11 INTE RVTEW ha THE oe pee Sek SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 Cameron Orr, interviewing the Wide Mouth Mason gang. CAMERON STAFF WRITER September 15" will go down in in- famy as UNBC’s 12" annual Backyard BBQ. The evening was filled with every- thing a decent, red-blooded university student could ever ask for: free food, loud music and (competitively priced) - beer. The cold weather couldn't stop the heat from turning up as everyone hud- dled together with the collective goal of rocking out. The evening kicked off at 6 oclock when the BBQ's, for which this event is named, were lit and the line-up began for some greasy hamburgers. Early birds were duly rewarded with 30 minute waits for their food while the late-com- ers filed into line that ended somewhere up the stairs on top of the Agora. Look- ing around at the cold people, and it was cold, there was no sense of disinterest. Everyone knew someone, and people who were strangers became friends. The crowd was friendly, receptive, and eager to have a good time. While in line the opening acts for the night began. First on stage was Anything August, a rock band straight out of our own northern BC in Kitimat, who kicked things off with their awesome rock styl- ing. Despite the unfortunate timing of performing while people are trying to get their food, a good size crowd formed around the stage and received the band well, Lead vocals was Andrew Bennett, with Simon Nagel on Guitar, Justin Melanson with bass, Jeremy Lutz doing vocals and guitar and Calvin Lechner doing vocals and drums. Second up was the aggressive, punk rock Exit This Side, from Vancouver. These guys kept the buzz alive in the crowd with their raging music. This BBQ gave us a look at local bands from both the north and the south and it is clear that British Columbia is.a hotbed of excellent talent. Their hopping energy carried through with the beats of their music and kept the crowd alive. After the openers played their sets there was a hiatus while we waited for the headliners, the original Wide Mouth Mason. The break gave everyone a chance to reflect and, more importantly, achance to buy some more beers, As the night drew on the sense of balance faded as people's BAC’s rose. When Wide Mouth Mason began their set it became clear how they be- came a success. The trio really put every- thing into their performance and their passion and skill came through their singing, At one point I’m certain Shaun Verreault, the lead singer, was playing his guitar upside down, certainly only for the purpose that he could. _ The crowd was hollering and people were literally hanging off the fences. Overall it was a great night. Ihe organ- izers, NUGGS, the bands and even the crowd should all be given props for the success of the night. It was quite the ex- perience, And to conclude, I have compiled a list of adjectives to describe the evening: It was hopping, jamming, rocking, roll- ing, loud, crazy, cooking, sizzling. People were fraternizing, socializing, meeting, greeting, eating, drinking, guzzling, hol-- lering, and again, hopping, There was singing on stage, singing on the floor and on the way home there was singing in the car, Heres looking towards next year. MITCH GRANT A Word With Wide Mouth Mason CAMERON ORR STAFF WRITER Over the Edge was able to get a few words in with Wide Mouth Mason just before the show, Here's what they have to say: ‘The people: Shaun (singer), Bal (Bassist), Simon (drummer) Q: How many times have you come to Prince George? Shaun: I don't know, my second ever paying gig was in PG. We've come back dozens of times since. We've been coming here for years. To the schools, to the park. We wrote some songs on Connaught Hill. It’s very inspiring... Q: Do you like it here? Do you come back mostly for work? Shaun: Mostly a work propos- ition. It gets us here once a year or every few months. We see a lot of the country that way. Every few months were going coast to coast again. Q: Do you get up and down the province very = much? Shaun: Look at a Canadian map and chances are we've played every city. Earl: We come back to Prince George because there's a good fol- lowing here. People have taken to our music from our first record. Q: How do you like the people here in PG? Shaun: It's a rock town. Earl: It’s like Detroit-north. Q: Any comments for the student body up here? Shaun: Our new album came out the last year and we hope they check it out. We have our MySpace page and we have 2 websites that have a fan community so people can check that out if they like what they hear. Q: How long have you been a band? Shaun: 11 or 12 years. Q: So where are you guys from? Shaun: We all started in Saskatoon. The guy who was taking care of our bookings always got us to play here at The Generator. And that’s why we spent lots of time here. Q: Is PG a good town to break out in music? Shaun: I wish I knew more about the local music scene. Earl; A town has to actively foster a live music scene. They dont just happen, there's a lot of work to put on shows, sometimes they have to take a loss on bands in order to have them, so it’s great when a town can do that. Q: (to Simon, who was sitting to the side) How do you like the band having been with them for a year? Simon: Its great. I was playing in Earl's side project band, Mobad- ass. And I played with various local bands in Saskatoon, and I knew the regular drummer since I was a kid so I think he gave me some good props and they hired me. - Q: Is Saskatoon a good place for music? Earl: Well it's bigger, 3 times the size of PG, It's like here though, University town. Q: Do you guys do any supporting for smaller bands, foster new talent? Shaun: Yeah, quite often there's new bands opening for us. From the town were in or that we'll take on an extended tour, like they did for us when we were starting, Q;: Any big plans for the future? Shaun: We'll be recording in the - not too distant future. In the next little while we're doing a tour on a train that goes from Montreal to British Columbia all through De- cember. It’s a charity train. You can check out our website for more de- tails. : If you want to learn more about Wide Mouth Mason check out their website at www.widemouthmason. com.