CLASSIC -  Wide Mouth Mason plays The Vat on Oct. 12th. Their latest disc

CLASSIC - Wide Mouth Mason plays The Vat on Oct. 12th. Their latest disc

Canadian rockers Wide Mouth Mason in City

Fans will enjoy classics plus tunes from latest project

Fueled by a strong reception to their latest disc No Bad Days, Wide Mouth Mason continues to break new ground in their long-time sonic journey.

The power trio plays The Vat on Oct. 12th. No Bad Days, which was released in the summer of 2011, was recorded live, ‘off the floor’ and it yielded amazing results from the band.

Their music continues to build on a foundation of uniquely-crafted material from the break beat infused Shut Up & Kiss Me to the Chris Robinson (of The Black Crowes) penned Go Tell It To The Waterfall to the recently released single Get A Hold Of You.

Little wonder the guys are anxious to hit the road and reconnect with fans.

“We’ve called the record No Bad Days because it perfectly describes the experience we had making it,” said singer/guitarist Shaun Verreault. Rounding out the band are Safwan Javed (vocals/drums) and Gordie Johnson (vocals/bass).

“We worked on our third record Stew with Gordie as producer. When we decided to make a more organic ‘live off the floor’ kind of record, we knew he was ‘that Guy’ and we couldn’t be more excited about the results.”

Wide Mouth Mason’s unique approach to jamming has earned them two invitations to the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland (which resulted in the acclaimed 2009 DVD/CD release Live! Montreux, Switzerland) and tours with AC/DC, ZZ Top and The Rolling Stones.

They also became one of the first North American rock bands to tour China in the 21st century. Previous albums have yielded such hit singles as Midnight Rain, My Old Self, Why, Smile and Change.

Wide Mouth Mason took its name from the jar of the same name and independently released their first record, The Nazarene in 1996. It’s reception was relatively small, but it wasn’t long before it snagged the interest of major labels.

According to Wikipedia, the band went on to re-record much of the album and that’s what attracted the attention of Warner Music Canada, which eventually signed them. The new album was released in 1997 in Canada and the U.S., and a year later in Japan.

It established the group’s fusion of pop/rock/blues, and yielded the hit singles Midnight Rain, My Old Self and This Mourning.

The project went on to earn gold status in Canada, and the guys were nominated for Best New Group at the 1998 Juno Awards. Wide Mouth Mason released a new album in 1999 with Where I Started, a continuance of its prior sound, but adding elements of jazz and world music.

The band returned to Greenhouse Studios to record and mix the album. Its lead single Why, backed with scratches and cuts from childhood friend and DJ Muchi Mambo, was a major hit in Canada, and was followed by two other hits Companion (Lay Me Down) and Sugarcane. The album also notched gold status in Canada.

Stew, described as a more pop-oriented CD, was released in 2000. The single Smile did well in Canada, and the follow-up tune Change proved popular on MuchMusic. The disc was later nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2001 Junos.

Wide Mouth Mason returned in 2002 with two albums. The first, Rained Out Parade, featured a heavier emphasis on the blues while Greatest Hits was released exclusively in China.

After their contract with Warner expired, the band signed with Curve Music in 2004.

The following year, the band would again release two albums, this time on the same day. One was The Essentials, a greatest-hits album, and the other was Shot Down Satellites, a new studio release featuring a hard rock-centered style and the single I Love Not Loving You.

In 2006, Verreault released his solo debut The Daggerlip Sketches focusing on acoustic-guitar-based material.

It featured new songs and stripped-down versions of familiar material from his band. In early 2008, the Wide Mouth Mason’s official web site announced that Verreault was releasing a second solo album, titled Two Steel Strings, and that the full band was writing new material for a future release.

Since then, Earl Pereira left the band to concentrate on his own band, Mobadass, which he has fronted since 2005.

In 2010, Wide Mouth Mason supported ZZ Top with Grady/Big Sugar frontman Johnson on bass. In March 2011, the band announced that Johnson would be joining the band full time.

“The band’s collective influences really came together on No Bad Days,” says Johnson. “You can hear everything from The Allman Brothers to the Isley Brothers.”

Rounding out their latest creative ventures was the No Bad Days…It’s a Movie on YouTube, which offers a closer look at their creative process.

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