Moby-lizing Forces for an Eclectic Tour

Sure, fame has its disadvantages--lack of privacy, becoming tabloid fodder, expectations--but as electronic superstar Moby (born Richard Melville Hall) has learned, success does have its sweet side.

Certainly high among the pluses is having the clout to scribble on a napkin a list of musicians you would like to take on tour, and then a year later to see that wish list become one of the summer’s biggest touring packages.

Outkast, the Roots, the Orb, DJs Paul Oakenfold and Timo Maas, New Order (reunited, with former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan on guitar)--all of them were tapped to join Area: One by Moby, whose career has surged following the long-standing popularity of his multi-platinum 1999 release “Play.”

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When Area: One rolls into San Bernardino’s Blockbuster Pavilion on Sunday, it will wrap up what has been a creative high point in a relatively lackluster concert summer. More than 10,000 fans are expected for the eight-hour, multi-stage festival.

For the 34-year-old Moby, who took a break from writing his follow-up to “Play” to headline Area: One, the nightly experience of watching fans embrace his vision of a boundary-breaking music festival has been deeply rewarding.

“Doing the whole tour has brought me a lot of new energy, as it were, just because people are having such a good time,” he says.

The success of the tour has been particularly gratifying given the humble origins of the concept. Following a conversation with a radio DJ, in which Moby and his interviewer lamented the demise of such cross-genre tours as Lollapalooza and Horde, the DJ suggested Moby start a “Moby-palooza.”

“I thought, ‘Why not at least try?”’ Moby says. “I mentioned it to my manager, who in turn mentioned it to [concert promotion company] SFX, and they seemed kind of receptive to the idea. That was the genesis of it.”

Halfway through year one, Moby is enjoying himself immensely. As he says, “Touring in North America in the summertime is just fun. There’s this very warm, nice atmosphere and everybody hangs out together.”

But back on July 11, when the tour kicked off in Atlanta, his normally calm demeanor gave way to nerves and apprehension.

“In all honesty, a couple days before the first show and that morning, I was full of all sorts of trepidation. It’s one thing to sit down and write a bunch of names of bands and DJs on a napkin in an airport; it’s another thing to have 15,000 people paying for tickets and all the bands, DJs and production people in one place .... Once it got going, as I hoped it would, it just sort of took on a life of its own. With anything, whether you’re an architect, throwing a party or putting on a nightclub, you provide the institution and then people make of it what they will.”

Hard rockers Incubus and critically acclaimed songbird Nelly Furtado, who will not be joining the tour on its Western swing, together added to the diversity of the bill for most of the tour. Any show that features Incubus, Outkast and Moby playing in succession has to be lauded for its eclecticism, but, given how different each of the acts is, one wonders what Moby was looking for in the artists he selected to play Area: One.

“In addition to all being good performers,” he says, “my primary criteria for choosing bands was just, I had to like them.”

One of the bands he chose was synth act New Order, but the group could not commit to the entire tour because it was finishing “Get Ready,” the band’s first new album in eight years. Moby says the group (descended from synth-rock pioneers Joy Division) will bring a different energy to the tour as it replaces some East Coast tour members now moving on to other things.

“I’m sad to see Nelly Furtado and Incubus go, as they’ll be leaving us when New Order come on board,” Moby says. “But I’m obviously very excited about having New Order join the tour.”

New Order bassist Peter Hook says it was all about Moby when the group decided to join the festival, even though “Get Ready” won’t be available in the U.S. until mid-October.

“We’re big fans of Moby,” Hook says. “I loved his last album and he’s a self-confessed disciple of Joy Division. I guess you could say it’s kindred spirits.”

Adding to the anticipation of New Order’s appearance is the presence of Corgan on guitar. Corgan, who has been friends with Hook since the former was a teenager, appears on the new record on the duet “Turn My Way,” a song marked by the superb harmonies between Corgan and New Order vocalist Bernard Sumner.

“Adding a fifth element has brought a new richness and density,” Hook says. “We’re looking forward to showing it off on the tour.” Is there anybody else he’s excited about seeing? “Moby, obviously. And Outkast. I know a little bit. I’ve heard their last couple of records.”

For Moby, who grew up in the late ‘70s and doesn’t view the type of diversity he’s offering as being out of the ordinary, Hook’s anticipation of the lineup would be a high compliment.

“I remember the Clash going on tour with Kid Creole & Coconuts and Grandmaster Flash; or seeing XTC with Joan Jett and Jules Holland & the Millionaires,” Moby said. “To me, eclecticism seems very natural.”

While he says his primary agenda was to put on a wonderful show, he does admit to broader ambitions.

“I guess one of my goals was to promote the further hybridization and cross-pollination of different musical genres,” he says. “Maybe those people who’ve come out to see Incubus perform and wandered over to the dance tent to see Paul Oakenfold might go out dancing all night the next time Oakenfold, Carl Cox or Timo Maas are in town.”

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Area: One, featuring Moby, Outkast, New Order, the Roots, Paul Oakenfold, the Orb, Timo Maas, Rinocerose, Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, is Sunday at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, San Bernardino. 3 p.m. $45.30-$73.50. (909) 886-8742.

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