The Moog (HU)

Formed in Budapest in 2004 by then-teenagers Tonyó Szabó (vocals), Adam Ádi Bajor (guitar) and GergÅ‘ Dorozsmai (drums), and later joined by Csaba Csabi Szabo (bass) and Miguel Gyorgy (second guitar), THE MOOG are a combination of both alternative and pop influences with a unique East European sound.

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Criticized by the old establishment in their native country, THE MOOG are pioneers by being the first popular Hungarian band to sing in English and tour Western Europe and the U.S. 

With their first Romanian gig coming up on Saturday, January 28th, 2012, we interviewed the baritone singer Tamás Tonyó Szabó.

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RiCo for CZB.ro: How did the band start out and how did you guys meet?

Tamás Szabó (Tonyó, The Moog singer): It started as a high school band with me (Tonyo), Ádi (a guitar player) and GergÅ‘ (our drummer) and then it developed to be a bit more serious. That was the point when Csabi (our bass player) entered the band. He couldn't play his instrument back then but his taste in music and hair seemed so cool that we had to have him in The Moog. By now he's managed to handle the bass better and with Miguel (our solo guitar player) joining in 2006, the fab five started to exist as a real band.

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CZB: What do you consider that Bach and The Clash have in common?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): Great hooks!

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CZB: Why have you chosen Seasons In The Underground as your new album title and how does the name fit in with the music?

Tonyó (The Moog): This title was inspired by one of our songs, Seasons Change In The Underground. This song will be the first single from the album by the way and reflects our thoughts about the Hungarian and the global underground music these days. Since this song reflects the musical world of the album too, more or less, it seemed obvious to have a title which has some kind of a connection to this song.

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CZB: What does the voodoo doll plot have in common with the song title in the I Love You video?

Tonyó (The Moog): The song is called I Like You and I can't describe the connection properly either. The director of the video, Dávid Vígh could tell us more I guess. Because the lyrics of that song is about liking someone that you can't really be with on the long run, due to various reasons, this ambivalent relation is symbolized somehow in that video. At least, I suppose...:)

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I Like You was also a CZB Video of the Week 

http://czb.ro/articol/2867/

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CZB: Why did Norbi Ladányi leave the band five months after the recording contract was signed with the US MuSick record label?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): Well, he didn't leave… we decided to fire him. 

We liked him as a friend but he didn't like the style and the musical direction of the band - so this decision had to be made.

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CZB: What was your first 2007 US tour like? What was the highlight of this trip?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): It was interesting and shocking in many ways. It was a great experience which had its bad and good moments also. The highlights were definitely the show in L.A., the show in Houston where we met with Public Enemy who had a show the other day at the same venue where we played, the shows in New York (one of them was an acoustic performance in the editorial office of Billboard Magazine), the show at South By Southwest Festival in Austin. This last one wasn't great just because we had a good show but also because we were able to check out many of our favorite bands. During this trip we played a couple of shows with a great band who we instantly fell in love with. Their name is Everybody Else.

http://www.myspace.com/everybodyelse

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CZB: Have you personally met David Bowie or how has he discovered your music?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): We never met him, unfortunately, and he never discovered us unfortunately... yet :) It was Ken Scott who decided to produce our album, the guy who Bowie co-produced Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory with. He was contacted by our label and he liked us. This positive feeling towards us ended up in making an album with him in a Seattle studio called London Bridge Studios.

http://www.londonbridgestudio.com/

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CZB: When you first began playing as a band, would you have believed that your debut album, Sold for Tomorrow, would be distributed internationally?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): Of course not, but I always hoped that would happen. It was one of my aims to become an international musician somehow. It was a great feeling when I heard that our first album will be released not only in Hungary and the U.S. But also in Japan, Germany and Spain.

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CZB: What is going on in Hungary? I saw a news story this morning with thousands of people in the streets of Budapest protesting for keeping Klub Radio on-air.

Tonyó (The Moog singer): Well, if I made any direct comments on this matter I'd become political …and I don't want to do that in this interview. 

I think the Hungarian society needs to have a healthier picture of itself and its future. That's one of the main reasons why so much confusion, protests and aggression is going on in our country these days. 

Half of the people I know say that Hungary is a wasteland and everyone should emigrate before it collapses, the other half says that it's the best place on Earth and everyone should tolerate whatever this nation decides to do. 

None of these perspectives works out in the long run. I really hope that the attitude and the self-concept of our society becomes more sober and realistic so this country could gain energy from the society's force of unity.

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CZB: Why have you decided to move permanently to the US, where do you plan to stay and how have you sorted things out with your families and the authorities?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): This issue is still in a developing status. Our label said that they don't wanna release our label unless we have the guts to go out to L.A. and live there for a while so we could promote the album more efficiently. That was one of the biggest motivations we had that came from outside. We also wanted to try ourselves out so this outer motivation merged with an inner one that came from the band members. Our visa process is still going on so I can't tell anything in detail until we have that in our passports. We won't stay in L.A. for good. We only want to discover our limits and the possibilities available to us only if we move there for a while.

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CZB: Have you ever had dirty thoughts about Zsa Zsa Gabor (Miss Hungary, 1936 - who is now 94 and has been married 9 times)?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): Of course we had. She was prettier than Marilyn Monroe till she started to do plastic surgery

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CZB: Do you have a humanitarian cause you would like to support as a band in the near future?

Tonyó (The Moog singer): Anything if they pay us!!!

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The Interview was conceived by RiCo for ClickZoomBytes.

23.JAN.2012

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THE MOOG's 2012 NEW album Seasons In The Underground is produced by David Bowie producer Ken Scott and will be released in March, 2012. The band is expected to tour Europe and America in support of the album.

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Sincere thanks going out to Kristof (the tour manager), Ed from Independent Music Resistance and the Hungarian band for their time and effort.

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The Moog

• Tonyó Szabó (vocals)
• Adam Ádi Bajor (solo guitar)
• Miguel Gyorgy (rhythm guitar)
• Csaba Csabi Szabo (bass) 
• GergÅ‘ Dorozsmai (drums)

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www.moog.hu

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www.facebook.com/moogband?sk

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