The Cadre -+

16 March 1999

Arts & Entertainment 15

Wide Mouth Mason Commence Tour in Charlottetown

By STEPHEN MCQUAID

On Monday, March 8th, Wide Mouth Mason and openers the Miller Stain Limit started their condom- sponsored tour in Charlottetown, PEI. An ap- preciative yet unfortunately small crowd was on hand at Myron’s to witness the per- formance and minor specta- cle.

As you may know, Wide Mouth Mason’s latest tour is sponsored by Durex, maker of condoms. Feeling as if money they’d accepted from other sponsors before, like Belevedere, was almost ‘dirty money,’ the band de- cided to go with a sponsor which carried a more impor- tant and postive message.

Shaun Verrault of WMM commented on the new sponsor. “We’re glad that we get asked about this. AIDS is not a hot topic right now, so it’s important to bring it back into the public eye. Sure, people will be gig- gling, and thinking that we just want to ‘get laid’ on the road, but the approach to this has to be light-hearted. It’s fun for the fans to laugh at the bug pink bus, and the guy in the big condom suit named Richard, passing out bro- chures ani condoms. I think it all illuminates their own ig- norance.” Shaun also com- mented about the possibility of people misinterpreting their message.

“It’s important to know that we’re not making a choice for you. Most peo-

ple are not going to give a damn about what a says. The decision is up to you, and if you decide to have sex,

then you have to protect yourself... there’s so many things that could happen, and rip apart your relationship.”

And it is all pretty humourous. Girls getting their picture taken with ‘Ri- chard’, the free condoms, and the large pink bus that resem- bles a horizontal bottle of Pepto Bismol with a sad, gi- ant sperm on the side of it.

Shaun also talked about how the timing of events has gradually in- creased in scale, in regards to opening for big-name bands, has been crucial for their suc- cess.

“We've slowly been making it, gathering momen- tum. It’s been very comfort- able. I believe that’s why we've become successful; we've gradually been playing in bigger places... it’s all tim- ing that’s opened doors for us.”

We discussed their opening slots for the Rolling Stones. | asked him, at the

uest of someone else, if Keith Richards looks even scarier up close. “No, he looks so much better up close than he does in his inter- views. I think he always has this odd look on his face dur- ing interviews that makes it look all wrinkled up... the weird thing about the Stones is that they're all really short, like, little guys. Even Ron Wood, wea of his hair

fed up, comes up to, like, my : Is...” | found that most humourous.

The concert itself was excellent. Wide Mouth Ma- son played as if they’d been on tour for weeks, firing on on laying ms 0 very fine:

asa tuned) and tight band. The set

was heavy material from their new CD, Where | Started.

The new CD is a bit of a change for them, but all of the new songs blend very well with their older ones, as part of their rock-blues-funk sound. There was also a bit of reggae, in the new song Sugarcane, as well as some choice cover songs such as Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Cold Shot”, Jimi Hendrix's “Gypsy Eyes” and a funkified version of “All Along the Watchtowern” If at all possible, stake out a position at the very front of the stage, dead center, if you get a chance to see this band.

By STEPHEN MCQUAID

On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Big Wreck and Emm Gryner showcased their dif-

songs, her small yet catchy hit “summerlong,” and a re-

Witnessing Shaun's incendi- ary mastery of his guitar is a real treat, not to mention the stellar performances of drummer Safwan Javed and energetic bassist Earl Pereira.

After the show, we dined on veggie pizza, some folks had beer, but ‘Saf’ and I had cran juice. We sat around and talked about vari- ous things, with a few other lucky fans. We laughed at the new Fatboy Slim video on Much Music, ‘Saf’ and Earl commented on their fancy for Lauryn Hill, ete. When the topic of the Junos came up, | told Shaun that Celine Dion had announced a hiatus from

music, His response was something like, “All rig-...l mean,...oh no...that’s terrible (he laughs with Safwan and they high-five each other).” I found both bands to be in- credibly friendly and fun, even accomodating. Shaun actually served me my cran- berry juice. These guys must have really great mothers.

If the opening show is any indication, this should be an extremely successful tour for Wide Mouth Mason. The new CD is very strong, and the live show is excellent. They will continue to tour Canada until the middle of

April.

Wreck and Emm Gryner

cently written “Revenge.” Also of note, hapinved Cee Osborne's “Crazy Train” and closed her set with the Beastie Boy's Bingen The crowd it, and I’m sure I'm not the only one hoping she'll come back soon.

She’s quite talented,

and at the of 23, he's thie Sore her own record company, on the Lilith Fair tour, per- formed with many “big” mu- sicians, and got eel by Mercury records. If you'd like to sample her music, try her new CD, Public.

After what seemed like a short eternity, Big za soe made or onto oo lead guitar), stepped up to the mic and took a quote

from the book of The Fonz: “Ayyy,.” he said as they stated into their set.

Their performance was a good one, a mix of their own songs from their debut CD In Loving Memory Of... and many cover songs, eee be full songs bo ittle sni grafted into waiadlant tea of their own

They started with a very short intro of “John the Revelator,” which I sus- pected was influenced by Gov't Mule’s version of the song. Dave Henning, their bass player, confirmed my suspicion after the show. .

They also did bits of “Into Your Arms” by the Lemonheads, “If 1 Had My Way” by Big Sugar, an ear- *continued on page 16 -