INTERVIEW WITH MOWER FRONTMAN BRIAN SHEERIN

MOWER is a San Diego-based band which has endured more changes than your average traffic light. The band's online bio reads more like a prison visitor register than a band roster (OK, that was a stretch, but you get the point). Regardless, the band has still managed to put together an impressive resume, and managed to share a stage with some hard rock veterans (METALLICA, GWAR, DISTURBED, just to name a few). Despite numerous hardships and personnel changes, 2006 sees the band's music making its way into television, movies, videos, and of course, record store shelves with the release of Not For You. We fired off a few dopey questions to frontman Brian Sherrin, and this is how they got fired back to us...

FoundryMusicRob: According to your website: The name 'Mower' means "One who, or that which, destroys in great numbers as if cutting down, as in battle". But it also is an integral part of lawn maintenance. Does anyone in the band have a green thumb? Any landscapers among you?

Brian Sheerin: If you want to go down that path, yes, we used to grow some of the best crops in San Diego. The name also kind of rhymes with SLAYER so you can’t fuck with that, can you? (You’re talking about tomatoes, of course…right…guys...right? –FMR)

FoundryMusicRob: How often do you get cheesy lawnmower jokes when you meet fans or do interviews?

Brian Sheerin: Never. Really, you’re the first. ::laughs::.

FoundryMusicRob: You guys haven’t stopped moving since the beginning. Losing members, equipment, more members; yet you kept working as if nothing changed. You guys would even get “Cease and Desist” letters from the police regarding your stickers that would end up all over San Diego. Where did you find the drive to keep going as strong as you did in the face of all that resistance?

Brian Sheerin: Anyone can sit down and be honest with himself regarding his abilities and desires in life. The core members of Mower have faith in what we’re doing. We believe that we’re creating some raw music that’s been missing lately and we’ve obviously answered the question “Is this what you want to do with your life?”

FoundryMusicRob: You guys have played with a variety of impressive names in the music industry. METALLICA, GWAR, SLAYER, DISTURBED and SOULFLY, to name a few. Out of all the tours you’ve been on, where there any that stood out as the craziest, or even the most difficult?

Brian Sheerin: Every tour is a challenge for a support band, but we’re up to it. The last KOTTONMOUTH KINGS tour we went on was possibly the craziest of all. We’ve been out with them several times so we’re familiar with their whole scene. I think we may have been a little too comfortable, because we really tore it up partying on that tour. We came back pretty haggard. So that one sticks out as the craziest.

FoundryMusicRob: You guys are on tour right now; describe the typical day in the life of Mower while you guys are on the road.

Brian Sheerin: Wake up late, shower, eat, do interviews, go to venue, wait, get our gear onstage, soundcheck, hand in guest list, wait, warm up, drink, play the set, pack up gear, sell merch, drink, talk with fans, sign stuff, meet people, eat, go to the hotel, sleep and repeat the next day. On off days we’ll get to a movie or go out on the town. We managed to spend a day riding rollercoasters this tour, which was cool. The real crime is that we travel all over the country but don’t have a lot of free time from town to town. We do our best to take in the sights of whatever city we’re in. Not everyone gets to travel as much as we do, so we consider it a privilege.

FoundryMusicRob: If we were to come out to a Mower show, what kind of people should we expect to see? Describe the typical Mower fan, what do they look like, how do they behave, and should we all be afraid?

Brian Sheerin: We’re really fortunate in that we don’t have a stereotypical “Mower” fanbase. We get a mix of people from young kids just getting into concerts to seasoned vets who have all their laminates from the glory days. All I would add is to just be comfortable. You don’t have to look a certain way to enjoy rock music. It’s not a night at the opera. Get a T-Shirt and some sneakers and get in the pit.

FoundryMusicRob: You guys did an awesome cover of “California Dreamin’” on your album Not For You. Are cover songs something you guys do often or was that a rare occasion? I know some bands try to make a living off of playing other people’s stuff, and other bands hate the idea of playing anything other than their own. Where do you guys stand on that topic?

Brian Sheerin: Mower always picks covers that wouldn’t fit a hard rock image. We did The Mamas & The Papas on Not For You, and we do DEVO's “Uncontrollable Urge” a lot live. We’ve done The DOORS “Break On Through”, BLACK FLAG's “Rise Above”, and we’ve even bit some ICP lyrics and spit them over our own music. One of these days we’re going to bust out some ZZ TOP. Covers are one area where you can surprise your audience and treat them to something off the wall.

FoundryMusicRob: I noticed on the album you guys have a song called “Seedless” which is about a friend’s run-in with the Feds. Seedless is also a clothing company that is one of your sponsors. On the album track listing “Seedless” is written in the company’s font. Does the company tie in with your friend’s story? I just found it odd that it was the only song listed in a different font.

Brian Sheerin: That’s the seedleSs logo on the back of the album. It’s a nod to our friend Shea, and his clothing company. seedleSs is born and bred in San Diego, and we’re all part of the same scene so we seized the opportunity to represent a little and show some love for our bros.

FoundryMusicRob: Here’s Steve’s favorite question: Describe for us, your most favorite sandwich.

Brian Sheerin: A foot long, lightly toasted Philly Cheesesteak with quality steak and a few different cheeses, w/grilled onions, mushrooms and hot sauce and no fucking mayo. Mower hates mayo. (Yes sir, no mayo, sir. –FMR)

FoundryMusicRob: You guys write lyrics about some hardcore subject matter, what do you guys think of lame-brained kids that take a band’s lyrics too literally and do dumb shit? School shootings, riots, killing cops, suicide, drug overdoses, stuff like that comes to mind. It really gives heavy music a bad name, what should be done about those bad apples?

Brian Sheerin: I read a lot of fucked up lyrics growing up. All the bands that were sued and banned over the years: OZZY, CANNIBAL CORPSE, S.O.D, METALLICA, MARILYN MANSON, KISS, MOTLEY CRUE. I’ve done some crazy things, but not because ALICE COOPER told me to, you get me? The responsibility falls on the parents to monitor what their kids are into. As callous as it sounds, some people aren’t blessed with a lot of intelligence, and if they seize some lyric as gospel, it’s difficult to prevent them from acting out if that’s what’s they decide to do. They could easily read a newspaper article or watch a movie and be so inclined as to cause trouble or harm themselves or others. If you’re wound so tight that a lyric can set you off, there is a much deeper problem at work there.

FoundryMusicRob: And finally, everyone has accidents, people get hurt, and limbs get broken; what’s the worst physical injury you’ve endured in your life? What was the worst thing to ever make you say “ouchies?”

Brian Sheerin: I had the good fortune of shattering my hand once. Two surgeries later, it’s still tweaked. I could have done without that. All told, I’ve been lucky in life so far. Some people get broken up pretty badly before it’s all over. I’ve got my mangled fingers crossed that I’ve seen the worst of it.

Check out MOWER's official website at MowerMusic.com

You can also read our review of their latest disc Not For You