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To many of us in the Bay Area, Moggs have been one of the greatest local bands to grace a stage…if you can catch them. Irregular shows and no product to rely on meant that a live performance by them was your only chance for hearing their angular-yet-beautiful sounds, and it was like striking gold - better jump on it because you never know when it might happen again.

But good news is afoot – this Petaluma-based duo (Miss Minor on the drums, Sir Plus on guitar, both sharing vocal duties) are releasing their first album “The White Belt is Not Enough” on Absolutely Kosher this summer, so not only will us locals get more of them, but the world as well.

Below is an interview I carried out via email with Sir Plus about the new record and future plans of the band in their conquest for world domination. OK, that may not actually be their goal, but here’s to hoping they achieve it anyways - the world would be better for it.

Jake: Since you sent me the advance of the new CD “The White Belt is Not Enough”, coming out in August on Absolutely Kosher, I've been listening to it tons - very, very good stuff. Given how long you guys spent on this, are you pleased with the results?

Sir Plus: Thank you. Yes, we took our sweet time with this. But we weren't working on it constantly…though it was constantly on our minds for a few years. We spent a long time sorting things out - try an idea, scrap it, start again, scrap it, etc. Unlike lots of "home studio" records made these days, there were no computers or digital effects. Not even a reverb unit.

As far as being happy with it - the short answer is yes.

Jake: What was it like going to Abbey Road in London to do the mastering?

Sir Plus: It was a brilliant trip. The Abbey Road Studios mastering room
Studio 7 has the original EMI TG 12410 transfer desk; also a Neumann DMM lathe for vinyl. Nick Webb did a great job with our home schooled project.

Jake: How did you hook that up anyway?

Sir Plus: We wanted to master at Abbey Road from the very beginning. They are one of only a few places in the world that can do a real all-analog vinyl record. Also, they cut direct to metal which makes for a better sounding end product. As it turned out, I was headed to Scotland to visit family, and tacked on mastering at Abbey Road.

Jake: So how long did it take to do the mastering there, and how involved were you in the process?

Sir Plus: It went very quickly; we ended up cutting the coppers for vinyl and made the CD in 6.5 hours. Nick was great to work with - he'd make some adjustments, have me sit behind the board and listen. I'd toggle between the before and after, make some suggestions; he'd have another go at it, have me listen, then we'd move on to the next song.

Jake: This is all starting to sound like a Tape-Op interview, ha ha…

Sir Plus: Ahh ... the only magazine I read regularly. They say 92% of their
readers keep issues indefinitely. Tape Op is the new Playboy.

Jake: How did you get hooked up with Cory Brown and Absolutely Kosher? Were you mostly done with the album when they came along, or have they been in the picture for a while? Given his record for putting out great local music, it must be pretty pleasing to have him backing you guys.

Moreover, when you sign to a label with a name like Absolutely Kosher you must certainly get a gift basket from Katz's Deli or a lifetime supply of bagels, right?

Sir Plus: Cory approached us roughly a year ago about the possibility of working with AKR. He visited our studio and we played him some rough mixes. We reconnected again after the album was all recorded. We've had major & bigger indie label interest, but AKR felt like a good fit for us.

We're pretty excited about the matza balls, too.

Jake: I saw from your website that you two are getting ready to embark on a nationwide tour. Is this your first tour of this size? And for my own personal selfish reasons, once the record comes out are you going to be playing out more locally?

Sir Plus: Yes, this is our first big tour - should be interesting. We'll be playing more locally, too. Though it's all relative, isn't it? We haven't played out since last year!

Jake: Now, putting out this new record and touring and all that is only going to lead to one thing - world domination. Are you prepared for the trials and tribulations of the paparazzi, the rich living, the gossip, the inuendo?

Sir Plus: Ha ha. Moggs ...the new Coldplay. Only our kid will be named Macintosh.

Jake: I feel pretty confident that once the reviews of this album start coming in, more than a few of them are going to mention the same two bands when drawing comparisons - Unwound and Sonic Youth. Would you say that either of these bands had a big influence on your sound, or did you draw the inspiration from somewhere else?

Sir Plus: It's interesting, the comparisons range from Joy Division to Polvo. And yes, it seems alternate tunings beg for a Sonic Youth comparison. I don't know where we fit - our record collection is equal parts rock, 80's dance, indie, oldies, & whatever bizarre 40's recordings we come across. We love music. At the end of the day, we just focus on trying to write good songs & playing off each other.

Jake: So how long have you two been playing together? And were either of you in bands before this?

Sir Plus: We've been playing together for ten years. Before that, we played in somebands with friends.

Jake: So after the tour, what's next? Have you started recording any new material yet, thinking towards future releases, or just concentrating on the product at hand?

Sir Plus: Right now we're concentrating on this record. Our primary focus has shifted to playing live. We've got the extensive North American tour ahead, & we're hoping to tour the UK soon, too. We're always working on new material, but probably won't get back into the studio just yet.

Jake: Do you think there will be any pressure, either internally or externally, to get a follow-up record out faster than the first one? Especially if this release ends up being pretty successful? (personally, I would be surprised if it wasn't successful...)

Sir Plus: Regardless of any pressures that may arise, we'll have our next record done in a more reasonable time period. Technically, our studio is all set, and we've learned so much through the process of this record. We're considering different engineers to help move things along on the next record, too. Success is anyone's guess (thanks for your vote of confidence), and hopefully we can support “The White Belt” for a bit. We enjoyed the process of making this record, bumps and all. Having others appreciate it only sweetens things for us.

Jake: Final dumb question - you're booking your dream tour, who do you go on tour with? Who would you pick from the Absolutely Kosher roster, who would you pick from elsewhere?

Sir Plus: We're looking forward to playing with other AKR bands on tour this summer. Looks like some of our paths will cross in certain cities (Okay, the Dudley Corporation, etc). One of the best shows we've ever seen was Gonzales. I don't know though...that might be too much.

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Check out our previous Moggs experiences:
April 11, 2004 @ Li-Po Lounge
March 1, 2003 @ 40th St Warehouse
January 3, 2003 @ Edinburgh Castle




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