Motor Sister is comprised of a veritable super group; a team of musicians whose collective musical pedigrees speak for themselves.
Mother Superior founder, guitarist, and vocalist Jim Wilson fronts the band, with Anthrax’s Scott Ian on guitar, Pearl Aday on backing vocals, Joey Vera on bass, and John Tempesta on drums. The group was originally assembled to jam for Scott Ian’s fiftieth birthday party. Thanks to Scott’s wife Pearl Aday, who has been working on her solo career with Mother Superior front man Jim Wilson for years, all it took was a quick phone call and the stage was literally set for Scott’s dream gig. “I wanted to cherry-pick a set list of my favorite Mother Superior songs and get these guys together and have the concert at my house,” Ian says of the event that eventually led to an album.
Enthralled at the idea of making a record of his favorite Mother Superior songs, Ian emailed producer Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Steel Panther) and asked if he thought it was possible to recapture the same spontaneous energy Motor Sister generated at their makeshift gig, and if an album could be recorded quickly. “He said, ‘Yeah, we can make the record in two days and we can make it sound really good.’ So that’s what we did,” Ian says. “A week and a half later, we made the record in LA over a two day period. We recorded the whole thing live in the studio and the set-up was at my house.”
“[Mother Superior] frontman Jim [Wilson] was totally into the idea. Pearl was a huge Mother Superior fan from way back and was in. I asked my good friends Joey Vera (Fates Warning/Armored Saint) and John Tempesta (White Zombie, The Cult) to be a part of it because I knew they were both big fans as well and with no hesitation they said, ‘We’re in.'”
Wilson, too, was stoked by the opportunity to dust off some songs he hadn’t played since his LA rock trio broke up in the early 2000’s after releasing eight albums and playing as Henry Rollins’ backing band. “I definitely didn’t need any arm-twisting,” he says. “I was totally flattered and thought it was a great idea. I figured it would be fun and it was a great opportunity for a new chapter to be established in order to move forward.”
The recordings from those two days are what became to be known as Motor Sister’s Ride. Today, the first single from those sessions, This Song Reminds Me of You, is available for to stream here. Watch a featurette video on the formation of the band and the process behind the record below.
Ride will be released March 10th in North America on Metal Blade Records. Pre-orders for the album are available now at metalblade.com/motorsister/.
In support of the project Motor Sister have scheduled a special show on February 12th in Brooklyn, NY at Saint Vitus. Tickets for the show can be purchased here.
Ride Track Listing:
1. A Hole
2. This Song Reminds Me of You
3. Beg Borrow Steal
4. Fool Around
5. Get That Girl
6. Head Hanging Low
7. Fork in the Road
8. Little Motor Sister
9. Pretty in the Morning
10. Whore
11. Doghouse
12. Devil Wind
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2 Responses
Another supergroup? Seems these are forming weekly these days…
At least they’re only doing one show. Scott needs to focus on Anthrax and getting a new album out.