Since 2019, Mom Rock has experienced both sides of the coin. The first side preludes the pandemic, in which their strenuous basement circuit line of shows in Boston developed them quickly into a tight, uniformed band. The other side of the coin was the emergence from the pandemic; immediately being thrust into large shows, festivals, and a prolific string of singles. As they move closer to releasing their debut album this coming October, Mom Rock caught my eye in a sea of 200 bands at Mile of Music Festival due to the cohesiveness in their look, style, and that undefinable ‘mojo’ I continue to explore.
Curtis Heimburger, Wilson Reardon, and Tara Maggiulli sat down with me before their slew of shows at Mile of Music (or M.O.M.) to discuss the instant propulsion into the larger touring circuit. They acknowledge that it’s been a huge jump for them the past year with their first two songs being picked up on Spotify. “Grand Romantic Life” has nearly 4 million streams already. During the shutdown, music industry people could see the trajectory online with their streaming and monthly listeners stats. That confidence has led them to knowing that at any given festival or lineup, they could reasonably pull an audience based on the online engagement. Combined with an opening tour slot and eventual own headlining tour, Mom Rock can quantify the impact of playing those basement shows back in Boston.
(L-R) Curtis Heimburger (guitar), Wilson Reardon (drums), Tara Maggiulli (bass)
“One of the things that sticks out is that you can’t hear anything,” Curtis shares when thinking back to the basement shows.
Wilson adds that many times he literally had no clue on what noises Tara and Curtis were making, but learned how to play a whole show based on their visuals and movement. This taught them to be really tight and know the songs inside and out without relying on stage monitors. The college basement shows would happen almost every weekend and lineups were always 4-5 bands cycling through. These shows were primarily there for people to party, so oftentimes the bands and music would be secondary. But Mom Rock quickly knew that being able to stand out was important.
“People listen with their eyes,” Tara states, “I think just being able to distinguish ourselves visually, as well as sonically, was a huge advantage. People at least remembered that band with the guy in a spacesuit. We stuck in people’s heads.”
Through this period was when Curtis noticed a purple and gold two-piece jumpsuit in a friends closet and offered to buy it for $40. Showing it to the band, they slowly made their own colors and version of that jumpsuit. The evolution of their outfits have ranged from those monochrome jumpsuits in different colors, silver suits made by Curtis’ mom, baseball uniforms, and even vintage salmon power skirts. Their collection of witty music videos carries the value of visuals showcasing them in a variety of unique uniforms.
“It’s kind of our alter egos. When we put on these outfits we get outside of ourselves and we’re able to put on more of an unbridled show. These are unrestrained versions of ourselves, like a Sasha Fierce. It’s like Halloween every day.”
-Tara Maggiulli
Throughout history, alter egos have afforded musicians an intangible creative freedom. These alter egos have enabled artists to explore a more shocking side of themselves, like David Bowie did with Ziggy Stardust or Eminem did with Slim Shady. But the root of alter ego’s lies in the artist’s ability to immerse themselves in their art, which often creates deeper connections with their fans. Especially now in the age of social media, fans can identity and jump on whatever trend is created by the artist. Taylor Swift is a prime example of this as many fans connect with her ‘blank’ era or a specific album.
Mom Rock immediately calls out the 80’s as being a huge influence to them. Devo jumps forward as a style-influencer with their funky hats and coordinated jumpsuits. Another drastically underrated influencer for them is the UK rock band The Darkness. They are commonly ripped off and don’t get enough credit for their jumpsuits and coordination of outfits that has been embedded into their band for years. For Mom Rock, the attraction to being apart of a team and sharing that energy comes out on stage. The trio performs as equals, cycling that energy around the stage. Their alter ego’s also allow them to not take themselves too seriously. Musically, Mom Rock exudes that incredibly fun vigor and craziness that the outfits provide for them. That creative energy is alluring to any audience.
“We have a silly-ish name that’s memorable. People have said they thought we were a comedy band or kid’s band at first. Then they stick around because their curiosity is peaked.”
— Curtis Heimburger
Mile of Music was the first appearance of Mom Rock’s new era of jumpsuits. Covered with pirated iconic logos of the likeness of Subway, Starbucks, McDonalds, Progressive, Marboro, Coca-Cola, and Harley Davidson, the band were walking billboards. But when looking closer, the patches were all rebranded and converted to read ‘Mom Rock.’
The clever and literal branding of the band in these jumpsuits aligns with their attitude of not taking themselves too seriously. It’s the details that draw you into each patch, seeing how each famous logo has been rightfully reclaimed by the band.
The black Dickies jumpsuits were modified by Tara with removing pockets and ironing on the plethora of logos. That witty aesthetic even coordinates into their merch, with Mom Rock branded mints, belt bags, sunglasses, jerseys, and my personal favorite, the Mom Rock eye chart T-shirt. Campus Customs are the resource behind their ideas, cultivating clever ways to make merchandise to reinforce a band’s brand.
Having watched all of their music videos multiple times, their onstage show carries the same bolt of theatrical energy from Curtis with his hair flying all over, Tara’s driving bass, and Wilson’s steady pulse to each song. In-tune with each other and tight, Mom Rock gives you something to watch on every song and part. The gasp of breath in “My Way” in the middle of the chorus symbolizes that playful tongue-in-cheek nature of repeating the same words again and again, breaking down the 3rd wall knowing it’s a lot of repetition.
The grainy, saturated cartoony vibes of their music video “Bullseye” and the dynamic pop-rock “Dishes” video carry that thread of theatrics in their outfits. But there’s no better example of twisting visuals than them “My Way.” The Mentos-inspired infomercial plays like a late night ad, capitalizing on mom mints, sunglasses, sunblock, and the literal pause in the video for ‘stache in a can.
When Mom Rock takes the stage, their intent is for you to internally whisper ‘what the fuck is going to happen?’ They want as little expectation as possible but at the very least having you feeling like you’re going to witness the worst or coolest thing you’ve ever seen. Curtis doesn’t like to say anything when making their entrance to keep the value of shock high for that first song.
At Mile of Music, there was this instant curiosity of new fans walking over to see what they were about. As their set went on, you could feel the shift of energy and piqued investment from the audience. Curtis swaggered around the stage with unabashed enjoyment, while Wilson was the conduit of energy on drums. It was easy to see the trio energize and play off of each other, building up each song together into a sweaty finish.
Mom Rock understands the value of visuals that contribute to the music and purpose of their songs. Everything has intention and that quickly helps them stand out from the masses of bands. The mojo or ‘mom-jo’ of the band sets you up for the very first time you see them. There’s anticipation, an inside smirk, and a permission to let loose and have fun as part of their team.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Mom Rock and all the things we mentioned above.
Mom Rock Website - Instagram - YouTube - Campus Customs - The Darkness - Alter Egos are Revolutionizing the Industry - Mile of Music
