Moby Still Affected by Poverty of Youth

04/09/2005 3:05 AM, AP
The Associated Press

Even though he's now a rich musician, Moby is still affected by the poverty of his youth.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Moby says he and his mother grew up on welfare in a tony section of Connecticut.

"I was the only poor person I'd ever met, and it has kind of given me this lifelong feeling that I'm a second-class citizen, because in my formative years I was a second-class citizen," he told the AP.

"I'm sure anyone who's ever had to take food stamps to go to the supermarket to buy cigarettes for their mom knows what I'm talking about. It's embarrassing. You live in that constant state where you don't really want people to pay attention to you, because you're afraid if they pay attention to you, they're going to see how inadequate you are."

Moby, 39, says the fear of being poor again is the main reason why he's such a workaholic — according to his calculations, he hasn't taken a vacation in ten years.

"You have this feeling like the moment you stop working, everything gets taken away from you," he said.

It also explains why he habitually goes around his houses to make sure the lights are off in rooms that are not in use, and why he mixes water in cereal and in fruit juice.

"This is very sad, but I can't drink undiluted juice," he explained. "Everything we drank was diluted because you had to make it last longer. So, when I drink undiluted juice, it tastes like syrup to me. When I make cereal, I'll make half water and half soy milk, because that's how I grew up.

"And it's a little disconcerting when you see someone pouring water on cereal, but you have to make do."

The musician, best known for his techno and electronica music, released his latest album, "Hotel," last month.