Wide Mouth Mason

Formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the mid-1990s, Wide Mouth Mason craft a blues-steeped rock sound interlaced with funk, soul, and pop influences. The trio—built around singer-guitarist Shaun Verreault, drummer Safwan Javed, and original bassist Earl Pereira—first drew attention with their independent debut, The Nazarene (1996), then broke through with the self-titled Wide Mouth Mason (1997), which established them on the Canadian rock scene. Where I Started (1999) and Stew (2000) continued the blend of alternative rock and more soul-inflected grooves, before Rained Out Parade (2002) brought the band’s blues side further to the fore. With Shot Down Satellites (2005) and No Bad Days (2011), produced in collaboration with Gordie Johnson, Wide Mouth Mason honed a more rootsy sound centered on guitar riffs, rhythmic bass lines, and straightforward drumming. After Pereira’s departure, the band became a duo centered on Verreault and Javed, and continued this exploration on I Wanna Go with You (2019), an album with a more stripped-down feel oriented toward electric blues, while maintaining a steady live presence and an aesthetic focused on onstage energy and controlled improvisation.