Biography

The brainchild of Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, Motor Sister is an all-star hard rock collective built for the sole purpose of celebrating and playing the songs of Los Angeles-based groove/blues-rockers Mother Superior, who broke up in the early 2000s after releasing eight studio albums and moonlighting as Henry Rollins backing band. Debuting in 2015 with the Mother Superior set Ride, the band delivered a collection of original songs on their 2022 sophomore effort, Get Off. Ian, a longtime fan, wanted to see a reunion of the defunct outfit for his 50th birthday, and he also wanted to be a part of it. With the help of his wife, vocalist Pearl Aday, who had been working musically with Mother Superior frontman Jim Wilson for years, Ian got his wish, and was soon joined by Wilson, Aday, and friends Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint) and John Tempesta (White Zombie) at his rehearsal space to run through some songs. The newly minted Motor Sister, named for MS track "Little Motor Sister," made its debut at Ian's 50th birthday party, and the group got along so well that they began talking about putting an album together. The resulting Ride, which features 12 new takes on Mother Superior standards like "Devil Wind," "Beg Borrow Steal," and "A Hole," was issued on Metal Blade in March 2015. For the next several years, Motor Sister operated as a live entity when the bandmember's schedules permitted it. The stars eventually re-aligned, resulting in the release of 2022's Get Off. Recorded live in the studio, the LP featured 11 original songs, along with a cover of Mother Superior's "Rolling Boy Blues." ~ James Christopher Monger