If you’ve listened to any rock music station in the last two decades, you’re sure to have heard the sounds of John Moyer at some point in time. The bass player for the well-known band Disturbed, Moyer is no stranger to the industry. Disturbed isn’t the only band Moyer has been gracing with his slick sounds, though. He’s brought his impressive talents to a “super-band,” Art Of Anarchy.
Art Of Anarchy is a relatively new band (when I say relatively, it’s in comparison to the band member’s other projects!) comprised of brothers Jon and Vince Votta on guitar and drums, current Disturbed bassist John Moyer, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal as co-guitarist and producer, and, as of 2016, Creed vocalist Scott Stapp. It’s a non-stop ride through a mix of talents, styles, and killer lyrics. If you’re a fan of any of the aforementioned artists/bands, you’re going to thoroughly enjoy Art Of Anarchy.
Recently, I got a chance to chat with John Moyer about this compilation super-band, his preferences in tattoo styles, and his side-projects. Check it out!
First, please introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is John Moyer I am the bass player for the bands Disturbed and Art Of Anarchy.
So, tell us a little bit about this new-ish super-band, Art Of Anarchy. How did it come to be?
Art Of Anarchy started out as a project with twin brothers Jon and Vince Votta working with Ron Thal bumblefoot. They were working on songs for a good year and a half before reaching out to other members to round out the band. So they reached out to Scott Weiland who ended up laying down vocals for the first record and also to myself to play on that record. We shot two videos with Scott Weiland and we were hoping to do more touring but Scott Weiland was doing other projects and wasn’t interested in pursuing AOA at the time and then, unfortunately, he passed away not long after the release of that first record. But we didn’t want to give up on the project. We felt we had good chemistry in the band so we started thinking about who would be a good fit. Scott Stapp was pretty much the only name that made sense to us. We reached out to him and he was interested. After a meeting and a jam, we all agreed to move forward and keep AOA going.
As you are all experienced members of successful bands, has this affected the writing/creation process at all? Does one person seem to run the ship or is it collaborative?
This band is definitely a collaborative effort. Often times certain seeds of creativity will come from one source and then someone else will see the vision and run with it for a while and then hand off to another guy to finish it it’s very interesting how these songs come together and are completed and inspiration and creation can come from anyone.
As we are a tattoo-based publication, I have to ask… Can you tell us a little about your ink? From what I’ve seen in pictures, you seem to favor Traditional style. Are all of your pieces done in the same style or do you have a collage of tattoo types?
You’re absolutely correct. I like the traditional style. What I try to do is to take the traditional artwork that uses a lot of negative space and infuse that with more modern edgier themes that I’m into.
Art Of Anarchy just released their latest album, ‘The Madness‘. Can you tell us about the concept behind this album? Is there an overall theme to it?
A lot of the lyrics on this record come from Scott’s personal history and so the record is about burning bright, breaking down, losing yourself, being lost, coming back from that and then dealing with the aftermath. Ultimately I think it’s about redemption.
Scott Stapp, former founder/lead singer of the band Creed, was recently added to the Art Of Anarchy lineup as frontman. Has this addition changed the dynamics of the band?
Yes completely. The first record was mostly written between Jon Votta and Scott Weiland. This record is much more of a collaborative album and we’ve created a unique identity because of that.
Do you have one particular song on the album that you are most attached to? If yes, why?
I absolutely am loving the song 1000 Degrees right now! It’s a killer live jam also. I just dig the lyrics and melody a lot on that one.
Looking over the resumes of the incredible lineup of band members, you all seem to hail from very different musical backgrounds. While you were all originally from the alternative music scene, each band had a different genre/demographic of followers. How do you feel this has benefited the band? Has this hindered you guys in any way?
I think that our respective fan bases have a lot in common (besides good taste in music lol). They are open-minded. So it’s been a good thing to have our fans check this new band out. I think the chemistry works.
I see you are the owner of the Natural Ear Music Rock School in Austin, TX. Is working with kids and expanding the appreciation of music something you are passionate about? What led you to open a school like this?
I have been a teacher for a long time. Years ago I would work at the school between tours and gigs. About 5 years ago I took over the school after it was foundering. I enjoyed owning and running it for a few years but I couldn’t be there full time and so I had to let it go. I’m so busy with being a musician now and producing bands that I don’t have the time to run the school. Any free time I have now goes to my kid. I do miss working with kid bands but I still get to do that sometimes as a producer.
