, causing him to miss the band's final performances.

David Usher has continued to record, releasing Morning Orbit in 2001, Hallucinations in 2003, If God Had Curves in 2005, Strange Birds in 2007, and Wake Up And Say Goodbye in 2008. Jeff Pearce formed the band RYE, which released its first record, Wolves, in 2004, and Mark Makoway published a guide to the music industry, called The Indie Band Bible.