14. Mongrel
“Shut Your Mouth”
from “Open Your Eyes”
Adam Savage–guitar • Drew Barker– vocals •
John Schmerling–bass • Pete Adams–drums
www.mongrelband.com

In the vein of The Misfits and Black Flag—with maybe a touch of Pantera—Nashua-based foursome Mongrel has made quite a name for themselves in the past year. They were a featured artist of the month on Rock Boston, DieselDonkey and LowellRocks.com, opened for national acts The Misfits, Trash Light Vision and Hed(pe), got airplay on all the big radio stations in the area and garnered press to highlight it. And that was all this year.

Mongrel has earned their success the old-fashioned way—non-stop gigging. Their music also has a lot of attitude and personality. With songs like “What Would Jesus Destroy?” and “No Gods, No Masters,” they’re using their punk roots to find new ground in the New England music scene. John Schmerling’s crisp and punchy bass lines pair up with Pete Adams’ tumbling snare and solid kicks to bring the rhythm section to the forefront. Aptly named Adam Savage’s guitars are loud and brash and Drew Barker’s vocals mostly forgo melody for attack velocity.

Their six-song demo, “Open Your Eyes,” captures their punch-you-in-the-gut sound in all its glory. Recorded at Curly’s Coffee in Amherst this past March, the disc is a candid snapshot of the band: just six tracks to boil your blood and get some issues off their chest.

While Mongrel officially formed in September 2003, the lineup changes have been numerous since then. The bass player and singer positions have been through three people each, while, with the recent departure of Adams, the band is currently looking for drummer number four. Guitarist and founder Savage remains steady in his vision of what Mongrel should be and believes he’ll find the right mix of personalities and performers to take Mongrel to the next level.