Wide Mouth Mason

Guitarist Shaun Verreault, drummer Safwan Javed, and bassist Earl Pereira attended the identical high school in Saskatoon, located in the agriculturally prominent prairie province of Saskatchewan. Although the group adopted its moniker from a type of canning jar, Wide Mouth Mason draws its core sound from the blues rather than any country tradition, citing Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix among its primary influences.

Despite lead singer Verreault’s still-youthful timbre, the band infused fresh energy into the blues-rock power-trio format and projected a maturity well beyond the members’ average age of twenty-one on their self-titled major-label debut, an album consisting entirely of original songs. Multiple record companies pursued the trio before it settled on a contract with Warner Music Canada that encompassed between two and six albums and included worldwide distribution rights; the group also intended to revisit and reissue its earlier independent release, Nazarene.

Wide Mouth Mason quickly established a strong reputation for live performance, serving as an opening act for ZZ Top, George Thorogood, and the acclaimed Canadian band Big Sugar in its early years. The trio received an enthusiastic response at the 1997 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where members jammed with Me'shell and Joshua Redman; Van Morrison was sufficiently impressed to invite Verreault onstage for a guest appearance.