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Moving Targets in Seattle. (All Cat Rose photos) |
Photos: Cat Rose; Text: Andy
Kenny Chambers grins and tilts his head toward the two guys sitting across the table. He notes that Emilien Catalano and Yves Thibault, massive Moving Targets fans from Montreal, Canada, pulled him out of retirement to refuel his melodic punk band.
Before the duo entered the picture four-and-a-half years ago, the Targets songs that sprung forth in the North Shore of Massachusetts in the 1980s and '90s waited to be pumped full of new life. Ever since the Canadians took charge of the rhythm section (Catalano on drums and Thibault on bass) to usher guitarist/vocalist Chambers back on stage, a flurry of Targets activity has been happening: A pair of European tours, two new albums and the Targets are presently rolling across the U.S. on a 29-date jaunt. A third album -- again on Boss Tuneage Records -- titled "In the Dust" is slated for a late January release.
We caught up with the Targets on Oct. 29 at the Blue Moon Tavern in Seattle, where they shared the bill with locals Rat Paws and Sweet Piece.
Two years after witnessing the band live in Boston in 2016, Catalano lounged around bored on a rainy Montreal day and decided to film himself playing along to the Targets' "Let Me Know Why." The video soon entered Chambers' realm and he was so impressed that he asked the drummer if he knew a bassist to resurrect the band and tour Europe. Catalano and Thibault had already jammed on some Targets tunes and were a tight musical duo, so it was a no-brainer to ask the four-stringer to join the band for the first European tour and see what transpired from there.
Chambers was residing in Denton, Texas, at that juncture and things started moving fast. Plans were made to make the band happen and their first gig occurred at the Middle East Downstairs in Boston on July 20, 2018.
"We did one rehearsal the day before, and just from the first song it sounded tight and it sounded like Moving Targets," said Chambers, who now lives in Baltimore. "These guys did so much work, they were like 100 percent ready by the time we came to Boston. So our first gig was actually pretty good, warts and all, for doing a first gig. We established that we had some chemistry, so that was really cool."
They're having a blast making meaningful music, the trio said. Chambers added that he feels lucky to still be ripping through Targets songs at age 59.
"We're doing whatever we can. Whatever gets offered to us, for the most part, we take it up. Whether it's being on a label like Boss Tuneage or doing a tour, we've gotten a lot done, I think, in the last four-and-a-half years," Chambers said. "I think we're doing the Targets' name justice with the records we put out. I don't think we put out a bad record yet, so knock on wood."
Catalano, who also drums for the Nils, said they kept rolling by recording and touring during the thick of the pandemic.
"I was a big fan, had all the records. So for me, it's really like a dream to play with Kenny," Catalano said. "I still get along really good. We're halfway through the tour -- 14 shows, I think, tonight -- and I'm not even tired. It's like being on vacation with these guys and making music, touring the world. I can't really ask for more."
Sporting a huge smile, Thibault added that whenever the Targets take the stage, people are stoked to no end.
There's always attendees who tell them after the gigs, "'Man, I love your music,' and we would never have had that before," said the bassist, who bounces around like a convivial kid on a pogo stick.
The trio is extremely proud of its upcoming album, which benefits from the solid, edgy production from J. Robbins of Jawbox.
Thibault, who also plays with Out of Order, takes us down the "In the Dust" path: "The next album might not be punk or fast, but the way we played it and the songs is punk. It's powerful, big drum fills."
MOVING TARGETS
SWEET PIECE
RAT PAWS
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