Conceived initially by Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and his wife Pearl Aday as a love letter to guitarist Jim Wilson’s underrated bluesy hard rock band Mother Superior, Motor Sister debuted in 2015 with the album Ride, a collection of Mother Superior covers.
With album two, Get Off, the LA quintet – completed by Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera and The Cult drummer John Tempesta – are emerging as an excellent band in their own right, with 12 songs that draw from their shared love of Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Kiss and the best classic rock.
It’s been seven years between the first Motor Sister album and the new one. Was there always a plan to record a second album?
Scott Ian: Yes, we knew that we’d eventually start to write original songs, schedules permitting.
Pearl Aday: And when Jim came to us and said: “Guys, I have some new ideas, wanna hear them?” we were all on board immediately.
Scott Ian: Just as we started recording, the pandemic hit and we went into lockdown, so we had to take a time out for a year! But it’s worth the wait.
Get Off sounds like the best jukebox in the best bar in town.
Pearl Aday: I absolutely agree! It’s our version of the music that we all love. I mean, Sooner Or Later is a great Thin Lizzy song…
Scott Ian: When Jim played us that demo I said: “This is the best Lizzy song since Black Rose!” You could totally imagine Phil Lynott singing that song. To me, this record is scratching an itch that you didn’t even know you had, it’s the music in our DNA. When we were asked to describe the record for our press biography, I said it’s the best hard rock record since Appetite For Destruction. But they left that line out!
If Motor Sister was a brand new band, people would be saying: ‘These guys are the future of rock!’ Why aren’t more young bands making records like this?
Scott Ian: Because it’s not in their blood, because they’re nineteen, twenty years old and they haven’t experienced life yet. Every time there’s a new band getting touted as The Saviours Of Rock I get excited, and I want to hear them, but the records never live up to the hype. I’m not knocking young bands, but we’ve lived this life, and those classic hard rock albums have been the soundtracks to our lives.
You didn’t really get a chance to tour Ride. Will you be able to tour this one?
Scott Ian: I really hope so. We’ll do our best. We have a window in November where we’re all available and we hope to get a proper run of dates then. And next year we hope to finally make it to the UK. We love to play, and we see each other way more socially than when we’re on band business, so the idea of hitting the road properly with our best friends is exciting.
Tell us why people need this album.
Scott Ian: Because it’s the only real hard rock record coming out in 2022. If you’re looking for a true rock record, look no further, this is for you.
