Members of The Moffatts sign autographs for screaming fans

June 28, 1999
Web posted at: 5:01 p.m. EDT (2101 GMT)

From Correspondent Dennis Michael

(CNN) -- The moral of this story: When growing up, change is unavoidable. And in some cases, it can be extremely profitable.

Just ask The Moffatts, the latest boy band to enter the pop-music records race. They know all about change.

Four years ago, before they hit the teen-age years when change comes full-force in the form of puberty, they debuted in the music business with a self-titled country album. Some of their song titles then: "Caterpillar Crawl," "Guns of Love," and "Mama Never Told Me 'Bout You."

The Moffatts were relatively successful in those early years, performing at the White House and opening for the Osmonds.

But now they're teens, pop teens, and they're seeking new horizons.

With their latest release, "Chapter 1: A New Beginning" (ECD), the brothers -- 15-year-old triplets Clint, Dave and Bob their 16-year-old brother Scott -- are rising on the record charts as their voices go down an octave. Nowadays, their guitar-driven tunes are titled "Until You Loved Me," "Misery," "I'll Be There for You" and -- at their ages -- "If Life Is So Short."

MULTIMEDIA

Listen to a clip of "Until You Loved Me" [240k MPEG-3] or [325k WAV] (Courtey Capitol Records)

"Chapter 1" has sold over a million copies internationally, and The Moffatts, who are from British Columbia in Canada, are hoping for Hanson-like success in the "Lower 50" states. Rolling Stone magazine has rated The Moffatts as the No. 1 teen group to catch this summer.

Despite the success, the boys say they're still in touch with their younger years.

"We're not forgetting our country roots because that's where we came from," says Bob Moffatt. "Everybody that surrounded us when we were singing country was very supportive and without them we wouldn't still be making music. So we can't forget them, but right now we're trying to take on a different style of music."

The style change started when the brothers were fooling around in their garage, much to their father's surprise.

"We were in the garage ... sitting down there playing, just playing really loud music," recalls Scott Moffatt. "So we start writing this tune called 'Flea.' And we have no clue why we're writing it, it's just a really heavy type of song. And our dad comes down and was like, 'What the heck is going on here?'"

Dad eventually caught on. And the transition has put his quartet of sons up against a host of teen pop acts.

The artists say they hope their musicianship might be recognized as a distinction in their crowded industry.

"I think that when people compare us to the dance acts, it's kind of strange for us because when they see us on stage, we're playing instruments, we're playing songs that we've written," says Clint Moffatt.

"But I think when they compare us to Hanson it's alright because they do everything. They co-produce their albums, everything musically they're involved with."

CNN Interactive Senior Writer Jamie Allen contributed to this report.