One Mow Time

By Juan Yossarian / Photos by Jeff “Turbo” Corrigan

8/3 MOWER @ House of Blues hob.com

Having taken a three-year break from breakin’ eardrums with heavy guitar licks and guttural screams, San Diego-based punk rock band Mower is returning to the stage to blow the roof off of House of Blues.

The Mower story began with a “bassist wanted” ad in The Reader in 1996 and went on to include performing at the Vans Warped Tour, touring Japan and opening for Metallica and Slayer.

PacificSD: You haven’t played as a group in years. Are there any butterflies in your stomach?
Chris McCredie: More out of excitement. We’re looking forward to it. We’ve been jamming in the studio, and it’s just never sounded so good. We’re much more professional, music-wise. We’re making everything pristine tight and we’re really happy.

What prompted the hiatus?
We took it as far as we could take it. When Mower started, MP3s came out and, within a few years, the record stores started going south. It was really tough to keep that momentum going without CD sales, even when you’re on a record label. We all had other projects that we were involved in. Dominick and myself formed a couple other side bands [a Rat Pack cover band called Slower Sinatra, and FOA - Friends of Assholes], Brian formed a band called Audio Audition, and Slower really started taking off.

Slower?
Basically, we formed a second band. We suit-and-tied it, did an upright bass, kind of kept the Mohawks and tattoos, and kept it all kinda cool. We were doing Mower songs, but jazzand lounge-style. We recorded some songs and made a record. Then, an agency got a hold of us and basically said, ‘Hey, you know, if you guys get a whole bunch of covers, we can get a bunch of work for you.’ So, we put like three or four hours of cover music ranging from ‘60s to current, and Slower became the ultimate cheese-ball wedding cover band. It’s pretty badass.

For anyone who isn’t already a fan, describe Mower’s musical stylings.
Mower is an Old School metal hardcore band that has a bounce to it. It’s very different than most bands and it’s certainly nothing like the metal screamo acts that are coming out today. So, if anybody likes the Old School vibe, you know hardcore metal such as Pantera and bands like that, we’re very similar to that. And we create really cool live stage shows.

What’s cool about the live shows?
A lot of ruckus. There will obviously be a pit up front, but the House of Blues has plenty of room for people to kick back and enjoy the show and not feel like they have to be involved with the mayhem. But, it’s going to be a crazy show, and we’re expecting a good ol’ fashion rock and roll party, which I never see any more.

Your music has been in motocross and surfing videos. Has being tied into the Action Sports world impacted the band?
Yeah, ESPN has used our songs for many segments. It’s just really cool. It just fits the vibe of the craziness that people are pouring off these days.