Producers have always been a big part of rock and roll. Names like Quincy Jones and Daniel Lanios are synonymous with Michael Jackson and U2, and they've played a big role in both the sound and the success of those artists. So why would a young band like Moxy Früvous decide to go without? "We thought about it," says Matheson, "but we weren't sure we wanted to bring another cook into a kitchen full of four other strong-minded cooks. The possibility of bringing a producer in and putting his or her mark on the stuff was daunting. We decided that given the fact that we can't find one who knows us and who we know, then the unknown is not worth the risk."
Ghomeshi adds "The feeling was, if we can't get our heroes, if we can't get Elvis Costello, why parachute somebody in - whether they're a great producer or not. We were lucky our record company let us do this because before we started, there were probably five people in the world who thought we could produce ourselves, us and Jack (Jack Ross is the band's manager). Even the owner of the studio said he'd never seen anything like it. He was really excited by the fact that not only were the artists producing themselves, but that all four of us were doing it democratically." Like almost every risk the band has taken, this gamble looks like it's paying off. "I'm really happy," says Ghomeshi, "the songs are sounding just the way we want them to."
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