Moxy Fruvous

A CBC radio executive first encountered Moxy Fruvous during a busking session in Toronto, where the quartet’s background in theater immediately distinguished their performances. On the street they blended rap, folk, spontaneous theatrics, comedy, and political satire into each set. Mike Ford, Murray Foster, and David Matheson handled vocals, guitar, and bass, while Jian Ghomeshi supplied vocals and drums. Once a cassette climbed to the top of the Canadian indie charts, Atlantic offered the group a contract and issued the wildly eclectic Bargainville in early 1994. A year afterward Wood surfaced following an extended touring hiatus; the highly personal album never reached American stores, prompting the band to question Atlantic’s commitment. B Album, the following year’s collection of B-sides, likewise stayed out of the United States, so Moxy Fruvous returned to the studio and completed You Will Go to the Moon in 1997. Velvel Records, an American label, signed the band in 1998 and finally issued the two previously unavailable albums along with that year’s Live Noise; a year later the mature and gentle Thornhill appeared. Live Noise achieved major success on the strength of the group’s commanding stage presence, earning Moxy Fruvous an intensely devoted audience comparable to Phish as their concerts drew larger crowds. Extending that momentum into the new century, the quirky The C Album arrived in 2000 and revisited the more eccentric sound of their early-nineties work.