Mower is an explosive live act launched from San Diego, California. Singer Brian Sheerin and drummer Ryan Toth had been rehearsing and recording in a band for months and just when there were enough songs to play a full set, their bass player opted out of the group.
The search for a bass player turned up Chris McCredie, who had just traded snowboarding in Colorado for surfing in California. With the new lineup ready to play shows, Sheerin suggested the name "Mower" to describe a powerful force, and with shows booked, the band adopted the name quickly.
Early Mower shows managed to spark interest within the local scene, but the band was eager to establish itself as the most intense live act to emerge from southern California. McCredie had already toured and recorded with a punk band called The Undecided out of Breckenridge, Colorado and had often said he wanted to have his old singer, Dominic Moscatello, perform with Mower and drummer Toth liked the idea of two vocalists.
That idea met with some resistance as Sheerin had not intended to share vocal duties, but after a few practices with Moscatello, the energy and dynamic were undeniable. The band knew they were onto something much different than other bands at the time.
The song "Still Beside the Mask" was one of three songs that made up the initial Mower demo tape and the first to emerge from the McCredie/Moscatello/Sheerin union. It was enough to start packing shows in San Diego and begin drawing attention to the band.
As Mower's reputation for heavy music grew, so did their reputations for insane live performances and relentless marketing. Live shows became consuming attacks. An endless stream of provocative flyers and omnipresent black and white Mower stickers let San Diego know when the next gig would be, including local police, who used to send "cease and desist" letters to the band.
In the beginning stages of Mower, the word overexposure was ignored, and Mower went on to play local radio shows, impromptu boardwalk parties on Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July that drew hundreds of unsuspecting beachgoers. The band also materialized on local magazine covers and in articles and even appeared on national television in an episode of The Dating Game.
Mower began a frenzy of networking and managed to find their way onto some big bills traveling through San Diego. Early shows with GWAR, hed(pe), System of a Down, Fear and a Vans Warped Tour date in 1999 raised eyebrows in the music industry and found the band entertaining management and record contracts.
Momentum grew steadily and the list of prominent acts they had performed alongside grew with it. Shows with Deftones, Linkin Park, P.O.D., Staind, Sprung Monkey, D.I., Nonpoint and others fueled the band's desire to tour and progress toward bigger things.
Just as things begin to ignite, Mower found themselves enduring the first of several hardships that would strike the band, including the exit of original drummer Ryan Toth and guitarist Alex Toth, broken bones, and more. It wasn't until 2003 that Mower was able to sign to Suburban Noize Records, release their self-titled debut and begin touring nationwide.
Many great things have happened since then. Tours with Soulfly, Kottonmouth Kings, Phunk Junkeez, Adema and (hed)p.e. have helped build Mower's fan base across the United States. The release of the Mower CD in Japan has given the band a small taste of international success, and arena shows with Disturbed and Kottonmouth Kings have allowed Mower to hone their skills in front of even larger audiences.
Mower's music is making it's way into movies, television and videos. Movie synchs include: Black Cloud and Zalman King's Sex,Y & Z. Television synchs consist of: Fox Television's 54321 Sports Show, Blue Torch Television, Fuel TV, and an ESPN Motocross Segment. Music is also featured in these videos: XYZ Skate's Decade of Destruction (feat. Steve O), Red Bull Rampage 3 Motocross Video, Transworld Surf Video 7873, 411 Video Magazine (Surf), 411 Video Magazine (Snow) Vol.3, Savren ÏTomcat 1Ó Motocross Video and ÏTomcat 2Ó Motocross Video, Alticity 2 - Extreme Snowmobiling Video, Pin Pin 3 Snowboarding video, and Elite Streetbike Racing Video. Mower is also included on countless music compilations.
In the middle of all these milestones, adversity struck again. When Mower's trailer full of musical equipment was stolen, the guitarist and drummer subsequently left the group, forcing Mower to cancel a month-long nationwide tour and postpone recording of their second album.
Moscatello, Sheerin and McCredie began what seemed an eternity of searching for their fifth guitarist and third drummer. After months of limping along, playing shows with friends filling in, the band was able to complete their lineup with Matt Wannamaker on guitar and a short lived drummer.
The new members had little time to relax as Mower began touring weeks after the lineup was pieced together. Upon returning home from their second tour across the states, Mower began working on new music only to find themselves letting another drummer go.
Fortunately, among the replacement drummers used to play shows was original drummer Ryan Toth. His first show back was in front of thousands of people and it didn't take long until Ryan was right back where he started, behind the drums for Mower.
In the wake of all these changes, Mower has emerged recharged and continues to harness new energy from the band's fans, friends and network of sponsors including heavyweights Jagermeister, Lost Enterprises, Sik World Productions, Seedless Clothing, SRH Productions and San Diego's Rock 105.3FM.
Mower added two colossal names to the list of great bands they have performed with at the end of 2004: Metallica and Slayer. If that weren't enough, the band went on tour tour Japan in march of 2006.
Mower went on to work with producer Mikey Doling of Snot on their latest CD, Not For You. The disc is compiled of fifteen tracks, with a video for "Road Rage", filmed by Hatebreed director Dale Resteghini that premiered on MTV2's Headbangers Ball.