Wide Mouth Mason’s prophylactics
Rachel Reid

The ‘Iron Sheik’ is less dependable than it ought to be.

As the pet name given to Wide Moth Mason’s tour bus, Iron Sheik is fittingly descriptive. Drummer Safwan Javed conducts the phone interview en route to Peterborough after being held up by the broken-down bus.

The band is about half-way through its grueling two month Canadian tour to promote their new album entitled Where I Started. The CD features thoughtful, often humorous lyrics and several catchy, radio-ready tunes.

It was produced by Grammy-winner David Leonard (Prince, John Mellencamp, Barenaked Ladies), and follows their self-titled debut album, which was previously independently recorded and re-released by the new label, Warner Music Canada.

The band awaits an American label decision before determining a tour schedule below the border.

WMM had the opportunity, when opening for the Rolling Stones in the States twice last month, to play in front of more fans than they will see on their entire Canadian tour.

"We love playing for them [The Stones]. Not only do we get to more people," says Javed, with no shortage of enthusiasm or admiration, "but we’re playing with living legends. They tend to have an established and selective audience, so if we can get to them we’ve accomplished something. We opened for the Rolling Stones last April, and we were invited back for this year. That is good for the confidence! It’s got to be one of the best compliments we could get."

The trio is completed by Shaun Verrault, lead vocalist and guitarist, and Earl Pereira, bass guitarist. They all grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and started playing together in high school. When Javed and Pereira opted for post-secondary education, Verrault continued to hone his skills by playing for every band he could force himself upon. After graduating from university, the three reunited with all the driving ambition necessary to get them to where they are now, just a few years later.

So, for what’s left to achieve? "It’s a process," asserts Javed. "You’re always striving to better yourself."

For Javed, success does not merely mean being one of the preferred opening acts for the Rolling Stones. "The critical point for me was when I knew this was something I wanted to do for a long time. When I was fully committed to it, that is when I became a professional musician. And the biggest reward is the feeling we get from creating music."

As for classifying the kind of music they create, WMM has been said to produce blues-based rock, but Javed denies labels. "I think [our music] is tough to classify. We just play our stuff. Our music is Wide Mouth Mason. We have always looked up to musicians that have risen above genre, that defy classification...guys like Prince, Bob Marley, Hendrix and Clapton."

Wide Mouth Mason will be in K-W on Friday March 26. They will play a free concert for students of WLU and UW at Federation Hall as part of a concert series sponsored by Bell Canada. All tickets have been distributed.

They enjoy playing to the university crowd. "It’s the place where musical trends begin," theorized Javed. "The university population tends to be the first to catch on to something new. Everything seems to begin from and grow from there."

However, this band prefers to keep a Bernardin lid (stop and think about it) on the moshing that can go along with it. Warns Javed, "I have had a good time in mosh pits, but I have also had a bad time. People can get hurt, and that ruins the pleasure of the show. We strongly discourage mosh pits" Not that their music is particularly conducive to such activity, but it can’t hurt to stop things before they get started.

In another non-rockstar move, WMM, growing tired of sending negative messages by association with cigarette-manufacturers, WMM sought out a new sponsor, Durex. Explains Javed, "As our shows become increasingly all-age events, and even when they are not, its not right to support things like cigarettes and alcohol. We’re on stage sending out an image of ourselves, and we don’t want to have [these things] included in that image. We just feel that we need to support a positive message, and we tie it in with Health Canada and AIDS Awareness. It’s a more realistic piece of ourselves we are laying down now."

Well said, if realism is driving around in a motorized prophylactic! At any rate, the sight of the band pulling into the parking lot will certainly add to the entertainment value of their appearances. Concluded Javed, just before being lost to a bad cellular connection, "We always only hope for a fun night. We give it our all and aim to have a good time ourselves. And if we notice even a few people enjoying themselves, we feel good about our performance."