An Interview with Mz. Moxy

(This Interview was conducted over the span of a few emails in July of 2017)

In 2017, I emailed Mz. Moxy, the vocalist for the Original Series theme song. I’ve been sitting on this for a while now, as I was going to make a video about it at some point, but things have changed since then.

Here’s that interview.

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What’s your background in music, like, how did you get started there?

I taught myself to play the guitar in high school. Then I started writing funny songs, mostly because my playing was so rough. Because they were funny, it didn’t matter that they were so raw and sloppy. But as my playing got better, the songs got more “serious”, but I still try and keep some humor, usually dry or dark.

What are some of your inspirations/influences for your style?

Musically - a few artists are particularly influential. T-Rex, Early Rolling Stones (with Brian Jones), The Smiths, The Primitives, XTC, The GoGos, Blondie, Duran Duran - and more recent artists like The Dandy Warhols and Kasabian…Lyrically, Morrissey is important to me.

Do you plan on releasing any more stuff sometime? I really love the track you did called “Sugar”.

First of all, thank you. And yes, I’ll have new music by the end of the year. The new stuff isn’t too different from “Sugar” but has a slightly more electro-rock hybrid vibe. You can check www.mzmoxy.com for more info if you are interested. Thanks again. :)

So, moving into the stuff actually about the Ben 10 Theme, where did it all start, like, how did You, Andy Sturmer and Cartoon Network come together create this theme?

I met Andy while I was in the studio mixing a song. He came in to drop something off, and the engineer played some clips of songs being featured on a compilation CD. When my song came on - Andy asked who it was. I just happened to be there by chance. We exchanged info, and not too long later he called me to do Ben 10.

Did you work directly with Andy Sturmer or did you sortof do everything seperately? What was your input into the theme besides the vocals?

We worked together. He gave me a demo of the tune and the lyrics, then I went to his studio and we recorded the vocals. We worked together on choosing some different melodies, and I helped with one word - “stuck”.

How did you get your voice to sound like that? It sounds so weird and awesome!

My singing voice is weird naturally anyway - which is why I got the gig probably - haha - and I think there might have been a vocal effect on some of my vocals - which would have been applied afterwards.

At what planning stage was the song produced? Were the aliens (Such as Heatblast), villains (like Vilgax), and the watch (The Omnitrix) named, or were you just given the name “Ben 10” and the premise of a watch that can turn him into aliens and just worked with that?

The Omnitrix was definitely named at that point. We knew about the premise - that Ben could turn into different beings. And I remember knowing the vague details on the powers he would possess. I loved the concept and thought it was a clever idea. I don’t know that the aliens were named at that point. They may have been, but I can’t quite remember.

Are there any like, sketch versions or scrapped versions that were made during the production of what became the final? Or maybe, like, an extended version?

Of the theme song? I think there might have been a SLIGHT variation in some of the sound effects that evolved, but everything else was exactly the same from the first demo I heard.

Speaking of that, common misconception about the lyrics, some people seem to get certain lines wrong, like some say ‘Slimy freaky fast and strong", while others say “Funny freaky fast and strong, or there’s the case of "Armed with powers he’s on the case”, or “All of the powers he’s on the case”, like, what are the actual lyrics?

Haha! OK, here they are:

‘It started when an alien device did what it did

And stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid

Now he’s got super powers he’s no ordinary kid

He’s Ben 10

(Ben 10)

So if you see him you might be in for a big surprise

He’ll turn into an alien before your very eyes

He’s slimy, freaky, fast and strong

He’s every shape and size

He’s Ben 10

(Ben 10)

Armed with powers, he’s on the case

Fighting off evil from Earth or Space

He’ll never stop ‘til he makes them pay

Cause he’s the baddest kid to ever save the day

Ben 10

Ben 10′

Did you ever watch the show at some point after that or was it just kind of a one-and-done thing?

I have watched it. I love cartoons. I love Gwen and think she should have her own show too.

Would you by any chance have the stems for the song? I know some who might be really interested in something like that.

No, I don’t have the stems. Sorry about that! :)

Did you ever hear the Rock Remix of the theme made by Jimmy Coup for the Live Action Movie, “Ben 10: Race Against Time”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVjJp8EZcQ

I never had! That is so interesting! Thank you so much for that. I had no idea that existed. I just asked Andy, and he confirmed he did work on that. Really cool.

There was also a short parody of the theme in a show called Generator: Rex, another show made by the some of the same people who made Ben 10, in a crossover episode between the two shows that aired in 2011, the main character, Rex Salazar, sung this little piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_i4mDaTT78

Wow, you really know your stuff. I hadn’t seen this either! Thank you!

Do you still remember the words to it after all these years, thanks to it being such a catchy song?

Yes I do! I didn’t even have to check when I wrote the lyrics above.

It’s been over 10 years since the show came out, and your theme for the show still maintains it’s place as one of the most iconic cartoon themes of the early 2000s. How do you feel about that?

I am so happy to have been a part of Ben 10. My Gramps and I used to watch cartoons together, and ever since I have been a huge cartoon fan…and I always will be. I also have always had a soft spot in my heart for catchy theme songs - so I am particularly grateful.

Do you have anything to say to the readers before we close this off?

Thank you so much for watching and listening. Never stop watching cartoons!

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I wanna thank Mz. Moxy for even doing this so long ago. Check out her stuff while you’re here, she’s really underrated!

https://mzmoxy.bandcamp.com/track/sugar

