Published: July 6, 2010 5:15 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight July 2010 Edition
CyberTrybe
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
CyberTrybe
Our Webzine is thrilled to introduce to our readers a group that is heating up the indie music industry. What fans will find most enjoyable about the band is their industrial rock sound that matches perfectly with the band’s melodic tunes. Add the sensational combination of Sean and Angela Mooer’s vocals and you have a powerhouse band that knows how to kick start the party. In our online conversation with Sean Mooer (SM) and Angela Mooer (AM), the two members of the band revealed some interesting and fun facts about the band. Here is what transpired.
Replies provided by Sean Mooer (SM) and Angela Mooer (AM).
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
SM: I can’t remember the first time I became interested in Music. It’s just always been there for as long as I can remember. I started playing music when I was in Jr. High in the school band but I was singing and beating on boxes and Folgers coffee cans since before I can remember as well.
AM: My parents were very young and played the radio all of the time. When the radio wasn’t on, my dad would be singing. Music has always been a part of my life. I would sing and perform to anyone who would give me the attention since I was 2 or 3. I joined the school choir at the age of 9.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
SM: There are a lot of influences but the biggest I’d have to say is Pink Floyd and Trent Reznor. (I know... weird combo) Pink Floyd because of the way they wrote and produced their albums… they ran together to form a story. David Gilmore because of the way he plays guitar, there is so much feeling and emotion in it. Trent because his songs mean something…. Not just the cookie cutter crap coming out of some of these bands today. Trent doesn’t use traditional instruments to make his sound or at least doesn’t record them in traditional ways. The lyrics from both artists are deep and thoughtful… they make you think and sometimes wake up to reality. I am also very influenced by classical music more notably operatic or movie sound track stuff. Classical music is big to me.
AM: for me it’s definitely Motown, being from Detroit, and Classical. I was trained classically.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
SM: Being asked to play in New Orleans at VooDoo fest the same day as Nine Inch Nails.
AM: For me, it was winning the Detroit Music Awards this year. CyberTrybe has won in the past, but not since this rendition of the band (Sean is the only original band member). It’s been many years of hard work. It really isn’t about getting an award, but about getting the recognition of your hard work from your peers.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
SM: Playing at VooDoo fest (lol)! It wasn’t what we all thought it would be… we busted our ass in the little time we had to prepare after being asked (3 weeks)! But a lot of good came out of the experience. We showed ourselves that we can rise to the occasion. We can raise the money, make the plans and travel anywhere we want for an opportunity. It is something we needed to learn plus we also learned what not to do… like getting one hotel room for everyone? Never again lol!
AM: There are so many struggles and disappointments in this business. I have been more often than not let down by people. You really have to chalk them all up to learning experiences, and really never depend on anyone but yourself.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
SM: There are no rules to this style of music…. There is nothing we can’t do, sing, play, record…. It’s all new… at least for us it is. There is so much room for dynamics and full out rage and emotion. We get lumped into the term “Industrial” but in reality we’re not any of the categories we see out there and we don’t try to be them…. That’s why there are no rules. If we want to be soft and melodic we can and if we want to be loud and in your face…. We can…. It’s up to us.
AM: I love the electronic part of it. It almost makes the possibilities endless.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
SM: Emotion, Passion…. An open mind…. And energy…. Lots of energy!
AM: Good equipment. **laughs** And you have to think Big/outside of the box.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
SM: We are trying to bring entertainment back into the music industry… I hate to say it but Grunge killed all of that. Whether we play in a little dive or opening for a national act on a huge stage… we try to give a concert to the people… put on a show rather than just get up there and play 45 minutes of tunes and get off. We’ve invested in a nice size light show we bring with us wherever we go and refuse to do most shows without it…. We really want to stimulate the audiences mind as if they were watching a National act. We try to present an image with the lights, the clothes we wear, our attitudes… etc. We don’t do anything half assed.
AM: If it isn’t the beats or our stage show that grabs someone, then I think it’s the message in many of our songs. We tend to be a little political.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
SM: Actually, we’re known in part by some of our covers, we play a few during out sets depending on what kind of show we’re doing. Two we recorded… “Green Eyed” Lady by Sugar Loaf in 2001 and recenty “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane. Both songs we darkened up a bit but also made them a little louder and more emotional than the originals. We try to make them our own… I think we did a pretty good job of them. Both you can hear on reverbnation.com/cybertrybe. There are others we’d like to do but Angela and I both agree one day, we’d like to re-engineer a Johnny Cash song… but we have to find the right one.
AM: I agree with that.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
SM: I have no idea! Seriously… I have no idea if the songs we write are good or what. I know they touch some people, they make some people jump up and down and shake their heads, but I don’t have a “good song meter” in my toolbox so I’m not sure. I do know I try to only write about things I know about, have felt and dreamt about. I try never to write about something I have no knowledge of or try to “front” or “pose” an emotion. I feel a song will be performed better and be more believable if it is done this way. I also feel that the music has to be just as emotional and the lyrics… they have to be welded together… if you’re dropping an F-bomb… the music better reflect that as well.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
SM: lol… Angela and I could write a book about this one. It is extremely hard and there is no time. You have to commit and stick with it… there are no picnics and slow lazy days… if we’re not rehearsing or playing… we’re promoting, networking, planning and looking for good gigs to play. (And just recently started to work out at the gym every day) Now stack that on top of 4 boys to raise… two of them home schooled by Angela, being in the military (My full time job). We’re not your typical band… everyone in this band has family so scheduling something is like trying to pull a tooth but we do it… we do it all and what is necessary because we all believe in it.
AM: It’s like balancing a stack of your grandmothers’ good china plates on your head while juggling the teacups and saucers. Sometimes there are some casualties. Sometimes it’s real ugly. Sometimes you just got to let something go. When everything you do is so important to you, sometimes trying to do well on all fronts means you’re not doing enough on any of it. Our biggest supporters seem to suffer our distraction and absence the most: our friends & family.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
SM: These days it’s hard to tell…. The industry is so weird now. Now days some of the indie labels are the powerhouses! I guess to me it is a “Do it your self” band. You are your own stagehand, roadie, manager, record label… etc.
AM: A band not signed to a major label. Independent from any rules and regulations. Freedom but with a cost. Lots and lots of hard work.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
SM: We have stuff uploaded all over the place thanks to Angela but the best place to go is www.reverbnation.com/cybertrybe mainly because the best quality mp3’s are on that site but also because you can get pretty much anything CYBERTRYBE there.
Isaac: In five years…….
SM: In five years we plan on letting Nine Inch Nails open for us for their “come back”. If not that… at least having a few more CD’s out, doing some touring and having a lot of fun. We’re moving fast and having a hard time keeping up with ourselves… a good manager would be nice as well. (We manage ourselves at the moment).
AM: 5 years is a long time from now… the possibilities are endless!
