"Just watching how someone is dancing can change how you’re feeling that night." - Shaun

Opening for ZZ Top at SaskPlace - "I’ve always wondered what it would be like to play there, and now we’re going to find out." - Earl

"If we sat down to write a hit song, there’s no way we would know how to do it. We still feel like a basement band." - Shaun

Midnight Rain was shot in Toronto at the Gooderham and Worts Distillery. My Old Self, This Mourning and Why were also shot in Toronto.

Preacherman’s Song was about Shaun’s Sunday school observations as a child.

"If our music makes a crowd of people, or a handful of people, or just two people feel wonderful inside, then the job is done." - Saf

The band formed as Wide Mouth Mason in Dec. ‘95.

In May 1996 Warner received a live tape of the band playing.

The name: "To be blatantly honest, we just really needed a name. A name that conjured up rootsy images in our head." - Shaun

"It’s weird because people have labeled us everything from acid jazz to classic rock to blues rock, and actually I’m happy we’re so hard to describe because we have broad taste, and so does the world." - Saf

"Some people in the band were lucky to have parents who had good music and some of us had to find it ourselves." - Shaun

B.C. Place was the biggest venue WMM performed at, which was opening for ZZ Top.

Small town bars used to refuse to book WMM because there were only three members. - "They didn’t think the sound would be full enough." - Earl - The guys got around the problem by hiring a fourth musician to stand there. "They didn’t even know the songs, I’m serious." - Earl

George Thorogood complained to his booking agent and said, "You’re not supposed to hire guys that will blow me off the stage."

"It completely blows me away that anyone is interested in us." - Saf

Earl wears size 11 shoes.

Saf drinks Earl Gray Tea, and Shaun drinks Green Tea.

What's Shaun's favourite cartoon? South Park

"My earliest childhood memories are of being at a wedding, or pot-luck dinner, with everyone waiting for me to do something - dance, sing, whatever - entertain people." - Earl

Earl credits Shaun with both pushing him and teaching him musically. "Without him pushing me up until this point now, I wouldn't be nearly where I am as a player, or know what I know musically." - Earl

In high school Saf dropped music for sports.

Saf's musical awakening came from a Beatles movie.

WMM's debut release has reached platinum success.

"I'm a Fender guy." - Earl - He uses a Fender Precision light. His acoustic guitar is a Gibson Epihone.

Saf is big on using Canadian made products. He uses Canwood drums - made by a farmer who lives in Lloydminster on the border of Saskatchewan and Alberta. He uses Sabian cymbals and ProMark 747s sticks.

Song writing - "I don't want a formula even though it's good to keep at it as much as you can. I don't want it to be always vocal idea first, or music idea first. I like how it surprises you, and sometimes it'll be completely different and you'll have no idea that you actually have a song until you realize you've been humming the same thing for a week, and you figure it out, and it comes out." - Shaun.

"I like the guy from WMM. He's got a lot to be proud of as a guitar player. He plays with his heart and his balls rather than his head. He knows more than three chords. He has the same qualities that Eddie Van Halen and Hendrix had, from the standpoint that music just kind of flowed out of those guys. They didn't think about chops, they didn't go "watch what I can do." They just kind of played. The music came through them." - Kim Mitchell.

WMM were nominated for "Best New Group" at the 1997 Juno Awards.

WMM performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Aug. '97 - it was their debut performance in Switzerland.

They have opened for ZZTop, George Thorogood, Big Sugar, Great Big Sea, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

They once played to three drunken hockey players and two chickens in rural Alberta.

Saf and Shaun have known each other since grade school.

Shaun started playing guitar at the age of 10.

"All the things that have been happening, we really don't take for granted. We're very lucky to have come from where we came from and ... have things going the way that they are. We feel absolutely blessed that people are coming out to listen to the music that we play, especially at home." - Shaun

While Saf and Earl were away at University Shaun went on tour with Carson Cole - a prairies' version of Ronnie Hawkins.

WMM were nominated at The Canadian Radio Music Awards under the "Best New Group" category and won. They also won the "Factor Breakthrough Award for the video for "Midnight Rain."

WMM shot an independent video for Midnight Rain that was never released.

Shaun's least favorite vegetable is cooked carrots, he likes them raw though.

The band has been together for five years.

The Nazerene was recorded on a farm in Alberta.

The Nazerene was named after a dream Shaun had.

Their self-titled release Wide Mouth Mason was recorded in early 1997 and took two and a half weeks to record.

WMM toured with Carson Cole when first starting out. They'd play cover songs with him.

The only way WMM could sell their indie CD was to take them to stores in towns they'd play in, or sell them at their shows.