Doomed for Success
Moss Mountain Project sounds like nothing you've heard
By Amy Martin
2008-01-09


How did you get involved in music?
I started playing guitar 20 years ago when I was about 12. I eventually took lessons, then later became involved with some bands that would play in the Portland area. By the time I was 16, I was playing some pretty decent gigs with the Bee Boos, a Butthole Surfers type of band that had a decent following and some interesting stage hands. Some of our friends would dress in diapers and as mimes and throw buckets of salsa into the crowd at various shows. It was a lot of fun, but it wasn't something that one could sustain for a long time.

What music inspired you growing up?
My grandmother played the harmonica, spoons and organ when I was growning up. My grandfather played the concertina and accordian (we actually used his concertina on our album). He was an interesting guy who would go out for milk and return three days later in police custody. When I was young, my mother remarried a drummer of a rock band. I spent a lot of time listening to this sort of stuff.

Moss Mountain Project is different than anything I've ever heard. What is the sound of MMP?
Recently, I like the sound of "doom folk." I think we take a bit of everything Americana, rock, blues, bluegrass, heavy metal and blend them into something palatable and cohesive. I also like to think that we reflect a great deal of what we see around us (in climate, weather, alcoholism, work boots and shotguns, whoopies pies, red hot dogs, broken down cars, trash, sailboats in the front yard and missing teeth). I do feel as though we are expressing something that embodies Maine.

And how did you find it?
We looked out the window. I once had this job at a gas station and in between taking naps and pumping gas I would play my guitar and sing in one of the bays. This is where I found one of my voices. It was heavily inspired by Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits and Vladimir Vissotski. The stuff that MMP writes comes from various places. Pete is generally into older rock and stuff like Wilco. Jeff is heavy into obscure and popular metal bands. Matt listens to everything from heavy metal to jazz. We mosh all of these interests togther and come up with MMP.

After the release of your first album, did anything change for the band?
We no longer had to hussle for shows and had the luxury of being a bit more selective. We now only do shows that seem interesting/fun or pay a ridicuoulous amount of money. It was strange to have clubs asking us to play after we had been hounding them for two years to get in their door.

What's in the works for the next album and the future of MMP?
We have enough material for two albums, but lack the funds at this time to do anything that we would stand behind. We want to go into a decent studio and have the thing properly mastered. I think that we all want to do another album, but we want to spend a great deal of time with it and that requires money that we do not have at this time.


Quickies
Best concert you attended? Ministry at the 1992 Loolapalooza
Best local venue to play? SPACE Gallery
Who are you listening to now? Juana Molina's "Son and Segundo" and Mason Jennings' "Use Your Voice"
Favorite local band? Slowing Room, DJ Nicotine, J Hjort, Groupo Esperanza and Tree By Leaf
Moss Mountain Project is a local "doom folk" band comprised of Tim Ouillette, Peter Hill, Jeff Harmon and Matt Blanchard. The band has released the CD "Catfish Grouper Snapper." Ouillette, a terribly talented guitarist and vocalist, heads up the band and gave us the lowdown on MMP. See them live at the Big Easy in Portland on Jan. 31. Preview music and get updates at www.mossmountainproject.com.